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Why Having a Technical Startup CEO Matters

17 points by terrencelui 15y ago

When you are a Startup CEO, your job is pretty much every job. Most startups these days start with one "business" person and one "technical" person. But there really are times when it is hugely advantageous to have two technical people.

herge 15y ago
To change the topic slightly, I often hear the blanket statement "Technical people do not make good managers". I wonder if this is true in other domains. As far as I know, accountants manage accountants, law firms are run by lawyers, etc. Maybe medicine is one of the rare exceptions?
- dreamdu5t 15y ago
  I think it's only a problem if management doesn't have enough expertise to delegate authority properly. If someone without technical expertise is making technical decisions, that's a problem. A good CEO knows what he doesn't know, and needs to know enough about his business to give those decisions to the right people.
- dpritchett 15y ago
  The fields you mentioned have guilds that forbid their certified members from working under anyone other than another member of the guild.
  - herge 15y ago
    Accountants are not allowed to work for someone that is not an accountant? What about a CFO with accountants under him?
dave_sullivan 15y ago
I really think technical needs a more specific form. Technical how? Engineering degree? Great programmer? Car mechanic? Math major w/ background in machine learning? Chemist? Derivatives trader? All technical, but might not be useful for your startup. There's a lot of different kinds of technical, so isn't it really someone that understands/has/can get the inputs necessary to produce the outputs necessary for your business to function that you want? Someone calling themselves "technical" is too much of a blanket statement, and it doesn't mean anything. As Warren Buffett says, "Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing." So yes, a CEO should kind of know what they're doing wrt their business and what they're making and why. If it's an internet software business, that probably means web programming knowledge along with about 20 other related/unrelated skills.
asianexpress 15y ago
If you only have two people, then yes, it would be helpful if both people could understand each other. However, as you go beyond two people, the situation changes -- perhaps the CEO needs to focus on the business side and doesn't have time for tech. Perhaps more generally, it's nice to have someone who can speak on both the tech and business sides so that they can act as translator in a way. CEO, CTO, COO, anyone with an understanding of both sides
orthecreedence 15y ago
Strongly disagree for most cases. I'm a developer. I'm a very smart developer, and very good at what I do. There are things I'm terrible at though. I'm an extreme introvert, and have trouble interacting with people. If I was to start a company with someone I would want them to handle the business side of things: fundraising, setting up partnerships, going to parties, etc. I understand that I would be participating in this to some extent, but I'd rather be the wingman. If my CEO is technical, that's great, but it's a bonus on top of him/her being good at the things I'm not good at so I can focus on doing what I'm good at. Wearing different hats in a small business is essential, but if I was partnering with someone, I'd much rather have an outgoing, business-minded person who knows how to hustle than some nerdy developer who happens to know a VC or two.
- mattmanser 15y ago
  If he knows a few VCs it probably means he can network, thus has the requisite skills you are looking for. If there are two of you sitting there too afraid to pick up the phone, then you have a problem. To hustle is to con someone by the way, usually out of money. We already have enough trouble with the word hacker...
  - orthecreedence 15y ago
    Probably right, but on the other hand there are plenty of people who know "important" people via a small network or family ties, but wouldn't fit the bill for CEO of a company. I was more talking about the types that have a few connections through dumb luck vs actually putting themselves out there. also, hustle: "to sell or promote energetically and aggressively," via Merriam-Webster.
- coffeemug 15y ago
  I think the author means having a technical CEO is preferred, but not sufficient. If the company is building software, it's immensely helpful if the person at the helm understands software, but they need to understand a whole bunch of other things as well (good products vs. good technology, how to network, how to sell, how to manage, etc.)
- 15y ago
drblast 15y ago
I think this will become an increasingly false dichotemy. Imagine if a few hundred years ago we were having this conversation, we might be saying, "Is literacy really necessary for all members of a business?" Technical literacy will soon become a requirement to successfully operate a new business, especially a tech-focused company. There are plenty of people who can do both, and they will eat the lunches of those that can't. Saying, "I'm a business guy!" is great, but not when someone is standing next to you saying, "I'm a business guy and I understand everything you talk about engineering-wise."

17 points by terrencelui 15y ago

herge 15y ago

To change the topic slightly, I often hear the blanket statement "Technical people do not make good managers". I wonder if this is true in other domains. As far as I know, accountants manage accountants, law firms are run by lawyers, etc. Maybe medicine is one of the rare exceptions?

dreamdu5t 15y ago
I think it's only a problem if management doesn't have enough expertise to delegate authority properly. If someone without technical expertise is making technical decisions, that's a problem. A good CEO knows what he doesn't know, and needs to know enough about his business to give those decisions to the right people.
dpritchett 15y ago
The fields you mentioned have guilds that forbid their certified members from working under anyone other than another member of the guild.
- herge 15y ago
  Accountants are not allowed to work for someone that is not an accountant? What about a CFO with accountants under him?

dave_sullivan 15y ago

I really think technical needs a more specific form. Technical how? Engineering degree? Great programmer? Car mechanic? Math major w/ background in machine learning? Chemist? Derivatives trader? All technical, but might not be useful for your startup. There's a lot of different kinds of technical, so isn't it really someone that understands/has/can get the inputs necessary to produce the outputs necessary for your business to function that you want? Someone calling themselves "technical" is too much of a blanket statement, and it doesn't mean anything. As Warren Buffett says, "Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing." So yes, a CEO should kind of know what they're doing wrt their business and what they're making and why. If it's an internet software business, that probably means web programming knowledge along with about 20 other related/unrelated skills.

asianexpress 15y ago

If you only have two people, then yes, it would be helpful if both people could understand each other. However, as you go beyond two people, the situation changes -- perhaps the CEO needs to focus on the business side and doesn't have time for tech. Perhaps more generally, it's nice to have someone who can speak on both the tech and business sides so that they can act as translator in a way. CEO, CTO, COO, anyone with an understanding of both sides

orthecreedence 15y ago

Strongly disagree for most cases. I'm a developer. I'm a very smart developer, and very good at what I do. There are things I'm terrible at though. I'm an extreme introvert, and have trouble interacting with people. If I was to start a company with someone I would want them to handle the business side of things: fundraising, setting up partnerships, going to parties, etc. I understand that I would be participating in this to some extent, but I'd rather be the wingman. If my CEO is technical, that's great, but it's a bonus on top of him/her being good at the things I'm not good at so I can focus on doing what I'm good at. Wearing different hats in a small business is essential, but if I was partnering with someone, I'd much rather have an outgoing, business-minded person who knows how to hustle than some nerdy developer who happens to know a VC or two.

mattmanser 15y ago
If he knows a few VCs it probably means he can network, thus has the requisite skills you are looking for. If there are two of you sitting there too afraid to pick up the phone, then you have a problem. To hustle is to con someone by the way, usually out of money. We already have enough trouble with the word hacker...
- orthecreedence 15y ago
  Probably right, but on the other hand there are plenty of people who know "important" people via a small network or family ties, but wouldn't fit the bill for CEO of a company. I was more talking about the types that have a few connections through dumb luck vs actually putting themselves out there. also, hustle: "to sell or promote energetically and aggressively," via Merriam-Webster.
coffeemug 15y ago
I think the author means having a technical CEO is preferred, but not sufficient. If the company is building software, it's immensely helpful if the person at the helm understands software, but they need to understand a whole bunch of other things as well (good products vs. good technology, how to network, how to sell, how to manage, etc.)
15y ago

drblast 15y ago

I think this will become an increasingly false dichotemy. Imagine if a few hundred years ago we were having this conversation, we might be saying, "Is literacy really necessary for all members of a business?" Technical literacy will soon become a requirement to successfully operate a new business, especially a tech-focused company. There are plenty of people who can do both, and they will eat the lunches of those that can't. Saying, "I'm a business guy!" is great, but not when someone is standing next to you saying, "I'm a business guy and I understand everything you talk about engineering-wise."