The 7 Types of CTOs: Which One Does Your Company Need?

Post created in partnership between Matt Watson and Adelina Chalmers. Post originally shared on Matt Watson’s Full Scale website.

As a founder and CTO, I’ve worn many hats throughout my career.

Through my own experiences and conversations with other tech leaders, I’ve realized that the role of a CTO is far from one-size-fits-all.

There are many types of CTOs, and a “startup CTO” is nothing like Microsoft’s or Google’s CTO.

I had the pleasure of discussing this topic with Adelina Chalmers, the Geek Whisperer, in a recent episode of the Startup Hustle podcast.

She has identified seven distinct types of CTOs, each with their own unique challenges and responsibilities.

Understanding these different archetypes can help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, and place in the grand scheme of things.

#1. The Startup CTO

In the early stages of a startup, the CTO is often more of a principal engineer or engineering manager.

When working with a small team of 5–20 engineers, your primary focus is building and shipping products. You’re in the trenches, coding alongside your team and making sure things get done.

As Adelina put it, “A CTO with five engineers is really someone who’s essentially a principal engineer slash engineering manager under the label of CTO.”