Lessons Learnt In 2024 👀
Atom CTO December 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
As this is the final newsletter for 2024 I thought I'd muse on some of the things I learned this year, not only from my day job of running Atom CTO but also from my travels, acting as a fractional CTO and mentor. They come in no particular order of importance or significance.
I'm not mentioning AI
Seriously, I'm not. Not because I don't have an opinion on it, I do. However, I feel you'll hear enough people bang on about how great it is, how scary it is and how much hype there is so you don't need me pitching in.
However what I will say, based on the mentoring I've been doing this year, is that if you are a founder, sure learn about AI but don't just cling onto the buzzwords. This space is moving at lightning speed. If you want to talk seriously about the subject then learn the fundamentals and think of AI as a tool, not a solution to everything.
It's been a brutal year for those raising investment
This may not be news for those of you that have been out there trying to raise funds this year but out of the last 15 or so years where I've been working with start-ups and scale-ups, this year has been one of the roughest.
Goalposts have moved, investors have become much more selective and those companies that have won the most funding are those going for Series A and B. Early stage and later funding rounds seem way more difficult to get.
Will this trend continue?
I think it will, it seems to me that even though there seem to be more and more funds opening up, the risk appetite for most investors and funds has decreased. If you disagree then please do let me know….
Our most successful clients have bootstrapped and have followed well-worn mantras
If you have product-market fit, a solid sales pipeline and a great team running the business then the fact that the investment landscape is bad doesn't really matter. Sure your growth may be slowed but it isn't non-existent.
There's been nothing glamorous about their rise, but what has been interesting to see is that the sustainable growth they have achieved has given them the confidence to go out to market and try to win new business. Unlike other businesses I've seen, they've not seen a lack of vast cash reserves as a barrier to profitable growth.
There are still too many disreputable software agencies out there
I can't remember a previous year where we've had to deal with so many disreputable software agencies and vendors and this is for clients both large and small. We've had vendors that have caused their own delays, delivered the wrong thing and then tried to blame the business (i.e. our client) for their shortcomings. We've seen vendors not hand over the keys to the code even though they've been fully paid. We've had vendors that have tried to charge clients for things that we know they should be getting for free.
I'm not going to blame the victim here but as a business owner, more due diligence should be done on software vendors and to that point, our long term legal partner, Rustam Roy and I did a whole webinar on this: how to engage with software vendors. Please watch before you engage.
Scaling is always hard, no matter how many times you've done it before
We had a year of growth here at Atom CTO, both in personnel and projects and even though this is something the senior leadership has been through before, it was still hard - so hard that we decided to scale back and re-strategize.
Why? You make ask….
For many reasons I must say: we weren't ready to scale, we took on too much all at once, we hadn't prepared well enough in the change in roles / skills needed, we didn't have the right people in place….
The killer reason was focus. Scaling when you all have a shared vision is great but when that shared vision is too wide and encompasses too many things then the strategies become diluted and people lose sight of what they need to do to keep the company moving forward.
To solve the issue of scaling, I went back to basics - why did we start the company, who did we want to serve? From that we decided to remove the projects that weren't strategic and let attrition take care of the personnel that didn't want to be a part of our journey and hired those that did. That leaves us with a vision for 2025 that is very clear and for which the strategies will be simple to follow.
Don't do B2G unless you are Elon Musk or Peter Thiel
We’ve worked with a few B2G (business to government) businesses this year - mostly in the UK and it’s hard. Very, very hard.
Unless you are very well connected at a governmental level or you have some serious money behind you, you will find that B2G is a massive slog and you will quickly drain your resources whilst waiting for someone to make a decision and don't forget, it is never in a governmental institution's benefit to say "no" - you will be kept hanging for a while.
Whilst the UK is wallowing in self-pity, the rest of the world is moving ahead
I've done a fair bit of travelling this year - Asia, US, Europe and the one thing that sets apart those countries that are on the move to those that are not is: mindset.
Here in the UK we've had a pretty disastrous government for the past 15 years, our standard of living is the same as in 2010. If you are of middle income in the UK, you're worse off than your French or German counterparts. The new government hasn't exactly set the world alight and if you are a small business here (as is Atom CTO) then you'll be battered early next year with a raft of different tax increases.
Having said all of that though, we are still a large economy but we're thinking like a small one whereas I was in Malaysia which is a much smaller economy than the UK which is thinking like a big one, one that’s investing in its small businesses and young people.
Similarly, having been up and down the East coast of the US this past month you get the sense that even if you hate the incoming president, things are about to change and for the better. I could bang on about how in economic terms the US is doing very well but the issue is that people don't feel like they are doing well and that's all that matters. You may hate Trump, but he's giving people a sense of change.
So what does all this really mean? Well, for Atom CTO, I see new opportunities and you should for your own companies too.
Let the media be the doom-mongers, entrepreneurs and business owners should get on with finding new opportunities.
Higher taxes means that companies will need to become more efficient, workers will need to be more productive. The boom in investment in other countries opens up opportunities for companies that have the means to exploit them.
So what opportunities do I see for Atom CTO? Well, watch this space as we will be making a series of announcements over the coming weeks as we launch a raft of new joint ventures, partnerships and services during the course of 2025.
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 articles in tech and entrepreneurship collected by the Atom team:
Not a natural networker? Here’s a useful article with tips for those who don’t like to network about how you can meet new people and make some good connections. 🤹🏾
Set that deadline! Why? Because Parkinson’s Law states that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. ⏰
Founder of PostHog James Hawkins admits he was wrong about Product Managers, now he can’t do without them, but he has devised a new way for them to work in harmony with engineers. Here’s the playbook. 🐷
Despite AI being the most talked about tech trend over the past 2 years, just 6% of US companies are using AI in their products and services. 🧠
Scared about your job being replaced by AI? Billionaire Mark Cuban has predicted that AI will only have an impact on jobs which require simple yes or no decisions. ⚖
What will AI look like in 2025? From a new AI pecking order to showing ROI, read the predictions for how the AI building blocks will be firmly in their place. 🐓
Don’t let your manager care about something more that you do… the simple tip for managing up. Shared priorities result in more positive dynamics. 🌋
Atom CTO Podcasts
Our top picks from this year’s series of podcasts…
Why projects fail 🐈
While we’re in a reflective mood on the past year, it’s also important to look back at project which might have failed, and most importantly, why.
Fall in love with your problem, not your solution 💡
Tom Green from MVP development agency Verticode busts a few common myths about developing an MVP and how to ensure the best success.
Essential guide to software contracts 👨🏻💻
A commonly overlooked aspect of starting a business is the software contract which outlines the expectations between the software developer and the customer. Bhairav talks to legal expert Rustam Roy about the benefits of legal contracts for tech work.
Who are you? Respond to our reader survey! (This link works now!)
So that we can make sure we’re delivering the right content, we’d love to know more about you, our readers. Fill in to this quick (anonymous) survey to tell us more. 👂
Happy New Year from the Atom CTO Team! 🎉
However 2024 was for you, we hope that your 2025 is even more positive, prosperous and innovative.
Subscribe to the Atom CTO podcast here 🎧
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/s9k3zuz
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/vuny4pc
Google: https://tinyurl.com/4d38hsuv
SoundCloud: https://tinyurl.com/5h4ch2jh
Keeping in touch ✉️
Connect with Bhairav on LinkedIn
Send us an Email: info@atomcto.com