Stop looking for a CTO! Start selling!
TLDR;
- Don’t start looking for a tech guy if you haven’t sold anything yet,
- Focus on selling a solution, start moving forwards and only then bring in great tech people.
At least once a month, I get a phone call from a young guy looking for a CTO or “at least” a Lead Developer. This guy has the greatest idea EVER. I won’t even mention the ones who don’t want to tell me what their big idea is (how can I help you if you don’t give me any insight?)
So this person has an idea. They want to launch their startup (everyone’s doing it nowadays), recruit talents, raise money, save the world and make it a better place, etc etc…
Q: First question: what do you need a tech guy for?
A: Because I need a platform to enable people to connect and solve their problems.
Q: Second question: Have you already found those users?
A: I met one guy the other day and another one at a startup event. They love the idea.
Q: Did they pay for it?
A: No, the service hasn’t been developed yet so I wasn’t able to provide it. But I’ll contact them as soon as it’s up and running.
The thing is, you’re not 100% sure these people will pay when you get back to them. In most cases, people don’t want to hurt you so they’re nice and polite: “Good idea”, “Interesting idea”, “Promising” is a common way to say “Good boy/girl! But the grown-ups are talking right now. Go play with your friends and come back later.”
Last week, I was asked for a quote to go in a business plan: “My cousin wants to invest. He’s got an unlimited budget but he wants clear things and figures.” Seriously?
This pattern is unfortunately very common. I meet too many people wanting to launch their business but who can’t move forwards because they haven’t found their tech guy yet.
Good news: at this point, you don’t need a tech guy.
Why delay sales by spending weeks (or even months) on software development. You don’t launch a logistics company with a truck fleet. You get in your car (or your mom’s, that’s not my business) and you start driving and delivering.
So instead of focusing on finding a tech guy, concentrate on getting to know your customer base and their needs! Tell them it’s gonna be ready in 3 months and give them special discounts (like 80%, but never ever FREE!). You’ll see if your value proposition is good enough to make them take out their credit cards.
You reckon you need a web platform? Start with a landing page (Wordpress or Wix) or a Facebook page.
You need to sell goods? Start with Shopify.
Then, and only then, you can start looking for a tech guy. At this point, you will be more aware of what your customers want and able to develop the specific features they need.
And you know what? It’ll be easier to seduce the right tech guy if you can prove that you are someone who can overcome obstacles and move sales forwards (sales is the kind of thing tech guys hate and want someone else to take care of).
Five years ago, I launched my own startup (RIP Minute Papillote). I got some feedback from potential uptakers and rushed to develop the Android app! Months in my bedroom, developing, debugging, deploying, developing, debugging, debugging …
When I released my app… Nothing happened (actually I got DDOSed by some Ukrainian servers, but that’s another story…). It was a nice app, but no-one downloaded it because it didn’t solve any real pain points. Having tech skills on board from the beginning didn’t help the business. I focused all my energy on the technical side and basically ran out of steam, while my business hadn’t moved forwards at all.
It was then that I realized I had to develop my business skills. But by that point, time had almost run out…⌛️ …
That’s all from me folks. Just a few thoughts that I hope are useful. If you’re that person looking for a tech guy right now, you’re probably having trouble taking me seriously.
Give me a call and let’s go for beer 🍻 or coffee ☕. If after that you still think I’m wrong (it can happen!), well, call me back in a year and I’ll happily listen to your feedback.
👉 More about InnoPunch here.
Maxime
