In a national CTO group that I belong to, one posed this open question to all "so... you're no longer a CTO... what did you do next?" Here's my story... What's yours? My last startup role was as the co-founder and CTO of Brightcove. I left after 8 years, a few months after our IPO in 2012. Since then I've switched to the "dark side" and co-founded Argon Ventures, a pre-seed Enterprise AI fund. At Brightcove, even though my title was CTO, I was essentially the Chief Product Officer. The engineering and ops team reported to my close friend Tareef Kawaf who was the SVP of Engineering (a peer to me, both reporting to the CEO). I joked that I had all the fun and he had all the responsibility. I'm not sure he found it as funny when the service went down! (Tareef is now the President of Posit PBC, fka RStudio). Prior to my CTO role, I was a senior software architect for 10 years, building highly available ecommerce platforms during the dotcom period (for those old enough, ATG Dynamo) During my time at ATG, I internalized my value to the company by the quantity and quality of code that I wrote. Taking on the CTO role at Brightcove, I went through a mini-existential crisis because all I ever seemingly did was go to meetings, write documents and emails. What I learned is that I shifted my form of "building" through strategy, teams and partnerships. I came to realize that I didn't need to code to be a worthwhile human being. ;) And my transition to VC is really just another layer of abstraction, but I'm still building - just trying to amplify the energy of founders. And it's why I stick to pre-seed (pre-revenue, pre-product, sometimes literally at company formation). That period of time is super creative, lots of experimentation, lots of unknowns. I don't feel compelled to have my hands on the steering wheel, now I think I'm best as a co-pilot.
I love this framing and have followed a similar path of uncovering what building means in new contexts. From building networks of systems, to building teams of people, to building more mature organizations, and now building people's ability to be self-generative through coaching. So many different ways to contribute and add value in building wonderful things.
Great perspective Bob! We never stop building, just swap tools and frame of reference. And your ability to be effective whilst letting of the steering wheel is a huge force multiplier! And yes, I remember Dynamo 😉
I love this narrative, especially after having seen the Brightcove portion of it myself. You and Tareef Kawaf are two people I have always looked up to. Keep building! Even at higher levels of abstraction. The higher up, the bigger the multiplier of how you can move the needle!
I love how you describe "building" as amplifying the energy of founders. It's very inspiring to see your transition from engineer to CTO to early-stage investor where you continue to support and empower founders. Thanks for sharing your story!
"building through strategy, teams and partnerships” - very nicely said Bob Mason
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A model of personal/professional development and leadership. And a reminder that it’s all about the journey. Thank you, Bob!
Such an insightful and inspiring reflection Bob! Thanks for sharing your journey ���🙏🏻😃✨
creating the future, creating Agenda Hero
1yThis is such a great reflection, Bob. My memories of you include how you always had something of value to add, every time you said anything, and also standing at the whiteboard, thoughtfully thinking out loud with a dry-erase marker, and reminding us that anything is possible: it's just time & money! So glad for the impact you continue to make, creating a future filled with such positive change.