What is an interim CTO

The Benefits

  • Expert knowledge - whether that’s technology or product development experience, an interim CTO can help you avoid costly technical mistakes and give you an excellent overview of the technical landscape
  • Scaling - hacks and code held together with chewing gum is okay, to begin with, but there comes a time when you need a little more discipline and rigour in both your processes and engineering practices. Knowing exactly what is essential - the most lightweight of process’ that won’t overburden your team - is something of an art in itself.
  • Company culture - a good interim CTO will be very connected in the tech world. He or she should be able to help you scale your team - attracting and retaining the right talent for the stage you’re at and ensuring that you hire right the first time, rather than relying on recruiters or ‘mates’.
  • Flexibility - you may not need a CTO full-time and if you succeed with someone 1 or 2 days a week then that’s even better. It also means lower commitment - the ability to walk away quickly from someone who doesn’t fit your company, your culture or your expectations. Hire slow, fire fast as they say.

 

What does an interim CTO actually do?

To some extent, the answer to this is - whatever you need! But let’s get specific - here’s the service that inhouse.tech offers:

  • Prioritization Management - Building a product without any kind of prioritization management is a mistake we see time and again. When a team starts to grow you need to have a clear direction and priorities. Our interim CTOs can incorporate industry best practices like VFQ and Lean Startup Methodologies that will enable you to stop wasting time and focus on business your customers' needs.
  • Technology Audit - When you grow you start to find the limits of your technology choices (who can forget the Fail Whale). Our interim CTOs have extensive experience scaling systems and know what technologies to use and when.
  • Developer Relations and Recruitment - We know what a great company culture feels like from a developers point of view and how to build it. We will help you provide the right environment to enable your technology to thrive. No amount free coffee will make up for a supportive collaborative developer environment.
  • Roadmap - You've thrown together with your MVP with WordPress, some plugins, hard graft and elbow grease, but now what? What does the transition to professional product look like? Our CTOs provide guidance and recommendations that will map out the next six months for your product.
  • Fundraising - investors need to know that you've got someone with technical experience on board. Our interim CTOs represent your company in pitch decks and investor meetings. We will be there to explain what the technology strategy is for the company and what the product roadmap looks like.