Field notes on fractional engineering teams: burn-rate math, team-scaling playbooks, and honest comparisons for founders deciding how to build.https://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/en-ushttps://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/mvp-development-cost/https://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/mvp-development-cost/Real ranges by path: $0 to $150k+. A line-item model of what moves MVP cost, three worked scenarios, and the questions that shrink the number without shrinking the product.Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/hire-engineers-by-the-week/https://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/hire-engineers-by-the-week/A practical walkthrough of week-based engineering: what a booked week costs, how to scope it so it ships something real, and the mistakes that waste the first one.Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/fractional-cto-vs-fractional-engineering-team/https://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/fractional-cto-vs-fractional-engineering-team/One is judgment a few hours a week. The other is capacity that ships. Which one your startup needs, what each costs, and when the answer is both or neither.Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/how-to-manage-a-fractional-engineering-team/https://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/how-to-manage-a-fractional-engineering-team/The operating manual: briefs that work, the two-hour weekly rhythm, what to check on Fridays, and the five habits that separate great engagements from wasted ones.Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/startup-burn-rate-engineering-team-math/https://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/startup-burn-rate-engineering-team-math/Fixed engineering payroll is the biggest lever on a seed-stage burn rate. Worked scenarios showing how team structure changes runway by six months or more.Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/scale-engineering-team-up-and-down/https://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/scale-engineering-team-up-and-down/Scaling up is a hiring problem. Scaling down is usually a layoff. A playbook for building a team that flexes both directions without breaking either way.Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/fractional-team-vs-staff-augmentation-vs-agency/https://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/fractional-team-vs-staff-augmentation-vs-agency/A side-by-side comparison of the four ways startups buy engineering: fractional teams, staff augmentation, agencies, and freelancers. Costs, contracts, failure modes.Tue, 17 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/mvp-team-structure/https://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/mvp-team-structure/You don't need seven people to ship an MVP. The three-seat crew that works, what each seat does, when to add a fourth, and the roles that can wait.Tue, 22 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/when-to-hire-first-engineer-startup/https://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/when-to-hire-first-engineer-startup/The first engineering hire is a $250k, quarter-long commitment. Here are the signals you're ready, the signals you're not, and what to do in the meantime.Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/non-technical-founder-build-software/https://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/non-technical-founder-build-software/You don't need to learn to code or find a unicorn cofounder. The four real paths to a shipped product, what each costs, and how to not get taken along the way.Tue, 19 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/what-is-a-fractional-engineering-team/https://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/what-is-a-fractional-engineering-team/What a fractional engineering team is, what it costs, when it beats hiring or an agency, and the failure modes nobody mentions. Written by a company that runs one.Thu, 12 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/true-cost-of-hiring-startup-engineers/https://blog.lunarlaunchlabs.com/true-cost-of-hiring-startup-engineers/Salary is barely half of it. A line-by-line model of what a full-time engineer costs a startup in year one: taxes, benefits, recruiting, ramp time, and the miss risk.Mon, 05 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT