Suppose you're the lead technical guy in a 2-3 person startup. You suddenly get enough funding to start hiring a larger team. Since you are one of the original

Suppose you're the lead technical guy in a 2-3 person startup. You suddenly get enough funding to start hiring a larger team. Since you are one of the original folks, it's easy to see a situation where you take on such a role as CTO. If you went from general engineer of everything to a lead role, you may have never had team leading experience before. Don't conflate a title with the actual job. You can be CEO of a lawncare company comprised of you and a friend. CTO doesn't necessitate something like CTO of google.