Your $60K junior hire actually costs $160K

Your $60K junior hire actually costs $160K.

You think you save budget. You actually burn your most expensive asset: your focus.

Most solo founders miscalculate.

Here is the real cost breakdown.

1. The junior hire ($60K) You write specs. You review PRs. You fix their bugs.

→ 20h/week of founder time = $100K/year opportunity cost → Real total: $160K

Hire only if you have a senior to supervise them. If you are solo, you just hired an expensive shadow.

2. The senior hire ($180K) You pay for execution certainty. You also pay for speed.

→ One senior ships what 3 juniors can't → They adapt when you pivot → But they burn 18 months of runway in 12

Fit very well post-PMF when speed beats cost. Pre-PMF? You bet $180K that your roadmap won't change. Most founders lose that bet.

3. The Fractional CTO ($96K) You pay for high-leverage decisions without the overhead.

→ You get strategic direction at a fraction of the cost → You avoid $100K-$5M rebuild mistakes → You keep equity and extend runway

But fractional doesn't write code. Fractional doesn't unblock your team daily. Fractional ensures the features you ship actually matter.

If you need a plan, hire fractional. If you need hands, hire builders.

Most pre-PMF founders need both.

Hire for:

1. The stage you're in (not the stage you want)
2. The gap you have (strategy vs. execution)
3. The supervision capacity you can actually provide

Choose your pain.