article thumbnail

Startup CTO or Developer

TechEmpower SaaS

What does it mean to be a CTO for a startup? Should a startup CTO spend their time programming? The role of a CTO varies as the company matures. Here’s a graphic from Socal CTO that illustrates the roles as they change over time: In its earliest days, a startup’s top need is often to produce a product.

CTO Hire 390
article thumbnail

Dear SaaStr: What Makes a Bad CTO?

SaaStr

Dear SaaStr: What Makes a Bad CTO? While there is no legal definition for CTO or bright line between CTO and VPE, I’d suggest a start-up CTO really only has to do a few things — which are very hard: Assemble a small team (3–9) of very good engineers. A “bad” CTO doesn’t care about growing very, very quickly.

CTO Hire 253
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Extreme Product Design: Building Things People Actually Use with Stripe CTO David Singleton (Pod 636 + Video)

SaaStr

Many companies believe excellent product design comes from hiring the best engineers and signing up for the latest software instead of building from the users’ perspectives. For instance, their earliest product responded to the online payment problem startups were experiencing.

CTO Hire 256
article thumbnail

The SaaS Org Chart Live with David Sacks (Podcast #491 and Video)

SaaStr

You’ll need to hire aggressively to get to the next level and continue that rapid growth. But what roles should you hire for, and what will your org chart look like at each stage? David’s first foray into SaaS was in 1999 when he joined a startup that would become PayPal, starting as the product leader and later as the COO.

CTO Hire 263
article thumbnail

Stop Following These 10 Terrible Pieces of SaaS Advice with SaaStr Founder Jason Lemkin (SaaStr Podcast 682)

SaaStr

To some extent, if you have the hottest startup in the world, the full package, you can play some games with investors. 99% of startups aren’t that. For 99% of startups, when you want money, tell VCs you want money. 2 “Give the VP of Sales more time.” Hiring someone too junior. Ask for money when you want advice.”

article thumbnail

How to Categorize Expenses in a SaaS Startup v2.0

Baremetrics

Here’s an overview of the series: Part 1: How to Categorize Expenses in a SaaS Startup v2.0 Example of SaaS Chart of Accounts for Marketing Expenses Research & Development (Engineering) There are fewer direct benefits from splitting out your tech team from the rest of the expenses, but I still recommend doing it.

article thumbnail

Reddit’s Nick Caldwell on engineering leadership

Intercom, Inc.

On day one as Reddit’s new VP of Engineering, Nick Caldwell faced a dilemma. He had just spent 13 years at Microsoft, most recently as the head of 300 engineers. At Reddit, he led a team of 35 – none of whom knew how to manage other engineers. Building trust can be tough when you’re a new hire in a leadership position.