CTO vs VP Engineering: What's The Difference?

Who is the top technical leader in a startup: The CTO, or the VP Engineering?

Ask anybody in a small tech-based startup, and they will tell you this is the wrong question. Both are important. Lets see how these roles appear and evolve over time.

In the beginning...

When the startup is young, there is usually just one technical leader. This is either the technical cofounder, or the companys first hire. More often than not, this person assumes the CTO title... and everyone else in the startup is also a CxO.

We wont go into title inflation in this article. The title doesnt matter, yet. What matters is doing the work that needs to be done, which can be pretty random. One day, the CTO can be giving a keynote address at a conference. The next day, they are building prototypes. The third day, they are fixing the toilet. The fourth day, they are talking to customers. This is normal. Getting hung up over the title at this stage is a little silly.

As the startup scales...

The minute the first hire shows up, the CTOs job changes. Instead of doing everything themselves, they have to delegate. This can be a wild ride if they have never done it before.

As new hires keep arriving, the CTOs responsibilities will divide into two clusters: Management and technical leadership.

When the team is small, the same person can, and should, do both. When the team gets big, the management work will dominate. If the CTO is a hacker at heart, this can be tough. One day they will realize they are doing things they dont love, and dont have time for technology anymore. At this point, it is time to explore adding (or promoting) a VP Engineering to the mix.

What does a CTO do in a slightly bigger startup?

A modern day CTO wears many hats.

Guru: The CTO is THE technical guru of the company. They know the core technologies of the company inside and out. They stay on top of technology trends, as well as any breakthroughs in their area of interest.

Thought leader: The CTO can be a key contributor to the company blog. They will also give talks and external interviews. They are the face of the company. Their personality and achievements are a strong component of the companys brand.

Visionary: The CTO thinks big. They think different. They are creative. They can see the potential of things. They are less worried about the here and now. Their eyes are on the future.

Technologist: The CTO loves technology. They keep their hands dirty doing advanced development. They may prototype things in a small CTO office of research engineers. They typically do not maintain a big staff. They may manage the companys patent portfolio, although that responsibility can fall on the VP Engineering as well. They will also be driving technical due diligence for potential partnerships and M&A deals.

Strategist: The CTO works with senior staff to develop corporate and technical strategies.

What about the VP Engineering?

The VP Engineering also wears many hats, some of which are related.

Leader And Manager At Once. The VP Engineerings job is, first and foremost, to hire, lead, nurture, inspire, and when needed, fire engineers. They both lead and manage. For tiny teams (up to 10 FTE), they will manage engineers. For small, growing teams (> 10 FTE), they may manage managers. For mid sized teams and above (> 50-100 FTE), they may manage directors, who manage managers, who manage... whoever they manage.

Scale-Up Person. The second job of the VP Engineering is to ship product, and get stuff done - and do it at scale. They work with Product Management to develop the product strategy and roadmap, set milestones and deliverables, and define features. They manage the engineering program plan to implement, test, and ship these features. They put in tools and processes to help the team work efficiently at scale. They also manage the engineering budget, which includes: Headcount, consulting, prototyping, equipment, travel and entertainment, professional development, patent fees and more.

Also a technologist. The VP Engineering co-develops the technical strategy with the CTO. They also work together to develop and maintain a technical roadmap. In addition, they may also serve as the chief architect, or they may assign another engineer to do that.

Also a strategist. The VP Engineering works with the CEO, CTO, and leaders in other departments (e.g. Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Operations) to set the direction of the company.

Can one person do both jobs?

Absolutely, especially when the startup is young, with two conditions:

• The team is small.
• The person enjoys, and is good at, both jobs.

As the team grows, it is rare to see the same person continue to do both jobs well. In my entire career, I have probably met two or three people who happily and successfully served as the combined CTO/VP of Engineering. They are the exception rather than the rule. Most people are good at one or the other. Your mileage may vary.

Alternative ways to organize people

Thus far, we have only explored the CTO / VP Engineering roles in the context of a functional organization in a typical tech startup. There are alternative options.

For example, a company that implements complex projects might create cross-functional teams organized on a per-project basis. A company who has star employees with unusual skillset combinations may tailor-make roles to fit their skills. A biotech startup, or a consumer packaged goods (CPG) startup, require completely different skillsets than what we discussed. In any of the above scenarios, there may well be neither a CTO nor a VP of Engineering.

There is a reason why functional organizations are so common in tech companies at scale. It works. But it is not the only way. The important thing is to understand the type of work that needs to be done, and the skillset and personal interest in the technical leader who needs to do this work. Once thats defined, the organization structure will follow.

Mark Susters blog post on the same topic

To wrap up, Id like to point you to a 2010 article by Mark Suster , successful entrepreneur turned investor and blogger. This article further explores the difference between the CTO and the VP Engineering. Check it out in its entiret y! You wont regret it.

Earlier versions of this post may be found on IvyExec and on LinkedIn .

About the Author

Elaine Chen is a startup veteran, author, speaker, and product strategy and innovation consultant who has brought numerous hardware and software products to market. As Founder and Managing Director of ConceptSpring , Elaine works with innovative teams to help them define and build new products and services with the speed and agility of a startup. She is also a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship . Follow her on Twitter at @chenelaine .

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