What Are The Secrets To Building A 10X Startup Engineering Team?

The first presentation I did about my company for the venture capital fund where I was an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) was titled, “Where are the engineers?.” The point I was trying to drive home to the partnership was simple: The success or failure of my company would rest on our ability to recruit elite engineering talent.

It’s cliche, but true. An elite engineering team will produce elite products. A mediocre engineering team will produce mediocre products.

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I’d been fortunate in my career to work with elite engineers, and I’d also been fortunate in my career to work with mediocre engineers. In short, I knew what I was looking for.

If you want to build a great engineering team, then you’d better find a great VP Engineering or CTO.

Here’s what you’re looking for:

A. A great hands-on engineer.

A great startup VP Engineering is still a practicing, hands-on engineer. You can’t just manage. You actually still have to design.

But being a great engineer is not enough…

B. Your great VP Engineering has to recruit other great engineers.