CTO Lessons
Here are some experiences from my years of service as a CTO across various organizations.
The first Storey takes us back to when I stepped into my first role as a CTO at Tykn, right after thier tech team fired.
Our Journey from the Brink to X Milinons fund.
Story
- Cash Problem: We had only three months before running out of cash.
- Pilot failures: Two of our pilot projects had failed.
- Sparse tech team: The tech team consisted of only one developer.
- Customer dissatisfaction: Our main client, RC, was unhappy.
- Pending United Nation pilot: The UN was awaiting the delivery of the RC-Ukraine pilot project.
- Investor pressure: Investors were growing impatient, waiting for results.
- One opportunity left: We were down to our last chance to turn things around.
- Multiple companies involved: The project involved three companies — Tykn for digital identity, RC for onboarding, and a third company for money/token distribution and transfer.
Task: The challenge in front of us was enormous. We had to:
- Restoring Customer Confidence: Winning back our customer’s trust was a paramount concern.
- CEO Alignment: Successfully managing the CEO’s vast array of feature requests was critical.
- Team Building & Development: We were faced with the dual challenge of constructing a proficient tech team and developing a Beta version within an ambitious timeline of three months.
- Pilot Project Execution: Achieving a successful pilot project was our ultimate goal, a testament to our efficiency and hard work.
Action : Our plan was multi-fold:
One of the actions: Building Tech Team and Developing the Beta in 90 Days
Follow this link for the details of it https://medium.com/@mostafa.sakr4/building-tech-team-and-developing-the-beta-in-90-days-7e7138a7b741
Goodbuy for now, To Be continued adding more lessons.
Stories to be published soon:
1- Managing Over-Promise: The CEO, Customer Expectations, and Feature Overload.
2- Building Startup: Gaining Traction and Funding Before Software Development.
3- Regaining Customer Trust: The Journey Back from Failed Delivery.
4- Key Insights: from Working with Dutch Governments and The United Nations.
5- Crafting Delivery Plans: for Customers, CEOs, and Tech Teams.
6- The Power of Refusal: Learning When to Say ‘No’ to Customers.
7- The Art of Disagreeing with the CEO for the Company’s Sake..
ِAnd more