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The Role of a CTO at Early-Stage Startups
Have you ever wondered what the CTO role is really at early-stage startups? Are you fascinated by joining a startup as one?
Being a (non-founder) CTO at early-stage startups can be highly rewarding and challenging at the same time. You will have the autonomy to shape engineering at a startup, but you will also need to be resourceful in solving many problems with little resources or support.
CTOs at early-stage startups are all about balancing everything and everyone.
At an early-stage startup, the engineering team can consist of a couple of people to less than sixty people, where the company is likely at most 100 people. CTOs are, by default, more hands-on in software architecture, code review, testing, and even continuing to write code. The work focuses on the short to medium term, and strategic work is often put on the back burner, given that the product market fit is still being determined.
CTOs in early-stage startups need to manage their peers and teams. They use their experience as software engineers, architects, or managers to coach others and influence decisions. They should also have good relationships with other departments, such as customer success, marketing, or sales.
As a non-founder CTO at an early-stage startup, you will have to deal with the “crazy” founders and CEOs, sometimes being their voice of reason and sometimes being their adult supervision. Behind closed doors, CTOs may face aggressive behavior from founders, CEOs, and other C-Suites. Navigating challenging personalities and unrealistic expectations is part of the day-to-day. Over the last decade, founders have asked me multiple times to add AI to the product in a week or two.
The key is to focus on the importance of relationships with colleagues, the impact of company culture on job satisfaction, and alignment between personal values and the company’s direction. With limited resources, reaching out to your network may help tremendously. If you face issues working as a CTO, you are not the only one.
The CTO role in early-stage startups involves a combination of technical expertise, leadership, and adaptability. CTOs navigate challenges in building products that will eventually reach product market fit, make decisions to avoid overbuilding or overengineering, fend off the crazies who continue cutting corners enough times that the product is a lemon, and be as resourceful as possible to others in products & engineering teams.
This job can be fulfilling if you find a sense of purpose.
