The Chief Technology Officer – is a rapidly evolving position in the business world. It exists the way technology itself does; adaptive, experimental and ever-changing but absolutely necessary in the current environment.
Because the position is fluid dependent on your business, and your customer needs, the job description for a Chief Technology Officer isn’t set in stone. Even your ideas when you begin the relationship will change, as you get feedback and gain experience as to what is working. Really, the idea of the CTO is a way of opening up your thought processes when it comes to your start-up.
There is no college course for a CTO. We can’t necessarily pinpoint a skill set. It’s a series of skill sets, a mélange of experience and expectation, a relationship you can see having with a person to whom you’ll entrust technology decisions. But a CTO candidate needs more than just technology experience; this isn’t just about a website or social media or mapping out the foundation of your company’s Internet presence.
Marketing, customer relations, business development – plus your individual start-up needs – will all factor into a CTO’s job. They must have technical skills but also need to manage staff effectively and efficiently. They must be able to turn an idea around quickly, while processing large amounts of information and customer feedback
The position of the CTO is one of adaptability. While you can map out your thoughts on how a start-up will progress in the beginning, there really is no way of knowing the exact outcome of roll out or customer response or market conditions. Your team should have the ability to skillfully maneuver the complicated minefield that is the beginning of any business. No one needs to be more adept at that as the Chief Technology Officer.
