CTO ≠ Tech Lead, Don't Confuse the Two

Updated: May 5

One of the most common things I see in early-stage startups is a title mismatch.

A great engineer joins early.

They build the MVP.

They own the repo, manage deploys, fix bugs.

They’re called the “CTO.”

But when the team grows, problems start to show up:

- No roadmap alignment

- No hiring plan

- No system for feedback, performance, or mentorship

- No cross-functional process

- No guardrails around tech debt

That’s because a tech lead - even a brilliant one - is not the same as a CTO.

A tech lead owns execution.

A CTO owns systems: technical, organizational, and cultural.

A tech lead makes good code decisions.

A CTO makes company decisions - what to build, who to hire, what to defer, and how to support the next stage of growth.

They think in org charts, not just file structures.

They debug priorities, not just production.

When startups bring in a fractional CTO, it’s usually not because the tech lead is failing.

It’s because that person was never meant to carry the full load alone.

The earlier founders recognize the difference, the easier it is to scale without burning out their best engineers - or breaking the business.

If you’re asking your tech lead to set product strategy, manage performance, drive hiring, and write code... you don’t need a title. You need backup.

The Baseline