Benefits of an Interim CTO for your Startup

While many people are fully aware as to the meaning of an interim CTO, the general understanding of a Chief Technology Officer in the modern market is often misunderstood. That is to say; there are now entire companies and teams which are dedicated to the role of interim CTO, rather than just a single individual.

An interim CTO is fast becoming one of the most effective strategies for startups and a highly influential factor when it comes to establishing a new business. Simply put, these “teams” can fill in the gaps and use their knowledge or skill to accelerate a startup toward practical results which would be otherwise impossible for the technical co-founders to achieve.

The Role and benefits of an Interim CTO

Technical co-founders are usually thought of as a CTO from the very inception of a company. However, the issue being faced by many of these founders is in that the long-term vision is often overshadowed by any immediate development needs of the company. In short, the founders will often devote most of their time to short-term solutions and lose momentum regarding the main objective of their company.

On the contrary, an interim CTO is experienced when it comes to hands-on development and privy to the necessary skills or tactics which can accelerate the early stages of software development for a company. As the company starts to look for a product or market fit, the Interim CTO will help with recruiting, interviewing and transitioning into a full-time CTO role.

As already mentioned, interim CTO’s are no longer a single individual but rather a team of experienced individuals who can use their collective skills to move the company forward. Many of these team members will have first-hand experience in similar companies or at the very least, with the shared common objective in any new business – success.

More Benefits of Interim CTO for Startups

Time and expertise is arguably the most obvious benefit of an Interim CTO in a startup. After all, the amount of time spent on rather minor issues is minimized, and expertise is an ingredient for success. With this in mind, here are just a few more examples of how an interim CTO can benefit a startup:

  • Filling the gaps of expertise and knowledge that is usually unavailable in the early stages of business.
  • Help startups to save money by avoiding costly mistakes, such as choosing the wrong team members and using the wrong technologies.
  • Understanding of different strategies and how to use them to help a company with the deployment of same.
  • Ensure smooth transitioning in the early stages and replace redundant practices with a more consistent and scalable process.
  • Improve turnaround time regarding product development and provide education to prevent any future reoccurrences.

As you know, the first few months of a startup are critical. During this period, every passing day has the potential to grow or stagnate a business, and if you are without the right knowledge or skills, there may even be no viable way to progress. In fact, this is the stage which startup entrepreneurs often refer to as the Valley of Death, and unless startups wish to fall into the same depths, they should really consider the importance of an Interim CTO.