This document discusses strategies for recruiting a founding chief technology officer (CTO) for a startup. It provides tips on how to pitch your idea to a potential CTO, including researching their interests, using some technical jargon, and leaving some aspects open-ended. The document also outlines some of the non-financial rewards that could motivate a CTO, such as public recognition, input on business issues, and flexibility in reporting. Overall, the document offers advice on finding and attracting a CTO who can provide technical leadership for a new company.

1. Recruiting a
founding CTO
Thursday, 6th September 2012
Alan Jones| @bigyahu | alan@thenewagency.com.au

2. I’m very old
me
you

3. the chief hindsight officer
• Started first degree in 1983
• Did my first tech startup in 1995
• All my advisory ‘wisdom’ based on my own
past f*ckups

4. Brainstorm exercise
WHAT IS AN ENGINEER?

5. Pitch practice
PITCH YOUR IDEA TO A CTO:
LET’S ESTABLISH A BASELINE

6. Being a startup engineer sucks
• Nobody understands what you actually do
• Nobody even speaks your language
• Nobody understands your motivations and
desires
• Everybody wants to talk to you all the time
• Nobody understands why your work is running
later than expected
• It’s all about money

7. The unique psychology of engineers
How it feels to
you

8. The unique psychology of engineers
What worries
them

9. Why the dissonance?
• You have all the communication skills
• It’s really all about the money
• They may have their own startup idea
• Engineering myth: great products market and
sell themselves

10. What is a CTO?
• Geeky core
• Thin nerdy layer CEO
CTO
CTO
• Maturity and
experience (not same
thing)
• Leadership skills
• Project management
skills

11. CTO expression exercise
WHY IS A CTO IMPORTANT?

12. Why CTOs are important
• A developer can build what you specify, but
can’t build what you can’t yet specify
• A CTO can tell you what you should specify
• A CTO can also help build what you can’t yet
specify

13. Why CTOs are important
• Appreciate broad direction of industry
• Watches your competitors as closely as you do
• Leads a tech team and manages performance
• Additional spokesperson to a key audience
• Involved in recruitment process across startup
• Key ‘human capital’ for investors

14. What do CTOs need in a product idea?
• Interesting problems
• Opportunities to shine to a broader tech
community
• Recognition and respect
• A chance at no longer being a wage slave

15. Rube Goldberg machine
Classic interesting problem

16. Where to find potential CTOs?
• StartupWeekend.org
• http://hackfest.openaustralia.org
• SiliconBeachAustralia.org
• Pollenizer.com
• AirBnB

17. You’re a CEO
You dress for business

18. He’s a CTO
He dresses for comfort

19. How to pitch to a CTO
Go native… a bit.

20. How to pitch to a CTO
• Reduce the visible differences
• Research your subjects
• Learn enough jargon to express your needs
• Be honest about what you don’t know
• Approach as a peer
• Leave lots of grey areas

21. Pitch practice: the sequel
PITCHING YOUR IDEA TO A CTO,
ONCE MORE, BUT BETTER

22. How to quickly assess CTO capacity
1. Eye contact and meeting skills
2. Depth and breadth of professional network
3. Thinks before having an opinion on your
business ideas
4. Has interesting insights into marketing,
customer service, sales
5. Wants to seek advice from others

23. CTO non-cash compensation/rewards
• Time to identify interesting problems and
solve them

24. CTO non-cash compensation/rewards
• Public recognition of their prowess to their
peers and yours
– Twitter
– Blog
– Meetups and pitches
– Nerdy gifts, gift vouchers for thinkgeek.com,
Amazon

25. ThinkGeek.com

26. CTO non-cash compensation/rewards
• Input into non-dev business issues
– Customer marketing
– Investor relations
– Customer support
• Less business management, more process
– Briefer, more informal reporting
– Care more about the destination than the journey

27. More tools and
reading
• OK Go: Rube Goldberg machine music video
http://youtu.be/qybUFnY7Y8w
• http://mashable.com/2011/05/07/cto-startup-hiring/
• http://www.quora.com/Startup-Advice-and-Strategy/Whats-the-best-way-
to-recruit-a-CTO-to-a-start-up-company
• http://www.founder2be.com/
• http://cofounderspeeddate.com.au
• Recruitloop.com
• ‘Smart & Gets Things Done’ – Joel Spolsky
• ‘Managing Humans’ – Michael Lopp
• ‘The Mythical Man Month’ – Fred Brooks
• Thanks to CEOs Maria Sipka, Catherine Prosser for CTO-finding ideas

28. ANY QUESTIONS?
alan@thenewagency.com.au
@bigyahu
http://www.slideshare.net/bigyahu/