I had the pleasure of speaking with Kyle Nelson and Eli Libby of the Biz Bros Podcast about the 6 qualities you should look for in a CTO, why you should earn a CTO, and tips where you can start looking for one.
Here are the highlights of the conversation:
1
The difference between a developer and a CTO (3:10)
2
Why a CTO should have a great network (4:50)
3
Communication is key (5:50)
4
The role of a CTO at different stages of the startup (7:30)
5
Titles as a marketing tool (9:15)
6
Demoting an early CTO that's not able to grow into the role (10:20)
7
Why you need to earn a CTO (12:05)
8
Tips for finding a CTO (16:05)
9
Other qualities of a CTO and do degrees matter in tech? (21:00)
10
Why cultural fit is so crucial (23:30)
11
Tips for CTOs to manage teams remotely (25:55)
Depending on the stage of your startup, you should be looking for different skillsets in a CTO
Did you know that 90% of startups fail — and for non-technical founders, the failure rate is even higher? Many spend tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of dollars trying to build tech products, only to get scammed by developers, experience endless delays, or end up with a product that doesn’t work.
I’ve spoken with thousands of entrepreneurs who have faced devastating losses:
- "I had two dev shops take my money without delivering."
- "I went through two CTOs before finding the right one."
- "I wasn't a great tech leader (or a leader at all) and had to get tech leadership coaching."
- understand the entire technical process
- help companies recognize red flags early
- minimize technology mistakes and
- cut their product development costs by as much as 50%.
TechSpeak was an incredible experience. I've done a 4 month accelerator course before, but 80% of the things I was taught, I was learning for the first time.
Sabrina Noorani
Founder of ClearForMe
