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How should I position/sell myself to this startup? CTO, Product Development? Lead Developer?

  • The Situation: There is a new start-up in my city, a city not known for startups, that just raised a small round of funding. This startup is looking to expand, and planning on hiring some developers, operations team members, and creatives (their exact words not mine).  Being honest, their product is bad. The site, is weak, and the overall purpose of the site isn't very well defined.  Their mission is pretty cliche as well. That's the bad stuff. The good stuff, the founder is smart, and understands that his product is weak (I think), our city is still impressed by websites in general, so the startup has local support.  The support around this startup has plenty of money and connections, and will give them a lot more help at the first sign of life/ acceptance from the rest of the world.  I have some ideas, that can give this Startup the direction it needs to really use the momentum it has fostered and become a well defined organization.  My background: My problem is my background knowledge is hard to quantify, and isn't one where I can show a large portfolio or a huge record of success.  I have spent the last 7 years of my life studying business and startups and particularly web based technologies. Pretty much striving for expert academic and real-world knowledge without taking the traditional Academia route.  I spend my time conceptualizing and drawing out the execution of business ideas and digging through CS and MBA oriented textbooks to gain an academic understanding of things. I have spent the last 2 years learning how to analyze, design and develop software.  My education in this arena has been a combination of course work from an online university and independent study.  I am an autodidact by nature, usually becoming competent  with skills I need, as I need them (competent enough to execute the task I need the skill for).  But when trying to learn to program and develop software in order to build out some concepts that I had been toying with, I quickly realized that I lacked too much of a basic understanding in programming, and really computer systems in general to be able to find my way through the ocean of information out there and become competent in the development of web based software.  I decided to enroll in an online university so that I can get a starting point for my education in software design. This University focused on Java as the language for learning to develop software.  Using my foundation in programming from this University allowed me to be able to pick up through the vast amount of information on the web, exactly the skills I thought I would need for my career.  My focus has been: JavaScript Ruby on Rails Database Design - User interaction/interface design (not really learning how to implement it, but learning what makes for good design. Following the trends and innovation in patterns) - Overall a deep focus on what startups have been successful and what has given them their edge in their vertical.   -- is it the front-end design, the UI, the information architecture, the culture they developed around it, or so something else? This is what I do, and as I said earlier I can't really quantify my skill set in this, or easily define the skill set I've been trying to develop.  And while I can program and implement a lot of my ideas, for this startup, I can't say I'm the best programmer for the job, as there are JavaScript and RoR developers that would do laps around me.  But I feel as if, I would  know exactly the kind of developers to hire, and which direction to lead them in for his project.  I would be able to take the companies vision (which I plan to alter) and make sure its being translated into a strong implementation.  I could make sure we leverage the correct technologies to shorten our development cycles and get further quicker. My question is about how does someone like my self, with an excellent  idea, and the knowledge to implement these ideas given the resources communicate their value to a startup.  Should I create a quick presentation to try and sell my campaign, or have an earnest conversation with the founder?  Should I create Use Case diagrams and a database scheme diagram to show that my ideas are more than just "it would be cool if..." thoughts?  What is over kill? What is necessary for a guy with no visible "credentials" to illustrate to a founder of a company looking for good ideas that you are a guy to add to the team?  Any help whatsoever would be awesome.  Maybe, I'm harping too much on my lack of background and just need to let the ideas, and my knowledge speak for itself? I should also mention that I have a great mutual contact between me the founder and the lead investor behind the company.  So, the opportunity to pitch myself and my value is matter of a phone call. God bless you if you read this question, I know it's long winded.

  • Answer:

    It's simple. Be yourself...Follow your instincts and if it's meant to be then it'll happen. Startups are high risk and high reward. If you took this much time to write this question then I believe you should give it a shot because you are passionate and just looking for more people to give you a vote of confidence.   GO FOR IT!

Amish Shah at Quora Visit the source

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It sounds like you want to do by managing the vision and building on that is Product Management. Bonus points that you could probably help build a prototype, but if your coding skills are still basic/intermediate, you probably don't want to bank on them for getting you the jobs. Positioning yourself too high up (Cxx, VP, Lead Developer etc.) without any credentials will kill your chances of getting to talk to the people you want and your resume will just be tossed out. If you can get in as a lower level Product Management role, you can still affect the vision while working within your qualifications. Getting an interview should be the next step. The interview seems like the right venue to  "let your ideas and knowledge speak." It is overkill to slam them with all your ideas and use cases without having a two way discussion. (Maybe they have information on the inside that you don't about why they went a certain direction, for example.) This sort of discussion can come out quickly in the interview - so focus on getting in front of the people who are making the hiring decision for any product roles. If they're not hiring product people, you could also try to get in a support roles. Often the founder will have someone who's defining the product vision already, so the young company might not need a dedicated product manager. That doesn't mean there's not other ways you can help in a different role - product support would be a good way to leverage your skills for a position that they'll likely need to fill. You can still talk about your enhancement ideas or vision changes in the interview, and mention you'd love to grow into the product role. If nothing else you get in front of them and have a chance to run some of your ideas by your interviewers. Too long didn't read summary: You want to be a Product Manager for them. You should interview with them and express some of your ideas to the team. If they're not hiring for Product roles, get an interview in another department that you're qualified for and try to move into the Product team.

Paul Unterberg

You need to sell your competency.  Since you dont have a degree, this needs to be in the form of completed projects that you can show and talk about. If you don't have that much, then you are probably over-reaching.  The question will be, what other choices do they have?  If they take  chance on you you HAVE to be successful so be prepared to work your ass off and do whatever it takes.  You cant afford a failure in that sort of situation. I think CTO is over-reaching, period.  If you have the stuff to show, then you might try for lead, but keep in mind that if they already have a team, you will have to impress that team enough that they wan to follow you.  Just having the title means nothing if they wont.  And walking in to an existing team and opening with "your stuff sucks and your doing it all wrong" isn't likely to make you very popular. Honestly, the best approach might simply be to walk in and say,"I see these problems and I think this is what I can do for you" and let the management dcide where they think you might fit, if anywhere.  When you do that, also go in on a mission to *hear*, not just talk.  There may be a lot of reasons for why there are wher they are that you don't know.

Jeff Kesselman

It seems like you don't need them... you are the product person and the developer altogether. If you communicate that to them, they will not hire you. And really, what do you need them for? If you have the vision and capability, go ahead build your own product.

Anonymous

You describe yourself as an autodidact, if this is an accurate self-description (and not just a figure of speech) I have to agree with the others that CTO or any other kind of leadership role is probably not a good fit. True autodidacts do not generally make good "team players." However, they are unique people with unusual skill sets that can be highly valuable to an employer. The trick is whether or not the employer recognizes you for who you are or just writes you off as an arrogant jerk (which I am embarrassed to say was my first impression of you) The advice about "being yourself" is very sound, a prospective employer either recognizes your talent and finds (or creates) a space for you in the organization, or he/she doesn't and that's that. I will say I believe you are overthinking this, just be yourself and go for it, and don't limit yourself to just this one opportunity.

John Porter

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