There are many things startup and scaling companies should bear in mind when building technology.
But right at the top of the list should be understanding the problem they are trying to solve, say CTOs Anna Dick and George Goudie.
Dick is CTO at customer relationship management software firm Capsule while Goudie is CTO at Dote – rebranded from Aibytech – while also serving clients on a fractional basis.
Both will serve as experts on the ‘technology’ masterclass at FUEL Manchester 2024 on Wednesday 16th October, offering direct advice to a cohort of 25+ scaling companies in a series of sessions. Beforehand there is a public-facing breakfast panel event featuring big-name speakers including Travel Counsellors CEO Steve Byrne.
Register for breakfast panel & networking
Asked for their main piece of advice around building proprietary technology within a growing business, Dick answers: “Don’t just go straight into thinking you need to build something.
“There is so much value in really understanding your user needs and the problem you are trying to solve. This can help you start small and iterate out versions with some real customers to get feedback.”
Goudie adds: “It’s vital that a founder has identified a problem and is developing a solution to address it, rather than finding a problem to apply their solution to. Building prototypes and minimum viable products to put in front of your potential customers is then essential.
“Not only will this prove to you and any potential investors that you have a solution that customers will want – and they will tell you if this is the case – it will also allow you to observe them using the product, identifying what elements work well and what doesn’t hit the mark.
“This is where your assumptions are tested and you can see where the real value lies in your technology. By getting your product in the hands of potential customers as early as possible you reduce time and cost before validating and developing a solution that your customers will love, and pay for.”
How might a founder go about scaling their tech and tech team alongside the business?
“I’m a real advocate of creating one cross-functional team – so creating a product culture rather than one team for the business and another for the engineering,” says Dick.
“When starting anew, I’d be looking for a partner or consultant who has built similar software products before. If you are not tech then it’s important to have someone that has your interests and will help you find a development partner when you are ready to build something.
“A common mistake is thinking that you just need developers and not understanding all the other skills and experience needed.”
These might include how to incrementally deliver and test out with real customers; building a backlog and figuring out how to prioritise; what level of data security you need and when; where to host your product; ensuring you have IP ownership at the start; designing a modular/flexible architecture that doesn’t lock you into anything; and making sure the build is well tested, and a maintainable and performant product.
Dick also points to a need for a hiring strategy – “hire generalists before specialists” – the value in automating as much as you can, documenting as you go – and being prepared to pivot if necessary.
Goudie says there are many potential ethical issues to consider when developing new technology.
“Every product will have unique exposure to one or more of them,” he explains. “One approach to help create technology in an ethical and moral way is to embed representatives of your users in your product team and development cycle.
“By giving users a voice during the early stages of development, founders can better understand both their users’ desires and any concerns that they may have, and take measures to address them.
“The more revolutionary the technology, the greater the potential for it being a catalyst for ethical issues, often in ways that are unforeseen at the beginning of development.”
Dick says common themes here might include ensuring bias and fairness throughout, building a diverse team to represent all views, ensuring product accessibility and being careful of bias in your data when training AI.
When it comes to development cycles, she advises to keep these short and release the product to real users as soon as possible in order to gain feedback and iterate.
Goudie adds: “Whilst not always the most glamorous or exciting option, I would advise that startups use proven technologies where possible rather than the latest trendy framework.
“Older technology is likely to be more stable, better documented and also have a wider pool of skilled talent to recruit from.
“These decisions will depend on the niche of the startup and deep tech companies will obviously need to be right at the cutting edge of developments, but even in this case there will be decisions around ancillary technologies that need to be made.”
FUEL was created to fuel business growth for promising startups and scaleups. It’s two events in one, beginning with a whistle-stop discussion of some of the big questions facing businesses and finishing with a series of exclusive, invite-only masterclasses for a cohort of exciting startups.
Supported by GM Business Growth Hub, Bruntwood SciTech and the University of Salford Business School, FUEL Manchester 2024 takes place at No.1 Circle Square, Oxford Road, Manchester. Around 140 people have already registered for the initial breakfast panel and networking event after we revealed our full line-up of speakers. There are still a handful of places available.
We have also revealed the experts who, following the breakfast event, will pass on face-to-face advice to our cohort of 25+ startups and scaleups in masterclass pods across funding, growth planning, people & performance and technology.
These ask-me-anything sessions are off the record. There are a limited number of places still available – email [email protected] if you feel you would benefit from these sessions.