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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? Exploring new technologies? The role of a CTO varies as the company matures. Hiring a hands-on lead developer might seem like the right move for an early stage startup. A CTO can help you find the right answers.

CTO Hire 390
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The Top 10 Things to Know Before Starting a SaaS Company

SaaStr

You really need a great CTO, not just a good business team. 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. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the startup. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the startup.

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10 Things That Would Have Helped Me Go From $1m to $10m Faster with Less Stress

SaaStr

I thought it would be worth drilling down deeper into each of them, and sharing the learnings and mistakes: 1/ Spending less time fixing things, more time recruiting senior folks to own them. No one spends enough time recruiting as it is, after $1m ARR or so. These are all full-time jobs by $1m ARR.

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How to Stop Micromanaging After $1m-$2m ARR. You Have To.

SaaStr

And if your team knows how to spend it, correctly — find a way to get them the capital they need to grow even faster than plan. A new edition, new services, an outbound sales team, an account management / upsell team. Something new to boost your ACV and TCV. You still need to spend 15-20% of your time in sales.

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If You Don’t Have a Truly Great Founding Team, Just Take a Pause. Don’t Start Your Start-Up Yet.

SaaStr

But what they don’t have is a good enough founding team: Sometimes, if the prospective founder isn’t super technical, then the CTO/VPE isn’t really great. They’ve got a rent-a-CTO. But great teams find great markets, so that doesn’t really matter}. At least an acqui-hire.

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When The Team Revolts

SaaStr

An organization that has come together voluntarily to take on a mission, at least in part. They’ll revolt when you make a senior or mid-level hire that as a group, they simply cannot suffer one day longer. The three times it happened to me: A very senior engineer that we just HAD to have. Something organic.

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Quality of Life: What Does It Mean For A Start-Up?

SaaStr

Recently, I spent several hours with a new but great friend who has been on a vaguely similar journey to me. And he made an observation to me that I’d been thinking about for a very long time, but didn’t know how to express. Not just being part of something great — but, Being Great. But what does this mean ?