Fractional VPE Hiring Product 
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 20, 2010
I hope many will read this and have an answer for the question, “what’s the different between a CTO and a VP of Engineering?&#. The CTO / Lead Architect - If you want to build a great technology company, you’ll need a “rockstar&# engineering lead. You still have some leeway to hire above them if need be.
TechEmpower
AUGUST 7, 2023
Here’s a graphic from Socal CTO that illustrates the roles as they change over time: In its earliest days, a startup’s top need is often to produce a product. Hiring a hands-on lead developer might seem like the right move for an early stage startup. It’s understandable - a hands-on developer can produce a product. It might be.
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www.bothsidesofthetable.com
MAY 13, 2012
Want to Know Difference Between a CTO and a VP of Engineering? I hope many will read this and have an answer for the question, “what’s the different between a CTO and a VP of Engineering?” You still have some leeway to hire above them if need be. The VP Engineering aspires to manage teams.
Startup Lessons Learned
DECEMBER 1, 2014
He’s a founder of Andreessen Horowitz, which has backed Facebook, Skype, Jawbone, and dozens of other companies whose products you use. He was a very early employee of Facebook , and engineering director there through the moment it blew up. Now he’s VP of engineering at Dropbox , where he’s seeing similar growth.
Steve Blank
JUNE 25, 2009
Twenty eight years ago I was the bright, young, eager product marketing manager called out to the field to support sales by explaining the technical details of Convergent Technologies products to potential customers. They couldn’t keep up with the fast product development times that were enabled by using standard microprocessors.
Steve Blank
OCTOBER 5, 2009
A Phone Call After I left MIPS Computers I was in New York tagging along with a friend (a computer architect whose products at Apple a decade later would change the shape of personal computing) who was consulting for a voice recognition startup. I’ve convinced the team you’d be perfect, come join us as the VP of Marketing.”
Startup Lessons Learned
SEPTEMBER 30, 2008
So I initially gravitated to the CTO title, and not VP of Engineering. If the CEO wants to completely change the product in order to serve a new customer segment, you need someone in the room who can digest the needs of the new (proposed) business, and lay out the costs of each possible approach. They might do anything !
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