

Ask HN: CTO- what to look for  - fmontevecchi

What do you look for in a CTO? Skills? Background work? Any good recommendations for resources to help us discover that key role for a mobile-first software startup? Thanks in advance! Cheers
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educating
3 C's: Compatibility, Complement, Charisma.

Compatibility: Is it someone you could spend a month with in the woods without
hating, abandoning, or killing each other? But he must be able to argue his
side and be right- you don't want a "yes" man. You need the other hand of the
steering wheel to course correct when needed. But you have to be able to spend
a massive amount of time together.

Complement: Does he fill the gaps (in more than just technology) that are
missing in the team for success? This is not just a coding or tech position.
He may end up being project management, product management, sales, accounting,
office manager, etc.

Charisma: In both well-accepted meanings of the word: (1) compelling
attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others, (2) a divinely
conferred power or talent.

Those three are most important.

Skillwise, look for someone with proven experience (mobile development),
preferably in Android, iOS, HTML5, one or more modern JavaScript frameworks
(Angular, Backbone, etc.). Also, what would they write in service-side? (Java?
Go? Node? Sinatra?) What would they serve that with, and do they have
experience setting that up? Server-side will need significant Linux admin
experience, experience working with Amazon services/cloud storage, significant
hardware setup and networking knowledge, has setup network before at work not
just in his or her house. Good with PostgreSQL or MySQL- can setup, admin,
design schema. Someone adept with design and user experience. That is the bare
minimum. You need more than that to be successful, though. Anyone can fake
those enough to get the job, but can they manage themselves, design the
product, work 48 hours straight to fix things, etc.?

MBAs with a "good idea" looking for a CTO to implement it are a dime a dozen.
If you don't have a great sell, no one worthwhile will apply, so have a good
tech lead review any job you post before you post it, though you really will
be better off with a referral. And to bring them in, you will need to have
everything that the CTO doesn't have- the connections, the money, and the
ability to sell (if needed), etc. Don't be a hardass and don't sell too hard-
be yourself but more professional. Pretend this person is an angel or VC you
are trying to sell, then turn it back a few notches.

This person is _not_ an employee. They are a founder.

~~~
fmontevecchi
Thank you educating! Appreciate your feedback.

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samsheen
If I had to look for one single thing in a CTO to head my new startup - it
would be a person who is able to answer - "No. I don't know how to do that.
But I will figure it out and let you know".

Since you mention that you are a startup, you will have technical issues that
no one single person will have worked on before. Instead of looking for
someone who has UI, backend, server admin, mobile, web [add many more] skills,
look for someone who is honest about what he knows and does not know, is not
intimidated by different technologies and enjoys getting his fingers wet in
different areas of work. I'd go with a Jack of all trades to a Ninja-Guru-
Shaman programmer any day.

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ceekay
A good CTO should have enough technical skill to build out the solution end to
end, and enough managerial skill to get other developers to build it for him.
He's experienced enough to know what not to do, but curious enough to dig deep
and find out the right thing to do. He's not hands on in everything but can
only sleep well when things are running smooth. As a person, he has Warren
Buffet's desired qualities - intelligence, integrity, energy.

