Our Blog

What does a chief technology officer do? From a 4x founder who’s been a startup CTO: the four real jobs of a CTO, and why they flip at a startup vs. a...

Outsourcing companies in the Philippines aren’t all the same. A CEO who runs one explains which are call centers, which build software, and how to cho...

A leader’s guide to software engineer levels and titles, from junior to CTO. See the full hierarchy, plus which levels your team actually needs to hir...

The real benefits of outstaffing, from a CEO who runs one: a long-term team, senior talent in weeks, honest cost math, and when it’s the wrong call.

What does a VP of engineering do? A founder who became his own bottleneck explains what the role really owns, how it differs from a CTO, and when to h...

Head of engineering vs. CTO, from someone who’s been both. What each role really does, which to hire first, and how AI is changing the job in 2026.

Almost everyone who asks me about director of engineering vs. VP of engineering wants the same thing: a clean org chart. Who sits above whom, who repo...

Most software development talent lives outside the US. Here’s where the developers actually are, and how to hire them globally without getting burned.

The first time someone quoted me a recruiting fee for a single developer, I had to read the contract twice. It was twenty percent of the hire’s first-...

You can’t out-pay the market for senior engineers. Somebody bigger will always offer more money, more equity, or a shinier logo. So if comp is the onl...

Software engineer self review examples from a 4x founder and CTO. What to write, what to cut, and the specific lines that get you promoted instead of...

Software testing methodologies aren’t one-size-fits-all. Here’s how a 4x founder chooses the right approach for your software, your stage, and your QA...

QUICK ANSWER An engineering competency matrix is a grid that maps the skills an engineer needs against the levels they move through, from junior to pr...

Most founders who ask me whether they need a CTO or a CPO are really asking something else. They feel like the product is off, or the engineering is s...

Types of software engineers, ranked by who to hire first: the roles your startup actually needs, which ones can wait, and where founders waste a hire.