Each individual part of your team contributes to the whole and there in turn grows your business. They’re as important as your product or service, because nothing moves past the idea stage without your team.
One of the pieces of your puzzle may be hiring a Chief Technology Officer. A CTO can work on a consulting basis (Consulting CTO) or part-time (Part Time CTO); their goal is to build your technology platform, get it running to its optimal level, and then turn it over to a maintainer. The Chief Technology Officer is entrusted with a large part of your foundation – technology is the engine of most start-ups today. Hiring a CTO is one of your first “outside the box” decisions.
A CTO’s job is to create a unique technology plan for your business – to get the most of each dollar you invest in this all-important area. They are looking at who you are – and who you want to be – and tailoring the plan to your needs.
We know that there is an abundance of technology out there, and daily, people are pounded by information and advertisement. The Chief Technology Officer is there to wade through all that – the packages, the professionals, the offers and the plans – and come up with what will work for you. They must have vision and creativity, communication skills and problem solving abilities. They should be a team player, able to manage people and their enthusiasm.
This person could have any variety of backgrounds; as the CTO position is a relatively new one, there isn’t a boilerplate for their skill set. The truly exciting this is that their qualifications can be as unique to your needs as their role in your company.
Not everyone will come from a strictly technology background – in fact, that may not be exactly what you need. If your offering is service-oriented, for example, you want a CTO with the experience to understand what that means in terms of ease and functionality for your customers.
A Chief Technology Officer brings more than just information to your company – they are laying the technological foundation that you will be building on for years to come. Hire well, hire creatively and hire confidently.
