Recruiting a founding CTO
May 08, 2015
How to find and recruit a great Chief Technical Officer (CTO). Lean startup skills for new entrepreneurs, from General Assembly Sydney class 2012
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I’m very oldyou
me
the chief hindsight officer
• Started first degree in 1983• Did my first tech startup in 1995• All my advisory ‘wisdom’ based on my own
past f*ckups
WHAT IS AN ENGINEER?Brainstorm exercise
PITCH YOUR IDEA TO A CTO:LET’S ESTABLISH A BASELINE
Pitch practice
Being a startup engineer sucks
• Nobody understands what you actually do• Nobody even speaks your language• Nobody understands your motivations and
desires• Everybody wants to talk to you all the time• Nobody understands why your work is running
later than expected• It’s all about money
The unique psychology of engineers
How it feels to you
The unique psychology of engineers
What worries them
Why the dissonance?
• You have all the communication skills• It’s really all about the money• They may have their own startup idea• Engineering myth: great products market and
sell themselves
What is a CTO?• Geeky core• Thin nerdy layer• Maturity and
experience (not same thing)
• Leadership skills• Project management
skills
CTO
CEOCTO
WHY IS A CTO IMPORTANT?CTO expression exercise
Why CTOs are important
• A developer can build what you specify, but can’t build what you can’t yet specify
• A CTO can tell you what you should specify• A CTO can also help build what you can’t yet
specify
Why CTOs are important
• Appreciate broad direction of industry• Watches your competitors as closely as you do• Leads a tech team and manages performance• Additional spokesperson to a key audience• Involved in recruitment process across startup• Key ‘human capital’ for investors
What do CTOs need in a product idea?
• Interesting problems• Opportunities to shine to a broader tech
community• Recognition and respect• A chance at no longer being a wage slave
Rube Goldberg machine
Classic interesting problem
Where to find potential CTOs?
• StartupWeekend.org• http://hackfest.openaustralia.org• SiliconBeachAustralia.org• Pollenizer.com• AirBnB
You’re a CEO
You dress for business
He’s a CTO
He dresses for comfort
How to pitch to a CTO
Go native… a bit.
• Reduce the visible differences• Research your subjects• Learn enough jargon to express your needs• Be honest about what you don’t know• Approach as a peer• Leave lots of grey areas
How to pitch to a CTO
PITCHING YOUR IDEA TO A CTO,ONCE MORE, BUT BETTER
Pitch practice: the sequel
How to quickly assess CTO capacity
1. Eye contact and meeting skills2. Depth and breadth of professional network3. Thinks before having an opinion on your
business ideas4. Has interesting insights into marketing,
customer service, sales5. Wants to seek advice from others
• Time to identify interesting problems and solve them
CTO non-cash compensation/rewards
• Public recognition of their prowess to their peers and yours– Twitter– Blog– Meetups and pitches– Nerdy gifts, gift vouchers for thinkgeek.com,
Amazon
CTO non-cash compensation/rewards
ThinkGeek.com
• Input into non-dev business issues– Customer marketing– Investor relations– Customer support
• Less business management, more process– Briefer, more informal reporting– Care more about the destination than the journey
CTO non-cash compensation/rewards
More tools and reading
• OK Go: Rube Goldberg machine music video http://youtu.be/qybUFnY7Y8w
• http://mashable.com/2011/05/07/cto-startup-hiring/• http://www.quora.com/Startup-Advice-and-Strategy/Whats-the-best-way-
to-recruit-a-CTO-to-a-start-up-company
• http://www.founder2be.com/• http://cofounderspeeddate.com.au• Recruitloop.com• ‘Smart & Gets Things Done’ – Joel Spolsky• ‘Managing Humans’ – Michael Lopp• ‘The Mythical Man Month’ – Fred Brooks
• Thanks to CEOs Maria Sipka, Catherine Prosser for CTO-finding ideas
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