Getting The Most Out Of Your Technology Budget When Building MVPs, Outsourcing & Scaling Software Teams (Part 3/6)
6 part mini-series for non-technical leaders and CTOs. Page [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next ]
CTOs-That-Code Are Wasting Your Time And Money
Yeah, I said it!
A decade ago, hiring a renegade nerd was the best way to run small teams. In those days, CTOs were “big enterprise managers” who didn’t understand startups and agile teams.
Times have changed, though, and we can’t keep putting all of our faith in the all-in-one tech-saviors to lead our efforts.
CTOs-that-code get less done and build products that are poorly positioned for the market.
The Industry Grew Up After Zuckerberg Created Facebook
There is a science and artform to getting the most out of a tiny budget, and technologists simply don’t have time to learn how to be great engineers and great leaders.
Even if they have the skills required, it’s impossible to be effective while switching between producer and manager roles. This article illustrates the cost of switching roles often.
Anyone taking on two roles for your startup can only, at best, do each job half as well as you need.
“Get everything you need by hiring people who are GREAT at one thing JUST a couple hours each month”
What Does a CTO Do, Exactly?
I’m guessing you want:
- Someone who’s really passionate about your product or idea
- A technologist who isn’t just an engineer
- Who can guide you strategically
- And help you shape the product
- And architect the technologies you’re using
- And understand your customers and create a great user experience
- And build a little team by recruiting his friends
- And perform code reviews and lead scrum calls
- And translate specifications to developers
- And is super motivated to dedicate a ton of time and burn the midnight oil
- And hit deadlines
I’d love to hire this person, too…
But, anyone that has mastered the skills required of a half dozen different roles is no longer cost-effective at any of them. To make your team successful, you need all of these skills, and that means hiring a project manager, product manager, engineer, architect and a CTO.
Looking for all these things in one person will get you nowhere!
Instead, get everything you need by hiring people who are GREAT at one thing JUST a couple hours each month.
Give Your “Technical Cofounder” 70% Of Your Budget And Split Up The Remaining $30k Among Contractors Who Know Their Shit
This is your playbook
CURIOUS HOW I CAN HELP YOU?
I can keep your software developers in check and help you build the right products the first time, for as little as $75/mo.
I also have an army of product managers, project managers, and architects available to help – none of whom will code for you
…which allows us to be the independent party that keeps your software developers on track.
Next Up
Part 4/6 – Modern Software Development Requires 10 Distinct Skill Sets
Part 5/6 – 16 Signals That Your Tech Team Is In Trouble
Part 6/6 – 5 Ways To Build A Tech Team When You Don’t Have Cash
