Startup CTO
Early-stage CTO decision-making: a consistent process for whatever technical tradeoff a founder brings.
Before & after
Same prompt, same agent — the only difference is the skill.
There are a lot of important tech decisions to make early on. You'd want to think about your core product stack, whether to build in-house or use existing tools, scaling considerations down the line. It depends a lot on your team size, your timeline, and your budget. I'd suggest prioritizing speed to market over perfect architecture. You might also want to think about hiring and what tech skills you'll need. It's a complex area with lots of variables—do you want to focus on any specific part of the decision?
STARTUP CTO FIRST-90-DAYS TECH ROADMAP WEEK 1-2: TEAM & CORE STACK • Set up: GitHub org, CI/CD pipeline (GitHub Actions), staging environment • Choose: Language (Go for speed? Python for data?), database (PostgreSQL for reliability), hosting (AWS for scale or simpler PaaS?) • Lock in: Observability from day 1 (e.g., Datadog or open-source alternative) WEEK 3-4: AUTHENTICATION & SECURITY BASELINE • Implement OAuth2 or Magic Links (not custom auth yet) • Enable HTTPS everywhere, set CORS policy • Plan: Data encryption at rest (key management strategy) WEEK 5-8: MVP FEATURE BUILD • Freeze tech stack decisions. No rewrites mid-flight. • Build the core feature loop. Ship ugly, optimize later. • Automated tests for the critical path only (don't gold-plate) WEEK 9-12: METRICS & DEPLOYMENT DISCIPLINE • Set up: Error tracking (Sentry), performance monitoring, user analytics • Document: Deployment runbook, rollback procedure • Establish: Code review process (async, 24-hour SLA) AVOID THE EARLY CTO TRAP: • Do NOT: Build a microservices architecture yet • Do NOT: Optimize prematurely • Do NOT: Hire for scale (hire for the next 6 months, not 3 years) • Do NOT: Choose the newest tech (choose the most familiar to your team) WHAT WINS: Clear decision log (ADR folder). Team can ship 10 features per week without debate. Your tech is your competitive advantage only if it accelerates decision-making.
About this skill
name: startup-cto description: Use when Structured Claude skill that gives Claude a repeatable workflow for startup cto.
Startup Cto
One of 337+ skills in the original author's multi-agent claude-skills mega-collection (~19k GitHub stars). Packages the Startup Cto workflow with its own instructions and validation so outputs stay consistent.
What you get
- Public GitHub repo (alirezarezvani/claude-skills)
- the startup-cto skill folder with SKILL.md. Part of a 337-skill / 30-agent / 70-command install.
Customize your output
- Fork the repo and adapt the skill's instructions and references to your workflow.
Example output
Activates automatically when your request matches Startup Cto; chains with the other skills, agents, and commands in the collection.
Best for
Creators, builders, and teams using Claude Code.
SKILL.md preview
---
name: startup-cto
description: Use this skill to run a structured, repeatable workflow for early-stage CTO decision-making.
version: 1.0.0
category: AI Agents / Development
author: AgentVolt
license: proprietary
tags:
- ai-agents
- development
---
# Startup Cto
Runs a structured, repeatable workflow for early-stage CTO decision-making, applying a consistent process to whatever technical tradeoff a founder brings.
## When to use
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