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? 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. A CTO can help you find the right answers.

CTO Hire 390
article thumbnail

The Top 10 Things to Know Before Starting a SaaS Company

SaaStr

A mediocre tech team, a part-time CTO, or even just a decent CTO just doesn’t get you there. Wait until you find a great partner here. Finally you have great customers and traction — but you can’t afford to hire all the people you need to meet their needs. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the startup.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

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

article thumbnail

Dear SaaStr: When should a bootstrapped startup hire a (CFO, COO, CMO)?

SaaStr

Dear SaaStr: When should a bootstrapped startup hire a (CFO, COO, CMO)? How can a CEO hire those C-level positions for the first time as a CEO and entrepreneur? Here are some rough rules: You want a VP of Everything (Sales, Marketing, Product, Eng) by about $5m ARR, and ideally, Sales and Marketing well before that.

article thumbnail

Dear SaaStr: I’m Bootstrapped. How Can I Afford to Hire Any VPs?

SaaStr

Q: When should a bootstrapped startup hire a (CFO, COO, CMO)? How can a CEO hire those C-level positions for the first time as a CEO and entrepreneur? Here are some rough rules: You want a VP of Everything (Sales, Marketing, Product, Eng) by about $1m-$2m ARR. IME, rough order to make hires in: VPM: $0.2m

article thumbnail

A Simple 4 Part Test to Know If You’ve Hired the Right VP

SaaStr

Did you hire a good enough VP? 4 part test: – who great did they hire in the first 60 days? – did they take part of the job off your plate? If they don't pass the 4 part test, they aren't good enough. Hiring your VPs as a founder is tough. – does the team believe?

article thumbnail

Hiring Your VPs: When Can You Compromise?

SaaStr

That you absolutely, positively, have to only hire “Rockstars” in your startups. A Rockstar engineer really is 10x better than the next tier. And yet … is it worth waiting 6-9 months to hire a VP that’s a true Rockstar, if you’ve struggled to make the hire? It’s true.

article thumbnail

Dear SaaStr: What Makes a Bad CTO?

SaaStr

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. That often were never anticipated and aren’t part of the job spec. Dear SaaStr: What Makes a Bad CTO?

CTO Hire 229