Why Technical Founders Have Powerful Strengths But Face Unique Challenges
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRWsL6NCpqE
Technical founders fulfill a unique role: They’re by necessity often forced to be businesspeople while also architecting and engineering their products. In the best situation, this is an incredible advantage. If they possess the business acumen and the technical skills they need to build their startups, the timeline to growth is shorter.
However, that does not mean technical founders are primed for success out the gate. In fact, they face many unique challenges that face technical founders. Some may seem obvious. For example, engineers don’t always have the opportunity to develop sales skills or take on pure business roles before they start their companies, so they have a steeper learning curve when they take on the CEO role. However, others are less straightforward and sometimes even harder to overcome.
We interviewed Kristopher Kubicki, CIO of MarketTrack and member of Hyde Park Angels, and David Nelson, CEO of Motion.AI, both on and off camera to learn from their experiences as technical founders about what challenges and advantages come with being a technical founder.
“The largest issue I see with founders is generally a lack of focus. When you’re a new founder – or even someone who’s done this a few times, and you’re talking to a few different people who all want to give you advice on how to improve your platform, it’s easy to get into the feature creep problem,” said serial entrepreneur and current CIO of MarketTrack, Kristopher Kubicki. “Any little thing becomes a new feature in your platform and pretty soon you’re not doing the thing you set out to do.”
Still, the technical founders who can cut through the noise and only accept the most meaningful feedback have a slew of advantages that help them pitch more effectively and connect with customers faster.
David Nelson, current Founder and CEO of Motion.AI, said some of the biggest advantages of possessing strong technical skills where being able to understand customer needs and solve their problems with a product solution quickly, as well as communicate a startup’s vision even at the earliest stages.
“We have the ability to create prototypes or in supplement to things like decks that show what you’re going to offer. That is worth so much, because to actually see prototypes, to actually have tangible things that illustrate what your company is looking to do, or what your company is doing, is very good for people to be able to grasp.”