5 Mistakes of First-Time CTO’s

So you’ve got yourself a little startup. Finally, it’s time to stretch your IT wings and learn how to put out every conceivable fire (literal and figurative) that can occur in a small business environment. This is an exciting and challenging time for a team of beginning entrepreneurs. While your baby tries to get off the ground, here are some pitfalls to avoid in order to save you from financial and technological ruin in the infant stages of the business.

Outsourcing All Control

Off-site servers and cloud computing are great, especially when you’re first starting out! Partnering with companies like Bluehost and WP Engine can provide your startup with enterprise-level support and functionality from the earliest stages of your growth. However, there is a danger here. Compatibility issues with server-based software can cause outages or disruption of data flow, and when this happens you are at the mercy of your provider. As IT geeks, we love to be in control. Don’t give up so much control to third-party providers that you can’t resolve problems that will surely arise.

When you do bring your servers in-house or when moving your data center to a new location, make sure you are taking proper care to protect the equipment during storage and transit. In the information age, data is your paycheck, and replacement equipment is expensive. Invest in some hard shell rackmount cases to protect servers and components.

Investing in a Front End Too Early

Interacting directly with a database can get really messy, really fast. It’s clunky and slow, and you have to be very conservative about how many people have access. Unfortunately, in the beginning, that might be your only option.

“But wouldn’t it be nice if…”

Yes, yes it would. And you could do it, too. You have the skills to build tools for your business that would streamline processes and eliminate errors in transmission. It’s fun to develop business tools and processes, and certainly these activities can have a major impact on productivity and performance! But timing is everything with a startup. You must constantly remind yourself that time is money, and you have precious little of both right now. The time-savers may have to wait until your cash position allows for side-projects. In the meantime, CRMs like salesforce or industry-specific 3^rd party software can help you manage the data.

Undervaluing Physical Controls

Theft, vandalism, accidental data corruption or service interruption, and broken components are problems that can be largely mitigated if physical controls are adequate. As the CTO, you are directly responsible for the security of your hardware and sensitive data. In the age of national data breeches and 3-tier encryption, it’s easy to think that hackers are the chief threat to the technological element of your business. In reality, the bigger threat is the one walking into, around, and through your office. Take the time to be proactive about securing servers and preventing damage to or theft of PCs in the office. Make sure that access is as compartmentalized as your processes will allow.

Not Understanding the Business Model

Your job isn’t to fix computers, optimize communications, or develop new technology for your business. Your purpose is to help the business thrive in its area, and that means understanding how your revenues are generated, how they are expensed, and how information and technology play into that process. Make sure there are no significant barriers in communication between you, the CEO, the CFO, and the rest of senior management. Make sure your division’s goals and focus are helping the organization achieve its vision.

Too Much Tech and Too Little Leadership

The hardest leap for first-time CTO’s to make is from IT to Leadership. You now lead a team (or will, as the business grows), and teams don’t function like machines. You must understand each individual’s motivation and how to co-opt them into institutional goals. You will need to make decisions about what level of IT problems are going to fall on you, and what you can safely delegate to your team.

Whatever stage or size your business is at, it’s important to constantly develop yourself, your team, and your processes in order to help the business succeed. In the information age, you play an integral role in the development and growth of the new business. Now go make it happen.