An interview series from The Software House
CTO vs Status Quo
Marek Gajda
CTO at The Software House
Project goals
To reveal how other CTOs secure Product, Engineering, and the Board’s support by making thoughtful decisions.
"You should know that the current generation of AI for BI is a quantum leap [...]." "You should know that the current generation of AI for BI is a quantum leap [...]." "You have to see change as an opportunity." "You have to see change as an opportunity." “[...] every six to 12 months my job completely changes, and that’s required for personal growth” “[...] every six to 12 months my job completely changes, and that’s required for personal growth” "[...] don't see compliance as a burden." "[...] don't see compliance as a burden." "My audience is trying to do things we did five years ago” "My audience is trying to do things we did five years ago”
Avi Perez, CTO & Co-founder at Pyramid Analytics
Jani Maljanen, Head of Engineering at Vaimo Nordics
Jonathan Lister Parsons
CTO & co-founder of PensionBee
Dennis Overbeeke, CTO at New10
Yaron Shoshani
CTO of ezbob
Quotes
Some insights you can discover
“We got rid of the backlog and adopted what I call a lean roadmap. We have a list of problems, and we don’t have any features on it.”
“We got rid of the backlog and adopted what I call a lean roadmap. We have a list of problems, and we don’t have any features on it.”
“We got rid of the backlog and adopted what I call a lean roadmap. We have a list of problems, and we don’t have any features on it.”
Mika Peuralahti
CTO at Smartum
“Instead of collecting hard requirements, you create (…) a rough outline of what you want to achieve. How you achieve that is up to you. Then you have six weeks to deliver the goods. If you run out of time, you downsize the scope.”
“Instead of collecting hard requirements, you create (…) a rough outline of what you want to achieve. How you achieve that is up to you. Then you have six weeks to deliver the goods. If you run out of time, you downsize the scope.”
“Instead of collecting hard requirements, you create (…) a rough outline of what you want to achieve. How you achieve that is up to you. Then you have six weeks to deliver the goods. If you run out of time, you downsize the scope.”
Ludwig Magnusson
CTO at Mediatool
“I want to be sure that if a bus hits me, everything will be fine at the company. (…) My team has all the necessary knowledge, login access, and learning materials to keep work going.”
“I want to be sure that if a bus hits me, everything will be fine at the company. (…) My team has all the necessary knowledge, login access, and learning materials to keep work going.”
“I want to be sure that if a bus hits me, everything will be fine at the company. (…) My team has all the necessary knowledge, login access, and learning materials to keep work going.”
Majid Garmaroudi
CTO at Northfork
Insights
C-level insights that wow readers
Interviews
What would you like to learn about?
"You have to see change as an opportunity."
Jani Maljanen, Head of Engineering at Vaimo Nordics
“[...] every six to 12 months my job completely changes, and that’s required for personal growth”
Jonathan Lister Parsons
CTO & co-founder of PensionBee
"[...] don't see compliance as a burden."
Dennis Overbeeke, CTO at New10
"My audience is trying to do things we did five years ago”
Yaron Shoshani
CTO of ezbob
"You don’t want teams where only heads of departments are talking”
Alex Rupin
CPO of InvestEngine
"You should know that the current generation of AI for BI is a quantum leap [...]."
Avi Perez, CTO & Co-founder at Pyramid Analytics
We should treat security and privacy as vitamins rather than painkillers
Madhava Venkatesh, co-founder & CTO at TrusTrace
"[...] only add complexity if it directly benefits end customers today."
Mujib Azizi, CTO at Fixico
I’m a big fan of domain-driven design and having a shared vocabulary
Björn Helgeson, VP of Engineering at Mindler
The overlap between technology and product in a highly technical company
Peter Sunna, VP of Product at Kognic
"I think integrating AI into software people already use is the most powerful approach.”
Jeroen Bobbeldijk, CTO at Klippa
"If you want to use AI commercially, you need to figure out the what, how, and when of your data."
Matija Cukac, CPO at Relay42
"AI is only as good as the information you feed it."
Alex de Groot, VP of Engineering at Trengo
"I'm a big proponent of not overworking your architecture at the beginning"
Mark Yudin, VP of Engineering at Insify
"I feel successful when the team has a deep understanding of the business and can drive change themselves"
Sue Li, CTO at SwipeGuide
“Let go of all your images of James Bonds, generals, politicians, kings, or queens” – Bart Oor talks about his path from an engineer to a leader
Bart Oor, Director of Engineering at Hiber
Huss El-Sheikh of 9fin explains how a technical founder catches engineering talent
Huss El-Sheikh
CTO & Founder of 9fin
“Don’t pass that stress to the team” — how Toqio’s IT avoids overcommitment
Daniella Rhodes Lorenzo, Strategic Technology Director at Toqio
“Employees aren’t just cogs in a machine” — Neil Mountford reviews his first months as a new VP of Engineering
Neil Mountford, CTO at Habito
“The role of managers is to connect the dots”
Sudhan Dhayalan, Head of Product Engineering at HousingAnywhere
"There’s hardly anything better than features informed by your customers' actual needs"
Head of Technology and Head of Product at CM.com
“Know more than what’s within your scope” — how Anthony Oduu centers the product roadmap on growth
Anthony Oduu, Co-founder, CTO/CPO at Verto
“I decided to challenge the traditional roadmap”
Head of Product at Convious
“It’s your job to be a good host for other engineers” — Boyko Karadzhov decodes alignment & silo-breaking at Payhawk
Boyko Karadzhov, CTO and Co-founder of Payhawk
Creativity in outcome-driven software development
Martin Mazur, Product & Technology Consultant
“No sacred cows” — making quick vs informed decisions in a fast environment
Ben Brown, CTO at Flock
From CTO to CEO – the three skills you need to make the journey
Casper H Rasmussen, CTO at Monta
“The goal is to have a self-optimizing system”
Daniel Gebler, CTO at Picnic
“If you have a product fit and cultural alignment, everything else is workable”
Jakob Nederby Nielsen, CTPO & Co-founder at Dixa
“I don’t like processes. They don’t set you up for sustained success”
Richard Eklund, CTO at Tibber
“Your job as a CTPO: uncover what’s invisible; remove what’s arbitrary”
Hans J Skovgaard, CTO at Penneo
The 3 development efficiency problems that keep you from having an optimal setup
Harald Walden, CTO at Brite Payments
“Developers want to be product-oriented, but you’re not letting them”
Wojciech Zawistowski, VP of Engineering at Contractbook
"There is no trust without delegated authority"
Majid Garmaroudi, CTO at Northfork
"Only hire developers with an urge to build"
Ludwig Magnusson, CTO at Mediatool
Stop adding features, start removing problems
Mika Peuralahti, CTO at Smartum
Catch new interviews
Imagine: a 20-minute strategy breakdown from effective CTOs. One email per 1-2 months.
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Must-have resources from interviewed CTOs
Suggested by Technology Managers from the series. These aren’t paid ads. Copyrights of respective owners. Presented as “fair use”.
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About Us
Curated by
The Software House
We specialize in
We help technology-first SMBs and startups deliver digital products and technology change months faster.