I saw a post on Reddit that resonated very much, saying that startups are now recruiting CTOs, as if as long as there is a CTO, all product problems will be solved. It turns out that the mentality of founders all over the world is the same.
CTO, of course, is a very important role in a technology startup, and with my experience on the investor side, we hope that technology partners can hold relatively high equity.
The problem is, CTOs generally focus on the technical framework and technology strategy, but in the early stages of the project, what startups really need is someone who can build and implement the MVP. Even if the founder is not a technical background, if you can’t master the basic product technology, you can’t lead the team and quickly verify the idea, let alone go to the next step of the project.
So before finding a CTO, any founder must know better than anyone which features of the product should solve which needs.
So, for early projects, you need full-stack developers with high execution, CTO may or may not be such people.
Let’s take a look at the portraits of the CTOs:
- Holding a high salary in a mature company
- Do your own project as an independent hacker
- Toss some interesting techniques in your spare time
- Startups can provide CTOs with:
- Vague promises about future options
- There is no sense of belonging
- Salary cuts for uncertain results
- There are no company titles for eggs
- Early technology product tasks are a mess
Many founders (non-technical backgrounds) expect to exchange 10% for a CTO to create an MVP model, which is obviously a bit naïve, and you will most likely only attract some relatively mediocre people.
- Refine the business plan: Clarify the role of technology in the product (core barriers or auxiliary tools?) ）；
- Sorting out resources: Is the funding sufficient to support the technology development cycle? Are there technical alternatives?
- Self-learning: At least master the basic technical logic and avoid communication barriers with the technical team.
- Adjust your recruitment strategy
- Attract rather than ask: Actively reach out to technical talents through industry events and technical communities (such as GitHub, geek forums) instead of waiting for a “savior”;
- Phased cooperation: technical personnel can be introduced in the form of consultants or part-time to gradually build trust;
- Show sincerity: Offer competitive compensation or equity and avoid “replacing salary with dreams”.
Reflect on the team genes
If you fail to recruit a CTO multiple times, you need to think: Is the business model overly dependent on technology? Should we transform into a “non-technology-driven” company? For example, through outsourcing + operations.
If you are a technical partner, it is recommended that you evaluate these types of projects very carefully:
- Verify the execution of founders: past experience, authenticity of resources, team cohesion;
- Analyzing technical needs: Is it challenging? Can it accumulate long-term value?
- Avoid the “taker” trap: Be wary of founders blaming failures on “lack of technology”.
Clarify your own demands
- balance between short-term interests (salary, equity) and long-term value (growth space, industry position);
- Avoid falling into “technological utopias”: Business success requires technology-market synergy, not unilateral technical perfection.
Everyone is looking for a CTO, exposing the fundamental problem of this project – the founders do not really understand what technology means to entrepreneurship.
That is to say, if the early MVP and market verification are not solved, even if the funds are obtained, it will be difficult to attract real technical bulls. What’s more, financing is difficult now.
A good CTO is here to create something new, not to help you take on corporate responsibility.
