A CTO at MapApp reflects on what defines the role after receiving critical feedback on their application during a roadtrip. The author explores the distinction between being a developer who iterates on feedback and being a leader, while questioning whether the product addresses a real market need or solves an already-solved problem.
A CTO reflects on the tension between rapid development ('builders') and careful engineering ('keepers') that has intensified with AI adoption. The divide, exemplified by his failed co-founder partnership, now runs through engineering teams themselves, with builders favoring fast iteration and LLM-generated code versus keepers prioritizing code quality and maintainability.