I can recommend every CEO to learn the basics of the technicals. So that you can at least follow the convo and to give the signal that you’re not easily taken advantage off.

I cannot could the times that my basic knowledge saved my ass with dev’s who tried to bend me over with out lube.

To find CTO’s; add value in subreddits for example. CTO’s needs Sales/Marketing/Business-minded people and visa versa.

I have seen that a business person wants to do everything where he can hire someone and focus on just business development. If you want to work as a business partner I happy to help you. I can look after software development and you can look after business development. this way we both can make money. Just Dm me

Here you can check my profile: https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/\~011dc7cd5e9cde2d87

Depends what you need to do , you can easily set up your project without knowing how to code but of course with limitations.

If you have any questions i will be happy to answer them.

Unless you’re building very complex custom platforms, I don’t think you need to waste time hiring a CTO or learning to code, which can be time consuming. Just hire a developer/coder on up work or fiverr that resonates with your vision or offshore the work and put your energy into sales/marketing. Learn and update as you go.

Anyone who writes they are a visionary founder is most likely not one.

Most of the time having a business partner - regardless of title - will be infinitely better than going it alone. Easier said than done, but if you can find someone you trust who trusts you and you both vibe, you’ll have a built-in sounding board for your ideas along with some accountability. There are lots of low/no code tools available you can use to test your idea(s) with users/potential customers.

You say “very simple web apps” - you can do a lot with just HTML/CSS/Javascript (+Node.js) or maybe Python (+Flask)… and these are so simple to learn that in a few days, you can learn enough to start building things. I am not talking about mastery here, obviously, but there is a lot to be gained even if you can produce just some rough and dirty code - you can build a prototype that you can play with and refine your ideas, and you can show it to your friends and see how they react to it, etc.
BTW, I experienced many times that something that seemed like a good idea in my head looked really flawed after building the prototype - I think most people cannot create something good just in their heads. You need to build something, play with it, encounter flaws, refine it… and after many iterations, maybe it can be good.

I disagree with the people saying you should outsource. If your idea/business revolves around the technology and the technology is not just an accessory to a brick and mortar business/service - you will inevitably need in house tech.

Outsourcing is viable for the MVP, as it will enable you to test the PMF. However, that’s generally not a justifiable expense for data collection (tens of thousands).

The software company may maintain and update the project for you, but it’s always going to be more expensive than having your own tech, and they will have a lesser grasp of your vision. You are eventually going to need a CTO, and can save yourself a lot of trouble by arranging that earlier rather than later.

How do you find one? Developer friends or family that you can convince of your vision are a good start. Otherwise, I’d conduct a lot of research on the problem, the solution, and the PMF so you have something to prove your vision to a developer you don’t know.

If you have time and just want to develop simple web apps, you can probably just learn yourself. But depends how you define simple.

I’m a solo, non-technical founder of a 7-figure ARR SaaS business, and I can tell you that knowing how to program is the least of your concerns. Learning how to do sales, marketing, operations, fundraising, etc. are all way more important than being able to code.

If you’re really standout at any of those you can either figure out a way to self-fund the business or you can raise a little bit of money from something like YC, TinySeed, other acccelerators to hire your first engineer.

Product is important, but distribution way moreso. There’s a huge graveyard of failed products that are technically excellent. Not a lot of companies who are great at distribution with crappy products.

No. You should not add coding/programming to your responsibilities if you can delegate that responsibility to other people or teams.

In terms of picking the CTOs, I always suffered when working with CTOs and project managers that are not technical. So business skills of a CTO is important but having good technical understand and up ti date perspective is equally important.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not expecting CTOs to review code as a responsibility but they should their past experience should allow them to dive deep while their management skills keep them afloat at a higher altitude to observe the progress. Only then they can see the big picture and also manage the expectations of the other C-levels.

A CTO that doesn’t understand the technical challenges is not capable to do such things.

So much bad advice being given. If your ideas involve building « very simple web apps », for God’s sake do not look for a CTO or waste time learning programming.

Use no code tools such as Bubble, Webflow, or Adalo if you want a mobile App.

Learning how to use these builders is 100x faster than learning programming.

And if you start making money or gaining traction with your MVP, then you hire a programmer.

If you have the time, learn how to code

Many “CEOs” have a “great” idea and consider themselves “visionaries.” Over the years, after working with both successful and unsuccessful startups, I’ve learned that building the application is infinitely harder and more time-consuming than having the vision of the application. 99% of the time, the great idea feels like a smart idea without real research and analysis to back it up. Whenever someone approaches me to build an app or partner with them, I have a few entry-level questions for them to answer to determine if they are truly serious and have the correct discipline, training, and background to really work on an application. Much like a financial investor requires a pitch deck, I also require a deck to see if I want to invest my time and skills in the application. Here are some of the questions which I require in writing:
Regarding the idea:

1. What is the vision of the application?
2. What problem are you trying to solve?
3. What applications and/or businesses do you consider to be in the same market space as your vision?
4. What applications and/or businesses do you consider to be a direct competitor?
5. What is the differentiator of your vision; what is unique that the other businesses have not solved?
6. What is your research of tech blogs, news, etc, if the idea is a work in progress for some of these businesses? ( Many will announce future plans to their investors, which is public many times ).
7. What is your research on current patents that are near or similar to your idea?
8. What does an MVP look like, in your opinion?
9. What is your marketing strategy?
10. Do you already have test users available?
11. How much can you pivot from your original idea if you discover the market is not accepting your vision ( think Instagram from the original messaging app idea )?
12. How much money can you invest in the development costs – for example, GCP or AWS costs, hosting, domains, servers, test devices, development accounts, etc?
13. How much money is needed for marketing costs?
    Regarding building the APP:
14. What are your skills to properly test applications ( not just use it and say yes/no )?
15. How do you document issues?
16. What is your level of technical expertise? Can you follow instructions to install, use a test account, go through a user flow, etc?
17. Are you willing to learn these things until a team is available?
18. Can you give feedback in a timely manner? Within minutes/hours? I have to sacrifice this time for development. You should, too.
19. What is your availability on weekends, holidays, evenings, etc? I have to sacrifice this time for development. You should, too.
    If the CEO does not already have this information documented or is unwilling to work to create it, then they are not a good fit to build an application. These questions have weeded out 98% of the “I’m the visionary” people who are not dead serious about creating a business or a product.