How to overcome technical debt 🦾
Atom CTO September newsletter
Welcome to the latest Atom CTO newsletter where we share tech news and stories for founders and entrepreneurs who are starting and scaling businesses.
Editor’s Note
Have you ever approached a software development company with a piece of tech you’ve had built and asked them to either take it over, enhance it or maintain it?
Have you been told that you need to throw everything away and start again?
I’ve been in the software development game for over 20 years and it’s always the same, founders come to me stating that they’ve been to other companies all of whom have said that in order for them to work on the tech, they have to rebuild it from scratch.
Well there is another way.
When we started Atom we made it a point to ensure that we never gave the advice to “throw it all away”, unless of course it was dire.
If you’ve got a running business and you’re making money from what you have then why throw it all away and start again? There are ways that you can keep what you have and improve on it and replace things as you have the time and money to do so.
If your car doesn’t start, you don’t scrap it and automatically buy a new one do you?
There are of course times when you deliberately set out to build something that you know you want to replace but again, you need the time and money to do so.
In this new season of the Atom CTO podcast, I’m talking to CTOs and in each discussion we touch on technical debt (amongst other things) and whether you should throw things out and start again and there is a common consensus.
If you know you’ve cut corners and that there is technical debt then own it - label it, evaluate the risk and surface it so that everyone knows about it.
If you know you have a dodgy tail light, you know you’ve got to get around to fixing at some point - it may not be today, it may not be next week but it is on your list of things to take care of and you will.
I’m very excited by this season of the podcast, it is particularly targeted at start-up founders that want to understand more about implementing tech and for techies that are looking to become CTOs, there is something for everyone and I’m sure you will learn something new in each episode.
I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I’ve enjoyed hosting it!
As ever, if you are interested in learning more or have a tech challenge you need to solve, then we are here for you! Email bhairav@atomcto.com
Bhairav Patel
Managing Director
Atom CTO
Interesting insights
Latest events and articles in tech and entrepreneurship collected by the Atom team:
The advent of the LLM (Large Language Model) is based on research that tries to model the human brain which in turn has evolved into generative AI - software which creates plausible and sophisticated text. 👁️
If things aren’t going well with a new hire, it’s often down to one of two things: competency or engagement. Engagement is something that can be addressed, but often you can’t fix competency with a conversation. 🫠
Deloitte estimates that a whopping 77% of people have experienced burnout in their current role. Jeff Dwyer has come up with an interesting theory about burnout: think Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, everyone has two health bars when it comes to work. 🍫🍫
Striving for perfection can sometimes be more detrimental than beneficial. Some businesses that focus on quality can suffer from stagnation and be held back from scaling. 🌲
Even though US VCs are sitting on over $300 billion in uninvested capital, investor caution and fears of a recession are causing major difficulties for VC portfolio companies. Read the full article about the current state of VCs. ⭐️
Inspired by the podcast with Mark Zurich, read this article about how to overcome technical debt within a startup: the predicament which occurs when the cost of future work mounts up due to making ‘work-arounds’ with the current tech. 💻
What’s your entrepreneurial style? The entrepreneurial landscape is a rich tapestry of personalities, each bringing their unique flavour to the table. This article lays out the combinations you might come across. 🦹🏾
Atom CTO Podcasts
Navigating the Business-Tech Divide 🌊 Bhairav talks to veteran CTO Mark Zurich, covering the challenges of scaling a business and growing teams and what makes a great culture.
Deep Dive into Deep Tech 🔥 Join Ernest Daddey, an experienced technical CTO who talks about trends in the deep-tech world, the importance of having a mentor and the business aspects of entrepreneurship.
Why Startups Fail 🌙 Listen to this interesting chat with Samuel Villegas from Two Five One EU who shares his insights on the different types of CTOs in the world, the impact of AI on the CTO and the challenges of being a solopreneur.
The Blueprint for Effective Change Management 👾 Hear from Ian Sutherland about the formulas which underpin successful change management as well as the importance of storytelling and how it impacts any change management project.
Going to Sifted Summit?
On from 4-5 October, you’ll find the Atom team at Sifted Summit, stand C101 - if you’ll be there too, make sure you come and say hi! 👋
New Online Start-up Tech Clinic
On 11th October, we’ll be holding our first start-up tech clinic. If you’re an early-stage founder facing tech challenges and are looking for a sounding board and expert advice on your tech, come and join us within a supportive and collaborative setting. 🕯️
Subscribe to the Atom Ventures podcast here 🎧
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Keeping in touch ✉️
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