Not only a toddler or a teenager needs someone to look after them but we all need someone to guide us, to look over us and correct us when we’re wrong. Be it in any field, guidance is very much important for everyone. And just like that, we need someone guiding us in the corporate sector too. A responsible person who knows how to treat people working for them and not just bursting on them when they did something wrong. Most importantly how to maintain work decorum and improve business simultaneously.
And just like we’ll understand the importance of a CTO in this article.
A CTO is extremely important for a tech company, especially when the company is a startup company and at its initial stage. A CTO is one who in the absence of a chief information officer, can deal with the internal operations of the company as well. And for the external customers and vendors, oversees the development and disseminating of Technology.
How to Find a CTO for Your Startup
A startup company deals with many kinds of questions and dilemmas. And even though all the options are viable, the budget is limited. But if you are lucky enough and found a CTO, you’ve gained a key player. But, you can also fall quicker than you ever imagined, if you pick the wrong CTO.
Many founders spent years looking for a perfect man for the job of a CTO because it’s very time consuming and full of commitment.
The main hardship you face is, you want to start and end building your MVP asap, which leads to settling for the very first option for the job. Overpromising and underdelivering on a massive scale – but more on that later, are some traits you should look for in a person who you want to be your CTO. But all the qualities you’re looking for must be vital.
Let’s lookout for a structured process that helps Startup find a perfect CTO-
- The very first you should look for in your Robin is ‘PASSION’. Startups face hurdles like no other and a highly correlated essential trait, your CTO should have is passion. If you don’t want to navigate challenges alone during times of storms, you should go for a CTO who is passionate about your company from the heart.
- The next comes ‘RESPONSIBILITY’. Passion can indeed make people blind sometimes, but responsibility makes you mature. It’s true that with more power comes more responsibility. So before landing someone, make sure the success doesn’t make them arrogant or they run from their responsibility.
- The third trait you should look for in your Robin is that he/she is a ‘TECH EXPERTISE’. You will find many wannabe CTOs but you have to do the hard work of finding what is behind the mask. To make the right technical decision for your startup, your CTO must have in-depth knowledge. If your CTO lacks expertise, you may not even make it to the launch.
- ‘COMMITMENT’ stands next in order. The journey to success is not easy, you and your CTO will have many hardships together, but you both should be fully committed to your work. If your CTO has another job and treats your startup as a side-gig, this will result in shredding into pieces. Everything requires commitment, be it a marriage, an assignment, exams or whatsoever. Now imagine how much commitment building a company will require.
- The next trait you need to look at is ‘COMMUNICATION AND ALIGNMENT’. You and your partner should discuss and agree to a point or plan before executing it. Just simply take it as “business marriage”. And if the CTO you on-board is not commutative, the marriage will fail. Before launching a product in the market, both you and your Robin should be on the same page. Parallel to each other, not one behind or one forward, but standing Parallel, that is how your train (your company) moves forward.
- Very important and effective trait, ‘LEADERSHIP SKILLS’. Your CTO needs to leave his cape and start implementing his leadership skills. A CTO must have the skills to think strategically and lead the team and never stop growing. Great developers don’t always make great CTOs. They should have the courage and the nerve to lead numerous people under them.
- Just like leadership skills, ‘MANAGEMENT SKILLS’ are as important. Time management and discipline are vital traits that everyone should have. Evaluating the time frame is very important to start a complete or build a product. Founders who are at the top level right now would’ve started from level zero only. But they built an empire today, because of their optimistic approach.
Now we know how to choose the right CTO for our company, what we don’t know is where to find that person.
You can go for 2 approach
- Offline
- Online
