Hire your permanent CTORisk-free

Finding the right CTO is a job in itself. It's ours.

72h

For a qualified shortlist

+600

CTOs in our collective

98%

Client satisfaction

Where our CTOs have worked

AppleBrutMetaAgicapBouyguesMangopayBeRealVeepee

Hiring a CTO: a €300K risk

6 months of hiring, €100K invested… and the CTO doesn't make it past probation

Recruitment firms don't understand your technical challenges

Your job posting attracts the wrong candidates

You don't know how to assess a CTO's real technical level

Our process

CTO hiring run by people who've done the job

1

We dig into your needs together

  • —Scoping workshop with an experienced CTO
  • —Analysis of your growth stage, stack, and team
  • —Collaborative drafting of the job description
  • —Defining the right profile
2

We activate the network

  • —Activating the CO-CTO network (600+ CTOs)
  • —Targeted headhunting beyond our pool if needed
  • —Not just a job ad on Welcome to the Jungle
3

We vet every candidate

  • —Checking the candidate's references
  • —Assessing experience with challenges similar to yours
  • —You only meet vetted candidates
4

We fine-tune as we go

  • —Debrief after every interview
  • —Adjusting the target profile if needed
  • —Realigning the brief based on your feedback
  • —Iterating until we find the right fit
5

We stay with you through probation

  • —Regular steering committee
  • —Onboarding deliverables
  • —Support for the first 3 months
  • —Free re-sourcing if probation isn't successful

An advisory CTO at every step

Technical expertise built into the process

CV assessment

The advisory CTO reviews CVs alongside the senior recruiter.

Technical interviews

The advisory CTO leads the technical interview and delivers a skills report.

Weekly cadence

A first profile arrives within about 3 weeks. A weekly meeting then refines the brief, the job description, and sourcing.

How to write a CTO job description that works

Bad job postings cost you time and good candidates. We've packed the best practices from 250+ CTO hires into a ready-to-use template.

The game changer

Why CO-CTO?

01

Your hiring is run by former CTOs who've hired dozens of people themselves

02

Direct access to our pool of 600+ CTOs and their extended network

03

End-to-end support, from defining the brief to the end of probation

04

Re-sourcing guarantee: if probation doesn't work out, we start over at no extra cost

What makes all the difference

The CO-CTO setup

Your CTO is never alone

Ongoing support + a community of expert CTOs

Smart sourcing

We understand your business and find the CTO who fits

De-risk your hire

Significant time and money saved

A few examples of our work

Case studies

E-testingRecrutement CDI
OpteamisRecrutement CDI
See all case studies

What our clients say

What they say about us

Questions fréquentes

FAQ

At CO-CTO, our fee is 25% of the recruited candidate's gross annual salary, in line with market standards for a specialized firm (15-30%). The difference: our hires are run by former CTOs who actually understand the role, we support you all the way through probation, and we start over at no extra cost if it doesn't work out.

With CO-CTO, you get a first shortlist of qualified candidates within 72 hours. The full process, from defining the brief to signing, usually takes 4 to 8 weeks depending on how rare the profile is and your criteria. That's two to three times faster than hiring on your own, thanks to our pool of 600+ CTOs and our targeted headhunting approach.

This is exactly where most non-technical CEOs struggle. At CO-CTO, every candidate is assessed by an experienced CTO from our collective: real technical skills, management ability, experience with challenges similar to yours, and verified references. You only meet vetted candidates: you don't need to be a tech expert to hire your CTO.

A traditional firm hires a CTO like any other executive role, using generalist methods and little understanding of what the job actually involves. CO-CTO is run by former CTOs: we understand what the role really covers, we have access to an exclusive pool of 600+ CTOs (many of whom aren't actively on the market), and we support you all the way through probation, not just until the contract is signed.

CO-CTO includes a re-sourcing guarantee: if your CTO doesn't make it through probation, we restart the search at no extra cost. It's our way of sharing the risk with you and aligning our interests with your success. We also provide regular check-ins during the first 3 months to maximize the odds of a successful integration.