What partnership recommendations would you give startup CTOs?
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Senior Director Of Engineering in Services (non-Government)2 years ago
Do your due diligence when choosing prospective partners. Someone who only competes on price might not be the best choice and could become even more costly in the end. It is important to research and understand the model that partners use and ensure it aligns with how you intend to work as a startup. How do they ensure you being able to take over long term support of what they implement is also a key question to ask so you aren't left holding the bag when they eventually are no longer on contract with you.CTO in Healthcare and Biotech2 years ago
Identify your strengths - how were you trained and who do you have on your team? What is in the critical path and would it be overcome by work, skill, or connections? Is it a temporary need or something that will be critical to future products and services as well? You could build a tree where the final answers to all of those questions either point to one of three options: hiring in talent or consultants, leveraging existing talent or investing in building internal skill, or approaching partners with a mutually beneficial proposal. If you do decide to approach a partner, make sure you know what you can do for them and why they should want to partner with you. Chief Technology Officer in Healthcare and Biotech2 years ago
Consider carefully your tech stack because what you set in place at the beginning will be potentially what your future team praises ("thank goodness we started on this foundation") or curses ("why did we do it this way?"). Perhaps explore the partners who can give you solid expertise and advice based on a proven track record.Also be sure to look for partnerships with the hyperscalers like AWS, GCP, Microsoft, Oracle ... what free credits can they give you, and importantly too, what relationships can they help you build? Check for their innovation labs, VC communities, etc. - free credits are good (great, even) but you can get far more. Don't be bashful in asking these cloud providers what they can do for you as a startup.
Also, look for products that can grow with you. For a simple example, say you're taking up a SaaS accounting package. Do you want one that's simple and cheap but tops out at a certain size business? What footing can you set where you're embracing partners and products that will scale with you, and enable your business instead of constraining it?
As one more, look for a great DevOps platform from the start. Automate, automate, automate as part of your DNA.
Chief Technology Officer in Software2 years ago
Do your due diligence and define the ideal relationship your company is looking for before reaching out to prospects. By identifying the exact areas where you need strategic partnerships, only then can you pick the right fit. Consider technology expertise, cost, and the relationship model early on.
I've heard many stories of tech partners going rogue, where they exit a startup having left back doors open. Then, because of a dispute with shareholders, they hire people to exploit those back doors. There are also situations where development partners take the code and leave the sales and marketing partners with nothing. From a development point of view, a lot of people think, "Well, we wrote the code. We spent a lot of time and effort on it, so it is ours." And if your sales and marketing partners were adding nothing, then that might be justified. But in a lot of cases, nobody's going to use your product if they don't know about it, regardless of how good it is. And for people to know about it, you need sales and marketing. As much as I would love for tech to be magically discovered by customers, that doesn't work.
So my advice would be to think carefully about the partners you choose and think carefully about how they would behave when times get tough. Success papers over a lot of cracks but when the rain comes, the paper will be washed away and the cracks will let in water.