CTO in a Small StartupBryan Helmig - CTO Zapier

Story time……or, why this topic?

So what the heck is a CTO?

TL;DW - nobody really knows.

(and that’s okay)

Some Qualifiers

• Software at the core of the business• During initial growth stage, starting at

0 and up to 12 engineers• First time leading a tech organization

Upgrade Tree

…er, excusethe nerd.

solo hacker1 or 2 eng

solo hacker small team hacker1 or 2 eng 2-6 eng

solo hacker small team hacker

a bit of everything1 or 2 eng 2-6 eng

6-12 eng

solo hacker small team hacker

a bit of everything

VPE (manager)

CTO (hacker)

1 or 2 eng 2-6 eng

6-12 eng

12+ eng

12+ eng

engineers time coding confidence

solo hacker 1 or 2 100% 100%

small team hacker 2-6 ~80% 90%

a bit of everything 6-12 <50% 10-50%

VPE 12+ 0% 90%

CTO? 12+ ~80% 60%

How to navigate the tree?

Interesting Anecdotes

Embrace breaking points.

No man’s land.

Mimic structure.

Focus up.

@bryanhelmig bryan@zapier.com