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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
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A Look Back: How $13 Billion Ramp Began To Scale with Co-Founder and CTO Karim Atiyah

SaaStr

Co-founder and CTO Karim Atiyah came to SaaStr Annual to share how they got this rocketship … off the ground. ” SaaStr Take: Your early hires will define your company’s trajectory. Back in 2021 though, Ramp was just 2 years in — but already experiencing hypergrowth.

CTO Hire 216
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Most SaaS Apps Are Just Getting Starting With AI. 2025 Will Be Radically Different.

SaaStr

So I caught up the other day with the CTO of a leading SaaS company with tens of thousands of customers, growing quickly. AI is all over their homepage and website and comms. I asked him about a particular use case for AI, and his answer shocked me a bit: Honestly, our AI is basically still in beta. The same with other leaders.

AI 331
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Dear SaaStr: Why did Jason M. Lemkin Change his Point of View on The Value of a COO for Earlier Stage Startups?

SaaStr

I felt part of your core job as CEO was to assemble a management team, not complain about how you couldn’t get it all done. Or couldn’t stand your CTO. I still believe a CEO should “do it all” in terms of building a decent management team first before hiring a COO. Hiring a strong COO between Management Team 1.0

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My Top Financial Mistakes as an Entrepreneur. That Cost Me Millions.

SaaStr

Worked out great for my CTO who stayed (proud of him), but if things were structured differently, I would have made nine figures just staying. Hiring a controller that didn’t care. I avoided this mistake for my first two-startups, but then made it several times after. We ended up needing another 6 months of runway.

CTO Hire 279
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Top SaaStr Content for the Week: Flexport CEO, RevenueCat CTO, ZoomInfo CEO, Samsara CPO

SaaStr

Check out this week’s top blog posts, podcasts, and videos: Top Blog Posts This Week: 5 Interesting Learnings from Sprout Social at $240,000,000 in ARR. SaaStr 564: Top 10 Learnings Architecting a High Throughput Critical API with RevenueCat CTO Miguel Carranza. Product-Led Growth: Panacea or Boondoggle?

CTO Hire 295
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Top SaaStr Content for the Week: Gusto CEO, RevenueCat CTO, Intercom CEO, Notion CRO, and More!

SaaStr

Check out this week’s top blog posts, podcasts, and videos: Top Blog Posts This Week: Be Careful Hiring “Dualies” — Folks That Are a VP of More Than One Thing. SaaStr 564: Top 10 Learnings Architecting a High Throughput Critical API with RevenueCat CTO Miguel Carranza. appeared first on SaaStr.

CTO Hire 296