So You Wanna be a Startup CTO 20170301

David Hyland-Wood [email protected]

@prototypo 1 February 2017

So you wanna be a

Startup CTO

Why?

You will fail most of the time

…but that’s OK. You will probably be better off for it.

Startups are about market fit, not technology

Technology is an enabler of business function and nothing more, no matter how much we love it.

Two Thoughts

• You will never be ready.

• Do it when you are ready enough.

Who?

1. Are you deluding yourself?

2. Is your CEO?

Two Thoughts

• Pay more attention to your choice of CEO than you do to your choice of spouse.

• Learn something about business. You will need to understand licenses, contracts, management, leadership, market positioning, pricing, investment terms, etc, etc, etc.

What?

4 ways to innovate

More good Less bad Cheaper Easier

The last three together make a product sustainable.

http://www.productioninspiration.com

http://www.moreinspiration.com

Software is largely a service industry operating under the persistent but

unfounded delusion that it is a manufacturing industry."

-- Eric Raymond

Two Thoughts

• Avoid following trends unless there is lots of room in the market.

• You don’t need to be overly innovative. The next logical step often makes money.

How?

http://theleanstartup.com

Two Thoughts

• Avoid premature optimisation.

• Optimise for sales first, then scale, then maintenance.