Matt Watson
186 posts.
- Get the Size of a Directory in Linux the Easy Waydu -sh for the quick answer, ncdu for the cleanup, df for the disk itself: every command for checking directory size in Linux, plus why du and df never agree.
- Vim Search and Replace: The Ultimate GuideOne :%s command replaces every match in a file before a find dialog would even open. The Vim substitute patterns worth the muscle memory: flags, ranges, capture groups, and multi-file edits.
- Because of AI, You Need a New Development TeamYour existing team is buried in the complexity of your existing product. AI rewards the team with a blank slate. Most companies don't have one.
- The Offshore Problem That Starts With a "Yes"The stories about offshore "not working" are rarely about skill. They are about an invisible communication gap, and it starts the moment someone says yes.
- The Focus Five: Five Questions to Know If Your Team Is Actually Making ProgressAlmost nobody trains you to be an engineering manager. You were good at writing code, so you got handed more people and more meetings, and one day the job…
- Why Nobody Knows What Engineering DoesAt VinSolutions, I was famous for one thing that had nothing to do with writing code. Every single time we shipped a release, I posted about it. On social…
- Employee Turnover Is the Silent Dev Team KillerEmployee retention is a silent killer for dev teams and AI is making it worse. Teams track velocity, headcount, and tooling spend down to the decimal, and…
- Upskilling Developers in the AI EraThe job we spent twenty years hiring for is the one AI is best at. For most of my career, the path was to go narrow. You became the React person, or the…
- How to Become a Senior Software Engineer? I hired 1,000 of them.I have hired somewhere north of a thousand software engineers. At VinSolutions, at Stackify, and now at Full Scale, where we build dedicated development…
- The AI Last Mile Is Actually the First MileA few weeks ago I wrote about my friend who discovered Claude Code and disappeared for two months. He sent me screenshots of five Claude Code sessions…
- The pattern I see managing remote teamsA founder told me a few weeks ago that his remote team wasn’t working out. Good developers on paper, he said, but the work kept missing the mark, and he…
- AI Won’t Make You a 10x DeveloperA year ago I was the guy rolling his eyes at the AI demos. I tried to use it back then to score sales leads, and I couldn’t get it to reliably do…
- Developers are Turning Into AI Vampires. I’m One of Them.I slept with my laptop last night. Open, on the bed, with a Claude session still running. For the last week and a half I’ve carried it everywhere. It…
- How Karpathy Solved the #1 AI ProblemIn January, Andrej Karpathy (the guy who helped start OpenAI and ran AI at Tesla) wrote a short post on X about how his programming workflow had changed.
- Vibe Coding Entrepreneurs Don’t ScaleEvery other LinkedIn post these days is some flavor of “I built a SaaS over the weekend with Claude Code and I don’t need engineers anymore.”
- AI Killed the BacklogHere’s a test for any engineering leader reading this: Delete your backlog. I’m serious. Delete the whole thing.
- AI Writes 100% of the Code. You’re Still Liable for 100% of It.There is a new bet running through every engineering org I talk to in 2026. “AI can write all the code.” How much can you trust AI is the real question.…
- Software Developers Are Replacing Software EngineersSoftware developers are going to replace software engineers. That isn’t a typo. It’s what AI is actually doing to our industry, and most people don’t see…
- AI Is Replacing Engineering Tasks, Not JobsEvery CTO I talk to has a version of the same conversation happening on their team right now. An engineer is scared. They’ve seen what Claude Code can do.…
- The 4th Generation of AI Software Engineering Is HereSoftware engineering has changed more in the last two years than in the previous ten. Most people are still catching up.
- AI Exposed What Your Interview Process Already MissedThe industry is having a full-on panic attack about what AI means for hiring engineers. Do we still test for coding skills? Do we need different technical…
- What Big Companies Get Wrong (and Right) About Creative EngineeringYou don’t scale creativity with headcount. You scale meetings.You scale process.You scale compliance. Most big companies do this and call it “maturity.”…
- “It’s Done” Is a Lie Without Shared UnderstandingThere’s a dangerous moment in most engineering teams. It’s the moment someone says:“It’s done.” But it’s not in production.There’s no test coverage.The…
- The Skill That Defines Great Engineering Leaders (But Rarely Gets Taught)When I first became a CTO, I thought my job was to be the smartest technical person in the room. Write the best code. Architect the system. Solve the…
- The MVP Mindset Is Dead. Build for Validation, Not Version One.It’s never been faster to build software. That should feel like a gift for product teams. But often, it turns into a trap.
- When Product Strategy Turns Into Lord of the FliesYou’ve got smart people. A clear goal. A roadmap full of initiatives. So why does everything still feel... off?
- AI Won’t Save the 20% of Developer Time You’re Wasting on FrictionEvery engineering leader wants their team to move faster.Ship more. Deliver with fewer headaches.But there’s one brutal truth we can’t ignore:
- You Can’t Hire Product Thinkers in the AI Era with Execution Interviews AloneWhen any LLM can solve your coding problem in five seconds, interviewing for “the right answer” is interviewing for the past. What we need now are…
- Delegation Isn’t Done Until You Clear These 5 HurdlesHanding off tickets doesn’t buy you a good night’s sleep. I learned this the hard way: 2 a.m., phone buzzing, production fire.
- How I Vet a Technical Co-FounderWhen a founder tells me they “just need a CTO,” my first question is which one. The job title covers everything from enterprise deal-maker to scrappy…
- What Kind of CTO Are You Becoming?Most CTOs don’t get hired into the role. They drift into it. One day you’re the lead engineer, solving hard problems, earning trust with technical…
- How to Build Feedback Loops Your Engineers Will Actually Use Today Product Driven finally hits the shelves. I spent 500-plus hours on this thing, yet the moment it goes live I’m reminded of a simple truth: shipping…
- 500 Hours, 20 Years: What I Learned Writing the Engineering Leadership PlaybookI slit the bubble wrap, lifted one copy, and felt the weight of two decades of late‑night stand‑ups, production fires, and customer calls—condensed into…
- When Engineers Aren’t the Bottleneck Anymore, Your Process Better Catch UpWe spent years trying to make engineers faster. What happens when they actually are? For the past two decades, engineering leaders have been obsessed with…
- You Can’t Build for Users You Don’t UnderstandWhat if the way you’re building your product is the very thing keeping it from working? That’s the conversation I had with Clarence Tan, co-founder and…
- The Feedback Ladder: From Code Review to Customer InsightsI’ve worked with hundreds of developers over the years. Some build fast but never seem to deliver what matters.
- Product-Led Doesn’t Mean Feature-RichWhen most people hear “product-led growth,” they picture a slick, feature-packed app with a frictionless free trial and a viral loop baked into onboarding.
- What It Means to Be an AI-Ready Engineering LeaderYou don’t need to have a full AI roadmap.You do need to go first. That’s what I’ve learned as we’ve started introducing GenAI tools across our teams.
- If You’re Missing This, Your Best Engineers Are Quietly Checking OutNo one announces it.There’s no “I’m disengaged” Slack message.No red flag in the sprint report. But you can feel it.The edge is gone.The curiosity starts…
- Manual Testing Is Too Slow. Scripted Testing Is Too Fragile. Here’s What’s Next.There’s a quiet war happening in QA right now. On one side: Manual testing.✅ Flexible✅ Human judgment🚫 Slow🚫 Expensive🚫 Doesn’t scale
- Why Visibility Breaks Down as Engineering Teams ScaleYou used to know everything. Every pull request. Every commit. Every roadmap decision. When the team was five people, you didn’t need a dashboard. You…
- How to De-Risk Early-Stage StartupsA lot of startup founders think capital is the biggest risk. But if you’ve been in this game long enough, you know:Money isn’t the bottleneck.Capability…
- The Five Modes of a Modern CTO (And Why Most Only Master One)Nobody tells you this when you take the CTO role: You're not just responsible for the tech. You're responsible for five jobs at once—each with its own…
- You Don’t Need a PM to Own the ProductYou’re growing fast.The backlog’s overflowing.You need help making sense of it all. So you hire a product manager.
- How to Scale Yourself as a Builder-Turned-LeaderIn most startups, the first developer becomes the de facto CTO. One day, you’re writing code. The next, you’re in investor meetings, managing people,…
- You’re Hitting Every Metric. And Yet... You’re standing in the middle of the war room. The whiteboard’s packed with diagrams. JIRA’s lit up like a Christmas tree. Slack’s pinging nonstop with…
- How to Build Empathy on Teams That Never Meet the UserThere’s a moment in this conversation with Anton Zaides I keep thinking about. He’s telling me about flying drones.
- Your Team Might Be Doing All the Right Things for the Wrong ReasonsEarly in my career, I thought if a team hit their deadlines, showed up to standups, and shipped on time, everything was good.
- "I Could Never Speak at Conferences" and Other Things Tech Experts Tell ThemselvesWhen I saw Cory House speak at my first tech conference, I immediately thought, "I could never do that." He seemed so natural on stage, sharing deep…
- You’re Not the Bottleneck AnymoreIt used to be that being an engineering leader meant being the team’s unblocker. Your calendar was a war zone of standups, backlog grooming, roadmap…
- The Tech Leader's Guide to Managing Up, Down, and AcrossHow do you get multiple stakeholders to agree on anything in a business? It's one of the most challenging problems technical leaders face today. When…
- What “Done” Should Actually Mean on Product Engineering TeamsA few years ago, I was running a fast-growing SaaS company when my CEO dropped a bombshell on me: “Matt, I need you to stop shipping new features.”
- When to Kill Your "Working" Product and Start OverThere's a painful truth that most tech founders don't want to hear: sometimes a product that's "working" still needs to die.
- When to Kill Your "Working" Product and Start OverThere's a painful truth that most tech founders don't want to hear: sometimes a product that's "working" still needs to die.
- Engineering Managers Hold the Key to Effective Team CollaborationSome people love daily standup meetings. Others hate them with a passion. I love them. And if you don't, it might be because you're managing them wrong —…
- Engineering Managers Hold the Key to Effective Team CollaborationSome people love daily standup meetings. Others hate them with a passion. I love them. And if you don't, it might be because you're managing them wrong —…
- Why Technical Founders Fail at SalesThe late-night text message lit up my phone: "I just can't do this sales thing. I'm an engineer, not a salesperson."
- Why Technical Founders Fail at SalesThe late-night text message lit up my phone: "I just can't do this sales thing. I'm an engineer, not a salesperson."
- Engineering Teams Need Craftsmen, Not Just Artists or ScientistsWhen I'm hiring developers at Full Scale or building teams for my own ventures, I always face the same question: what kind of people truly build…
- Engineering Teams Need Craftsmen, Not Just Artists or ScientistsWhen I'm hiring developers at Full Scale or building teams for my own ventures, I always face the same question: what kind of people truly build…
- Engineer to Founder: The Critical Mindset Shift Most Developers MissHave you ever tried to teach a fish to see water? That's what it feels like trying to explain the business side of technology to someone who's spent their…
- Engineer to Founder: The Critical Mindset Shift Most Developers MissHave you ever tried to teach a fish to see water? That's what it feels like trying to explain the business side of technology to someone who's spent their…
- Why Most CTOs Fail: The Hidden Trust Crisis Between Tech Leaders and CEOsI've had multiple founder friends call recently with serious startup challenges. Despite different businesses, they all shared a common thread - tension…
- Why Most CTOs Fail: The Hidden Trust Crisis Between Tech Leaders and CEOsI've had multiple founder friends call recently with serious startup challenges. Despite different businesses, they all shared a common thread - tension…
- Why Your Developers Should Talk Directly to Customers: Lessons from AWSAt AWS, there was an engineer who became the face of Elastic Beanstalk after spending more time on Twitter and Stack Overflow than he did coding. The…
- Why Your Developers Should Talk Directly to Customers: Lessons from AWSAt AWS, there was an engineer who became the face of Elastic Beanstalk after spending more time on Twitter and Stack Overflow than he did coding. The…
- Why The Best Developers Are Already Great at Sales (They Just Don't Know It Yet)I can already hear the collective groan from developers everywhere. "Sales? Me? No way." Most engineers would rather debug an infinite loop than pick up…
- Why The Best Developers Are Already Great at Sales (They Just Don't Know It Yet)I can already hear the collective groan from developers everywhere. "Sales? Me? No way." Most engineers would rather debug an infinite loop than pick up…
- Why Your Most Logical Engineers Struggle with Ownership (And How to Fix It)Your smartest, most logical engineers aren't failing to take ownership because they lack skills. Something much deeper is happening.
- Why Your Most Logical Engineers Struggle with Ownership (And How to Fix It)Your smartest, most logical engineers aren't failing to take ownership because they lack skills. Something much deeper is happening.
- Great Engineers Make Poor CTOs: A Hard Truth About Technical LeadershipBuilding successful software companies requires exceptional talent at every level. But after founding multiple tech companies and investing in dozens…
- Great Engineers Make Poor CTOs: A Hard Truth About Technical LeadershipBuilding successful software companies requires exceptional talent at every level. But after founding multiple tech companies and investing in dozens…
- Your Best Engineers Could Be Your Biggest Communication Liability (And How to Fix It)The same traits that make someone an exceptional engineer can sometimes make them a significant liability when it comes to team communication.
- Your Best Engineers Could Be Your Biggest Communication Liability (And How to Fix It)The same traits that make someone an exceptional engineer can sometimes make them a significant liability when it comes to team communication.
- The Hidden Scaling Crisis Every Startup CTO Must OvercomeLet me tell you about a conversation I recently had with my friend Rachel that perfectly illustrates a crisis I'm seeing across the startup landscape.
- The Hidden Scaling Crisis Every Startup CTO Must OvercomeLet me tell you about a conversation I recently had with my friend Rachel that perfectly illustrates a crisis I'm seeing across the startup landscape.
- The Second Mover Success FormulaHave you ever noticed how many "revolutionary" products actually weren't the first of their kind? Facebook wasn't the first social network.
- The Second Mover Success FormulaHave you ever noticed how many "revolutionary" products actually weren't the first of their kind? Facebook wasn't the first social network.
- Are You a Peacetime or Wartime CTO? Your Company Needs BothHave you ever noticed how different CTOs seem to have completely different jobs? Some are deep in the code, making rapid-fire decisions about architecture…
- Are You a Peacetime or Wartime CTO? Your Company Needs BothHave you ever noticed how different CTOs seem to have completely different jobs? Some are deep in the code, making rapid-fire decisions about architecture…
- Stop Writing Better Docs. Start Having Better Conversations.Finding yourself frustrated with endless requirement documents that still lead to misunderstandings? You're not alone.
- Why Your Engineering Team Needs a Product Manager, Not a Project ManagerBuilding scalable SaaS platforms requires more than just efficient engineering teams. Recently on Product Driven, I had a conversation with Jerel, our…
- Stop Talking About Tech Stacks in Executive MeetingsTechnical leadership is a journey of constant evolution. Recently, I sat down with Adam Horner, a renowned CTO coach who has worked with hundreds of…
- Zero to $50M: 5 Hard-Won Lessons Scaling a Global Development TeamIn 2018, I faced a familiar challenge that many technical leaders encounter - Amazon and Microsoft had recruited away my best developers, and another key…
- Demo Days Bridge the Gap Between Engineers and ExecutivesSoftware engineers often operate in their own world, heads down writing code, while executives are focused on business metrics and market opportunities.
- How to Run Effective Quarterly Developer ReviewsBuilding and maintaining a high-performing development team requires more than just hiring great talent. One of the most crucial aspects is having a…
- The Hidden Costs of AI Development Tools: What CTOs Need to KnowAs a CTO who has spent decades in the trenches, I've seen countless "revolutionary" tools promise to transform how we build software. Today, AI coding…
- The Three Faces of Technical Leadership: Understanding the Critical Roles That Drive Engineering SuccessAs a CTO and startup founder for over 20 years, I've experienced firsthand how technical leadership evolves as organizations grow.
- The Cultural Guide to Global Software TeamsBuilding global software teams is more complex than just finding talented developers - it's about understanding and embracing cultural differences.
- From Coder to Leader: The Challenging Transition Technical Founders Must MakeBuilding great software is about solving complex technical problems, but scaling a successful software company requires solving an even more complex…
- Your Customers Are Bad at Explaining Their Problems (And That's OK)Building great software products is a lot like being a doctor. Your customers come to you with symptoms, but they rarely tell you the underlying condition.
- Your Users Hate Extra StepsLet me share a brutal truth I've learned after decades of building software products: Your users don't care about your clever features if they have to…
- The Art of Saying No to Feature Requests: A Guide to Making Better Product DecisionsOne of the most challenging aspects of building software products is learning when to say no. I've had countless conversations with developers and product…
- Building Features in Silence: Why Product Marketing Needs to Be Part of Your Development CycleIf a development team ships a new product feature and no one tells the customers about it, did it really ship?
- Why Industry Knowledge Trumps Technical Expertise in 20252025 is the year CTOs must evolve or risk becoming obsolete. I recently spoke with CTO coach Adelina Chalmers about this transformation, and one thing…
- The 5-Minute vs 5-Day Rule: Finding the Sweet Spot for Developer SupportOne of the hardest challenges in managing software teams is knowing when to step in and when to step back. Recently, I had an interesting conversation…
- The Asynchronous Myth: Why Some Development Teams Need Face Time to SucceedThe push for fully asynchronous development teams is hurting product quality. Don't get me wrong - I hate unnecessary meetings as much as anyone.
- The Hidden Cost of Not Having Technical LeadershipI recently spoke with a founder who spent $350,000 on development agencies before realizing her life partner was the CTO she needed all along.
- Stop Polishing the Floor: When Perfect Becomes the Enemy of LaunchRecently, I spoke with a first-time founder who perfectly illustrated a challenge I see repeatedly: the endless pursuit of perfection preventing product…
- When Your Tech Stack Dies: Lessons in Product EvolutionEvery tech leader's nightmare came true for Todd Watson when Apple effectively killed Flash, forcing him to completely rebuild his website builder…
- Breaking Free from the Request Ticket TrapI've noticed a dangerous pattern that's killing engineering productivity. Most developers are stuck in a cycle of passively waiting for tickets, following…
- When to Use Project-Based vs. Staff Augmentation Models: A Decision Framework for Technical LeadersAfter 20+ years as a CTO and founder, I've learned there's no one-size-fits-all approach to offshore development. The key is matching your engagement…
- The Art of Scaling: Why Growth Stage is Easier Than Startup PhaseGetting to your first million in revenue is infinitely harder than growing from one million to ten million. After founding multiple companies and…
- The Hidden Force Tearing Your Product and Engineering Teams ApartBuilding great software products requires strong collaboration between product and engineering teams. Yet in company after company, I've witnessed an…
- Building Great Software Products Without Technical Co-Founders: A Modern Approach to DevelopmentThe conventional wisdom in tech has always been clear: if you're building a software company, you need a technical co-founder.
- The Reality Check on AI Startup Investments: Hype, Hope, and Hard TruthsAs someone who's been building software companies for over two decades, I've seen my share of tech hype cycles. But nothing quite compares to the current…
- The Real Requirements for Your Startup's Technical LeaderI've seen this story play out hundreds of times over the last 20 years. A founder has a brilliant idea for a SaaS product.
- QA is Your Secret Product WeaponRemember when QA was that team at the end of the development process that everyone dreaded? They were the ones who would inevitably find problems right…
- Traditional Outsourcing is Broken: Why Modern Companies Are Switching to Staff AugmentationImagine hiring a developer who works directly with your team, shares your company culture, and feels like a true employee – except they're halfway around…
- Why Developers Need to Build Their Own IKEA Furniture 🔧When was the last time you assembled a piece of IKEA furniture? You probably spent hours decoding those infamous instruction manuals, wrestling with…
- Why Product Driven? Bridging the Gap Between Code and Business Value After recording over 1,300 episodes of Startup Hustle and building multiple successful tech companies, I noticed something that kept me up at night:…
- Breaking Free from Code Tunnel Vision: A CTO's Guide to Broader ThinkingAs a CTO and longtime developer, I've noticed a common pattern: developers often get trapped in what I call "code tunnel vision."
- The Secret to Building Better Software? It's Not More CodeIt's not uncommon for software developers to become so engrossed in the intricacies of code that they lose sight of the broader business perspective.
- Welcome to the New Product Driven Startup Hustle by Full ScaleBig changes are coming to Full Scale’s Startup Hustle newsletter! Startup Hustle started as a way to introduce startups and entrepreneurs to Full Scale…
- What is a Mighty Middle Startup? Every Founder's GoalWe often hear about unicorns – those rare companies that reach billion-dollar valuations and dominate headlines.
- Founder Mode: My 20 Years of Experience Stuck In It!Today, I want to dive deep into a topic that's been a defining part of my entrepreneurial journey: founder mode.
- From Founder to CEO: 10 Key LessonsI have an exciting announcement! In addition to the Startup Hustle, I have launched a new YouTube channel dedicated to the intersection of startups,…
- Startup Investor Events: Excellent Regional Events to Meet All the FundsAs a founder, raising capital can feel like an uphill battle. You spend hours researching investors, crafting the perfect pitch, and sending out emails -…
- The 4 Founder Super Powers: Understanding Your Strengths and WeaknessesWhat is your superpower? What is your kryptonite? As a startup founder, I've learned that understanding yourself is just as crucial as understanding your…
- How to Use Debt to Scale StartupsMany startup founders start their companies chasing venture capital. They have wild dreams of raising millions and creating unicorn companies.
- The Founder's Dream vs the American DreamThe American Dream has long promised that anyone, regardless of background, can succeed through hard work and determination.
- Why Startup Copycats Fail & Your Secret WeaponMany startup founders are terrified of someone copying their idea. At the same, many startup founders are copying someone else’s idea and making it better.
- Why the Inc. 5000 Is A Big DealThe startup hustle has most of us in go-go-go mode all the time. Today is a day that we stop and celebrate with our teams!
- How to Avoid Startup Burnout & Find FulfillmentBurnout is a top cause of startup failure. Startups can take a serious toll on your physical and mental well-being.
- Idea or Execution? Nope - It's Distribution!Is it the idea or the execution? I’m sure you have heard that debate a few times. There are great arguments on both sides. We can agree that both are…
- The Startup Remarkability FormulaHow do you make your business stand out in a crowded market? I had the pleasure of speaking with Rich Brooks, president of Flyte New Media, on the Startup…
- Top Startup Hiring ChallengesBusiness success or failure always comes down to talent. You need the best people you can find and afford. As a startup, everything is also working…
- Why Startup Urgency Matters👋 Hello, welcome to the Startup Hustle! I’m your guide, Matt Watson. I share weekly tips from my 20+ years of startup founder experience and stories from…
- My 3rd Startup Exit: At Capacity Sold to CAMP DigitalI am excited to announce that I have exited my company, At Capacity. This is the third company I have founded and exited over the last twenty years.…
- Hidden Complexities of Tech Startups👋 Hello, welcome to the Startup Hustle! I’m your guide, Matt Watson. I share weekly tips from my 20+ years of startup founder experience and stories from…
- Ask for Startup SuccessIf you want something, you have to ask for it. We often get caught up in our own heads, convincing ourselves that we're not ready, that we don't deserve…
- Startup Grand Opening DayHave you ever visited a business on grand opening day? The energy is palpable. ✅ The staff is eager to serve. ✅
- The Danger of Raising Too Much CapitalImagine this… you've just raised a massive round of funding for your startup. You're ecstatic, and you feel like you're on top of the world!
- How Startups Create a New Product CategorySomeone recently approached me about a new product idea. It was a company called
- Effort is the Hack to Startup Success👋 Hello, welcome to the Startup Hustle! I’m your guide, Matt Watson. I share weekly tips from my 20+ years of startup founder experience and stories from…
- What Makes a Good Startup CTO?👋 Hello, welcome to the Startup Hustle! I’m your guide, Matt Watson. I share weekly tips from my 20+ years of startup founder experience and stories from…
- Building a "Better Product" Isn't Enough👋 Hello, welcome to the Startup Hustle! I’m your guide, Matt Watson. I share weekly tips from my 20+ years of startup founder experience and stories from…
- The Founder's First Job: Driving Sales Through Thought Leadership👋 Hello, welcome to the Startup Hustle! I’m your guide, Matt Watson. I share weekly tips from my 20+ years of startup founder experience and stories from…
- Delete Your Product Backlog. Do this Instead!👋 Hello, welcome to the Startup Hustle! I’m your guide, Matt Watson. I share weekly tips from my 20+ years of startup founder experience and stories from…
- Founder-Market Fit: Why Are YOU the Right Person to Start a Company?👋 Hello, welcome to the Startup Hustle! I’m your guide, Matt Watson. I share weekly tips from my 20+ years of startup founder experience and stories from…
- Harvard MBA vs Startup Founder Experience: Which is Better?👋 Hello, welcome to the Startup Hustle! I’m your guide, Matt Watson. I share weekly tips from my 20+ years of startup founder experience and stories from…
- Is Your Product-Market Fit Problem a Marketing or Product Problem?👋 Hello, welcome to the Startup Hustle! I’m your guide, Matt Watson. I share weekly tips from my 20+ years of startup founder experience and stories from…
- 2 Keys to Achieve Work-Life BalanceWelcome to the new Startup Hustle Newsletter! I have renamed my previous Visionary CTO newsletter. I am also the host of the Startup Hustle podcast and…
- The Danger of Separate Product and Engineering TeamsMany organizations have adopted a structure with separate product management and engineering departments. While this division of responsibilities might…
- The Pitfalls of Low-Code/No-Code SolutionsIn a recent episode of the Startup Hustle podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nick Farrish, the president and founder of Kudu Solutions.
- Pivoting Your Startup Based on Customer FeedbackAs a founder, you pour your heart and soul into your startup, believing you have the perfect solution to a problem. However, what happens when you realize…
- 10 Things I've Learned Since the AcquisitionWhat is it like to buy a company or buy out a business partner? It's been an exciting and intense 90 days since I bought out my business partner and took…
- The Startup Crash Course Every Software Engineer NeedsWhen I started my career as a software engineer, I had a clear vision of what I wanted: I dreamed of working in a cubicle for a big company, writing the…
- Startups: When Should You Do QA?As a startup founder, one of the most critical decisions you'll face is how much time and resources to invest in testing and quality assurance (QA). It's…
- MVP Developers are MVPsStarting something new is way harder than tweaking something that already exists. This is especially true for software development. Starting a new…
- Why I Avoided Offshore Software Development... Until I Accidentally Used ItSoftware developers are everywhere! We all know someone who hired software developers from India, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. And there are many…
- CTO Career Path: Before & AfterBeing a CTO is a dream job for some people. They want to manage big teams, innovate cool things, or run a unicorn startup.
- The Minivan Loving Practical CTOA CTO is in charge of a company's technology strategy and leadership. At many companies, they also control a huge part of the company budget between…
- My Lens for Growth in 2024I started 2024 as the new CEO of a company. I want to change and improve many things in the company, including engineering, sales, marketing, account…
- Big News! Why I Skipped the Exit and Went All In: The Full Scale StoryThe goal of most startup founders is to get an exit. They want that big payday in the end. I have done that twice and understand why it is highly…
- Overcoming Product Imposter Syndrome: The Key to Startup SuccessHave you ever felt like no matter how much you improve your product, it's never quite up to the mark? Welcome to the world of Product Imposter Syndrome, a…
- What a CTO Does: P.P.A.P. and Startup CTO vs Corporate CTOWhat a CTO does is a mystery for some people. Even for those who work in tech, it is often up for debate. They are like mythical code ninjas that can…
- How to Stop Shipping Code and Start Shipping Value!About once a week, I see someone post on LinkedIn about how fast they can push code to production. They deploy code to production 10 times a day and have…
- How to Measure Developer Productivity the Right Way!In the world of software development, assessing the productivity of developers remains a complex task. Over my two-decade journey in the tech industry,…
- Product Vision Starts with Problems, Not SolutionsIn the world of software development, it's tantalizing to dream about crafting the most intricate piece of software, endowed with every possible feature…
- The #1 Skill to Teach Your Developers Will Save Your FutureIn an era where software development tools, methodologies, and paradigms evolve at a rapid pace, there's a foundational principle that remains unaltered:…
- "Pot Luck" Software is Nasty. You Need a Head Chef with a Vision!At your workplace, potluck lunches can be a delightful break from the routine, offering a smorgasbord of flavors. The uncertainty of what you might end up…
- You Need More "Demo Only" Software FeaturesIn the vast and dynamic world of software, not every feature is born equal. While some serve the vital, everyday needs of the user, others exist almost…
- Engineering Nightmare: Dependency Security Exploits! Moq???Everyone hates talking about security. SOC2 is a 4 letter word around most companies. As startups and engineering teams, there is a newer kind of security…
- Nobody Cares About Your "Perfect" Code: Change Your PerspectiveDear Software Developers, I'm sure you've been there. The gleaming eyes, the proud smile, the feeling of accomplishment as you finish writing that perfect…
- How to Become a CTO: Poll Results with 46%...How does someone become a CTO? I started a poll on LinkedIn a few days ago. With 342 votes, these results are not scientific by any means, but I find them…
- How to Keep Customers Excited About Your ProductMost customer relationships start with a lot of excitement. You find a shiny new toy and are excited to tell others about it. You will tell everyone you…
- My 20 Year Career is Technical Debt or DeprecatedTechnical debt is easily the most used buzzword these days. People say, “We are moving fast on our MVP while minimizing technical debt!”. They mention…
- I Could Never Be a VP of EngineeringI don’t like managing people. I don’t like managing processes. It’s like operational brain damage to me. Some people love it. Some people are absolutely…
- New KPI: What's Your Deployment Pullback Ratio?It’s that time of the week again. Time for a big deployment. Everyone is excited and nervous. The development team stands in a circle, all staring at each…
- How to Beat Billion Dollar CompetitorsEvery entrepreneur struggles with how to compete and differentiate from their competitors. In my first three companies, we competed with billion-dollar…
- Are we the Future Assistant to the AI?If you buy into the hype, all software developers will be replaced in 18 months by AI. However, anyone who knows anything about software development knows…
- Why I Love Boring Tech StartupsEveryone wants to create the next Facebook, Slack, Zoom, or other big brands. They want to appear on Techcrunch and be labeled the next big thing.
- Why I Threw Away a Week of My WorkIn a , I wrote about how important it was for CTOs and engineering leaders to do proof of concepts and other special projects. Those projects are critical…
- Thinking Logically is Killing Your CreativityI’ve been doing software development for over 20 years. I couldn’t tell you how many hundreds of times I have sat in front of a TV and half-watched a…
- Startups Need 3 Types of VisionariesEvery startup begins with an idea. If you are lucky, that idea works, and a business is born. To bring it to life, you will need a strong product vision…
- Being an engineering leader who isn't technical is dangerousBeing a software engineering leader that is not technical anymore is a dangerous place to be. You have been managing dozens of employees.
- It's easier to sell 1 Ferrari than it is 10 HondasIt's easier to sell 1 Ferrari than it is 10 Hondas. This is critical business advice for any startup founder.It is just as much work to sell something for…
- Why a good CTO is great at PoCsIn , I discussed why a CTO needs to spend a lot of their time doing planning, requirements, and proof of concepts.
- Why CTOs should be writing requirements... not code!If you can write the code, writing the requirements feels like extra work. I’ve been a CTO for 20+ years, and I will bet that any engineering manager or…
- Log files to know about to find failed ASP.NET requestsYour web application is throwing some sort of error or invalid response. Do you know how to troubleshoot IIS or ASP.NET errors on your servers? Luckily,…
- The Golden Rule of ProgrammingThere is one particular issue that seems to be the root of most bugs in software programs. I see it over and over and over. Like most programmers, it has…
- Getting developers and support to work togetherAgile development has ushered in the norm of rapid iterations and change within products. One of the biggest challenges for agile development is educating…
- Mozilla Persona to the login rescue?A lot of websites now allow us to login or create accounts via OAuth or OpenID. We can use our Facebook, Twitter, Google, Windows Live account and others.…
- Production Access Denied! Who caused this rule anyways?One of the biggest challenges for developers is getting access to production servers. In smaller dev teams of 5 or less people everyone usually has…
- .net Dll Hell?If your like my company and have very large .net Apps, you can find your self in .net Dll Hell. We currently have close to 30 projects for one…