The best engineering teams in 2026 are small.
5 senior engineers with AI agents now outship teams of 20. The startups that figure this out first win. I help founders make the shift.
The playbook changed overnight.
For 20 years, the playbook was simple: more features needed, more engineers hired. A Series A meant going from 5 to 15. A Series B from 15 to 40. Every headcount added coordination overhead, slowed decisions, and diluted ownership.
Then, in 2025, something changed. AI coding agents went from novelty to production tool. Claude Code, Cursor, Codex — they didn't replace engineers. They made great engineers 3-5x more productive.
The math no longer works for big teams. Today, a senior engineer orchestrating AI agents ships what used to take three juniors and a tech lead. The coordination cost of those extra people? Gone. The onboarding time? Gone. The communication overhead? Gone.
The winning formula for 2026: a small, senior team amplified by AI — led by a CTO who knows how to orchestrate both.
The math has changed.
Same outcome. A fraction of the burn.
What a Small Team CTO does.
Not just managing people — orchestrating a system of humans and agents.
Design the Machine
Architect the right team shape. Which roles stay human. Which workflows become agentic. Where seniors multiply outcome instead of managing juniors.
Wire the Agents
Pick and configure the right AI tools for your stack. Some models for complex features, some models for routine work. Automated testing, PR review, documentation — all agent-driven.
Ship Relentlessly
Set up continuous delivery from day one. Small teams can't afford ceremony. Every merge goes to production. Every week ships customer value.
Strategy, product, and the right tools.
The best small-team CTOs aren't just coders. They shape product strategy, make build-vs-buy decisions, and know which tools give their team superhuman leverage.
The landscape changes monthly. Having a CTO who stays current isn't a luxury — it's survival.
Is this you?
You just raised seed or Series A and need to ship fast without hiring 15 people.
Your board is asking why you need 20 engineers when competitors ship faster with 6.
You know AI agents can accelerate your team, but don't know where to start or what to trust.
You want a CTO who actually builds — not one who writes slide decks.
Ezequiel Actis Grosso
Fractional CTO with 25+ years building software — from early-stage startups to enterprise systems, now focused on agentic AI workflows. I've helped 30+ companies across the US and Latin America ship products, scale teams, and avoid expensive mistakes.
Today I work with seed-to-Series B founders who want to build fast without burning through their runway on headcount. My clients typically run teams of 3-8 engineers that outperform organizations 3x their size.
Industries I've worked in: TechBio, fintech, agtech, SaaS, marketplaces, insurance, and e-commerce.
Stop hiring. Start orchestrating.
A 30-minute call to talk through your team, your stack, and whether the small-team model fits your startup.
Book Your Free ConsultationNo pitch deck. No obligation. Just an honest conversation about your engineering.