Cto, Lead Developer, Or Hybrid? How To Hire A Tech Leader

With our Fractional CTO service, you’ll waste no time on tedious recruiting and onboarding. Our team members are capable of quickly addressing your needs and getting up to speed on important projects. I’m bringing this up because I’ve often seen startups get this position wrong. They hire a chief technology officer, but they don’t know what they actually need, and everyone ends up in a bad spot.

Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as putting together a list of interview questions and posting a job listing. After having conversations with several of my CTO friends, I put this list of tips together for non-technical founders looking to attract a technical co-founder or CTO. You have an incredible idea for a product that will disrupt the entire _______ industry. As you research the market, your competition, and the feasibility of your product, you get closer to arriving at a substantial action plan. With inevitable success on the horizon, you start to look for an experienced software engineer and business leader. At Draft.dev, we create technical content for startups looking to reach software engineers.

Required Skills And Qualities Of A Good Cto

But don’t get fooled by a candidate who only has ever worked for big companies or was in a manager position for the last ten years. First of all, moving from a senior management position to hands-on tasks execution position is a bad idea. So you’re at the start of your journey, founded a company, and the future looks stressful, but you’re excited to tackle all the problems. You’ve wasted enough time setting up all of the accounting and legal stuff- it’s time to build that dream product and the team that will grow it. Most software engineers with more than 5 years of experience have little trouble finding a job.

You don’t need someone who won’t be able to say NO to you. You need a partner who pragmatically approaches your vision, makes it possible and makes sure he can deliver it on time— a realistic approach to product development. Expect them to say NO, enable constructive discussions. One of the qualities that you’ll be looking for is an attitude to solve problems proactively. Find a person who will be as invested in success as you are. Having at least a few closed projects under their belt is a must.

Last but not least – a CTO represents the company during conferences / technical meetups. If your client has some concerns regarding the technology – you pull down your CTO into the meeting and make sure he explains everything properly. During big meetings, the CTO is the authoritative voice that doesn’t speak too much, but when he does, everyone should listen. Again there’s no “ownership.” The technical advisor comes and goes and is not part of the team, mostly oversees the birth of the company rather being really part of it. Most likely this person is a veteran CTO – has experience getting products off the grounds already.

• As a startup, you must understand that the opportunity cost for a senior-level expert to join you is enormous.
• You will be redirected once the validation is complete.
• When you team up with us, you gain immediate access to a team of pre-screened, highly-skilled fractional CTOs.
• That means to get someone on board – you need to explain to them why you can’t pay them six figures, what your budget looks like, what your salary is like.
• Never use your lack of technical skill as a reason not to move your startup forward.

This, in turn, guarantees the achievement of goals as soon as possible. For management, it is a chance to focus on their business goals and marketing activities without being distracted by the technical part. A part-Time Consultant is https://globalcloudteam.com/ cheaper for a company than hiring an in-house specialist, which can be a decisive factor for companies at the seed and startup stages. It’s a golden opportunity to spend relatively low investments for the highest level of expertise.

Specialising in building remote dedicated teams skilled in JavaScript, AWS, Serverless. The list of responsibilities may be way longer and depends on your project, the type of CTO you need and choose, and the skills of tech people you already have in your team. As you can see, these are the most specific and technical tasks, and this is precisely the list of responsibilities that need to be covered in a startup without a tech co-founder. Hackathons are also a great chance for finding a CTO for a startup, valuable links, and ideas.

Scale Your Workforce Instantly To Meet The Needs Of Your Business

Who is willing to hire smart people and empower them. The ecosystem around it becomes more complex, which can be the source of some problems. One of the questions that will need solving after the v1 is done – is how we can enable the business to be more efficient?

It sounds like a crazy invitation, but this is what you’re offering them – the person that you’re looking for is ready to make such a commitment. If you go with someone young- it’s easier to convince them to join you, they’re open to risk, and in return, they will work their ass off and share the excitement. They might make mistakes, might not get it right the first time, but if you give them time to grow – they might end up a Rockstar. Having smart people in-house makes it easier to hire other intelligent people. Agency usually has the in-house expertise to build something that you want. Ideas are rarely unique, and even if they are, they share similar components.

At this size, you will likely have a “traditional” CTO. These large businesses will have executive-style CTOs, someone that knows technology, but through a business lens. These two abilities are on the ends of a sliding scale. Depending on where your startup is, you may gravitate towards one end of the spectrum.

Let’s assume you found your candidate and managed to get him to join you in your endeavor. You should expect your CTO to do a few things day-to-day – and the earlier you communicate these expectations, the fewer tensions there will cto duties be in the future. You need a person who will be the driving force for your development 24/7. Imagine telling a random person that you’re going to be spending at least 8 hours per day working together in the next five to ten years.

Getting Yourself A Cto

As a matter of course, you should constantly monitor tech info resources, follow publications on a specific topic, etc. The great chances are that some successful and skilful technical consultant will publish their work, be quoted, or share their expert point of view on a particular material. Even if these actions won’t end with signing a contract, being aware and keeping an eye on the events will be useful. As you can see, finding a CTO for your startup is not the easiest task; it takes time and effort. Also, there are numerous success stories of releasing an MVP without an in-house CTO. As alternatives, consider Part-Time Consultant, Outsourcing Development Team, or CTO-as-a-Service.

Cooperation with business executives to identify, rationalize, and roadmap new business models and capabilities. Presenting the company at technical events, being fully responsible for its image and reputation in technical terms. Keeping the processes within defined financial and time frames.

Businesses rely on up-to-date technology to remain competitive and perform essential functions. It’s critical then to have a dedicated team member at the executive level to evaluate, implement, and manage relevant technology to serve your business needs. Again, getting this particular hire right can set you up for success now and in the future. If you hire someone with prized development skills, you may prosper now but struggle in a year.

Experts name 10 issues they face with outsourcing and the best solutions. It is worth noting that the CaaS can be one person or a team. Conducting daily meetups, delegating short-term tasks and goals, distribution of tasks. Work on creating the enterprise architecture, innovation management, etc. When you search for a startup CTO, you need to find someone who can take on two main things.

Ask successful tech leads for their recommendations and how to find a CTO co-founder in a startup. Chances are, they’ve started at the same point as you are now and can suggest you a reliable contact. The reality of growing a startup is brutal – nine out of ten startups fail. You neglect a tiny detail, and all your effort and beliefs end up with your inability to deliver the product or compete. That’s why strategic planning is a pillar of a development process, and this, in turn, is why a skilled CTO is essential. Technological capabilities develop and transform rapidly.

What’s most important is that everyone is on the same page when it comes to responsibilities and future responsibilities. If you’re not sure exactly what you need, consider the size and stage of your startup. We don’t share names in these case studies – while we are proud of our clients and their stories, we respect their privacy and business. For references, please get in touch with us directly.

You’re looking for a person who will take that risk for the high reward in the future. We talked about hands-on experience, but what is more important in the long run are the soft skills – leadership qualities, communication skills. In the long run, the person will need to inspire others and empower them. So be careful when hiring – stay away from “lone coders” who might seem reasonable at first by being able to build the v1.

Technical Talent Is In High Demand

Ask for introductions, mention that you’re keeping an eye out for a technical co-founder, but remember, your business shouldn’t depend on it. Tell them about the success you’re having, the challenges your facing, and see what gets them excited. I joined The Graide Network because the two non-technical founders had built a business generating real revenue off email and spreadsheets. Hustle in the face of not having a product is extremely attractive. Your technical founder will know the value he or she brings, so you’ve got to prove yours.

You need someone with technical skills who can also lead a team and envision the future. Someone who can contribute to business goals but also maintain your codebase. Get yourself a technical advisor if you don’t have any expertise—someone you can trust and who has enough experience to help you find the right person. An advisor can be helpful in many ways – interview people, mentor you on what to look for, be a sparring partner for your ideas. Until you have a good team set up – they will be your go-to person about everything.

How To Find A Cto: Tips For Non Technical Founders

Most co-founders knew each other long before they started a company together, so it’s unlikely that you’ll find a random person on the internet who shares your vision. Limit your efforts on people who meet specific interest areas and you’re more likely to at least start a conversation. If you had true market validation, investors would pour money into your startup and you could hire the best tech talent in the world. Unfortunately, a lot of non-technical founders think they must have a working app in order to validate their idea. At my last two startups, I was the first engineering hire, and I know dozens of others technical co-founders and CTOs in Chicago alone.

What Does A Cto Do?

Not everyone will be happy at your company – if you can keep your turnaround at 10-15% per year, that’s good. But people will fail your expectations, and you will fail theirs. Either the developer is bringing in value, or he’s not. Unfortunately, no business ever got built on not making any decisions.

The initial idea of this startup was to hire a chief technology officer, who would take care of this process altogether. The business was groing, and directors had no extra time on their hands. Fractional CTOs are added to a company’s upper management when the organization faces challenges with an existing development team. Sometimes, a fractional CTO will focus exclusively on technology matters. These executives are actively involved in decision-making and play a critical role in connecting upper management with tech teams. Startups have a laser-sharp focus on developing a viable business – a unique service or product to meet a marketplace need.

Someone with the ability and desire to quickly grow into a leader to address future needs. Someone with the ability and desire to contribute to your product’s technical needs right now. One more thing you can offer them is some fancy title. In my personal opinion, titles are irrelevant until you have at least 20 employees. Still, it might be important for someone to call themselves co-founder, so you should be willing to grant that if necessary. If someone wants to have a Chief-Something title, and you think that person is senior enough – why not.

How To Hire A Cto For Your Startup

This article is part of the series calledFounders Guidewhich I’m writing currently to help early-stage founders tackle the problems they face during the first year of the startup. By taking a job with a startup, an engineer is forgoing most of their guaranteed salary in exchange for a piece of a fledgling company. Level the playing field by putting your money into the business.