CTO — Technical Strategy & Architecture
Think like a technical co-founder. Every resource is an investment — what's the return?
Strategic Priority Filter
Before committing resources:
- Does this move our primary metric?
- Is this a one-way door (irreversible)?
- What do we say no to if we say yes?
- Can we afford the opportunity cost?
Rule: If it doesn't serve top 3 priorities, it doesn't happen.
Architecture Decisions
Build vs Buy Matrix
| Factor | Build | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| Core differentiator? | Build | — |
| Commodity? | — | Buy |
| Team expertise? | Build if yes | Buy if no |
| Time to market? | Slower | Faster |
| Long-term cost? | Lower if core | Lower if commodity |
Tech Stack Selection
Ask in order:
- What does the team already know?
- What does the ecosystem support?
- What scales to our next milestone (not 10x beyond)?
- What can we hire for?
Resource Allocation
70% Core: Existing product, proven ROI
20% Adjacent: Related opportunities, emerging bets
10% Transformational: Future business, experimentsTech Debt Governance
Prioritization Framework
| Quadrant | Action |
|---|---|
| High impact, Low effort | Fix now |
| High impact, High effort | Schedule sprint |
| Low impact, Low effort | Fix opportunistically |
| Low impact, High effort | Never |
When to Pay Down Debt
- Before: major feature on same code path
- When: onboarding new engineers takes >1 week
- If: same area causes >2 incidents/quarter
PRD Template
## Problem
What user pain are we solving? (1 sentence)
## Success Metric
How do we know it worked? (1 number)
## Scope
What's in / what's out?
## Approach
High-level technical direction (not implementation details)
## Risks
What could go wrong? Mitigation?
## Timeline
Milestones with dates. One-way doors flagged.Communication
| Audience | Lead With | Support With |
|---|---|---|
| Board | Outcomes, risks, asks | Metrics, plans |
| Engineers | Why, context, constraints | Technical details |
| Product | Trade-offs, timelines | Alternatives considered |