The rule of three and ten 🔥
Atom CTO October 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
What is the right balance of personnel in a start-up?
This is a question I asked myself as I was watching the pitches for one of our recent Pitch 4 Investment events.
All of the companies were led by great founders and each of them had managed to assemble some stellar teams, one had some true giants on their deck.
But it got me to thinking - do you need high powered execs that have run billion dollar businesses to advise you on your start-up?
Now of course, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go and find the most successful people that you can to help advise you but I was more reflecting on a recent podcast with Adib Bamieh (linked below).
He made the very intelligent point that you need to have people around you that know what it is like to work in a business at the size and stage of where you are at, and have taken those types of businesses one or two stages further.
I’ve seen this in the past where CTOs have come into a start-up from say a tier 1 bank and they do not have the discipline over spend or timelines that you need at an early stage. Also, they tend to bring in their mates who are very well paid and are not always used to the rapid changes and iterations needed at an early stage company.
I have also come across numerous examples of people starting companies after working at large organisations and wondering why their staff isn’t as motivated as them to work all hours, because in their previous business people did whatever was necessary to get things done.
For one such founder, I had to point out that in his previous organisation people had big base salaries and a guaranteed bonus, whereas he was paying minimum wage and that was it.
It is the mindset more than anything else and as I go back and ponder on the start-ups that were pitching, I can’t quite help but think that those with a more balanced advisory board and executive team will do better than those with only advisors from tier 1 companies or only from other start-up ventures.
It takes a variety of viewpoints and perspectives to run a successful business.
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:
VC market sentiment isn’t looking great - following a tough year, we’re still not out of the woods yet. But on the plus side, VCs are more positive about the next 12 months. 📈
How do you network as an introvert CTO? Events seem to be organised by extroverts, but how can introverts find ways to not dread such events? Read this article by Vadim Kravcenko. 🕶️
The term ‘startup’ is a catch-all term but as a business expands and transitions, its priorities and objectives will be fundamentally different. Read more in this article about How tech startups change over time. 🕰️
Read this fascinating story about Tony Dinh, the solopreneur who following a redundancy went from zero to $45k per month in just two years. The solo entrepreneur’s story 🦾
We’re all strapped for time but the secret might be to look at the quality of time you’re able to spend on tasks as opposed to the quantity of time. Think about managing your capacity, not your time. ⏱️
Founders need to recognise where their strengths lie and in which places they might have skills gaps. Read this article over on our blog about identifying and addressing skill gaps as a founder. 🧠
A UK space agency is inviting businesses to tap into satellite data, which is set to enhance the finance, transport, and logistics sectors. 🪐
Atom CTO Podcasts
The Rule of Three and Ten in Business Growth 🌲 - Bhairav talks to Adib Bamieh, founder of Bamboo Orchard about how much increases in headcount impact communications and productivity.
Insights into Incubators and Accelerators 🏎️ - A talk with Sudeshna Mukhopadhyay, from Intellekt AI about the roles of incubators and accelerators as well as the critical aspects to consider when joining one.
Unlocking Angel Investment 😇 - Find out more about identifying investors, networking and getting through the funding process in this talk with Xavier Ballester from the Angel Investment Network.
Sifted Summit
Thanks to everyone who braved the train strikes and dropped by our stand at Sifted Summit at the beginning of the month to say ‘Hi’. 👋
New Online Start-up Tech Clinic
On 1st and 8th November, we’ll be holding an online 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. 🕯️
Pitch 4 Investment - 30th November
We’ve taken over the reins from Othership for the popular online monthly event Pitch 4 Investment which brings together promising startups who pitch to a panel of experienced investors for potential funding as well as valuable feedback. You can pitch your startup for £50 or watch it all live online for free. Sign up here.
Subscribe to the Atom Ventures podcast here 🎧
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Keeping in touch ✉️
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