What about co-CTO? You might not want or care for the label yourself, but the reality is having the label "CTO" in a successful tech company means something. A

What about co-CTO? You might not want or care for the label yourself, but the reality is having the label "CTO" in a successful tech company means something. And while that label is not occupied I suspect you'll find individuals will continue to push for it. Just my opinion, but I think either you take the CTO role yourself (and the additional responsibilities) or you share it. I don't think leaving it hanging there is sustainable long-term even if you win this argument. I'll also add that you seem very well intentioned – the fact you want everyone to be equal and no one to having the title of CTO is admirable. But if you're not careful your good nature will be exploited. From what you've said here I worry you may already be doing more than 20% of the heavy lifting, but you're not allowing yourself to take credit for your work because you like the idea of everyone feeling equal. Please be careful about being too wedded to that. There's nothing wrong with getting the credit you deserve – whether that's a label or equity. It's inevitable that you're going to feel hard done by if you're bringing a disproportionate amount of value while not getting a fair share of the reward.