By Ms Roopa Kumar, COO, Purple Quarter.
CTO recruitment is a new concept. What drove you towards this?
Until a few years back, the tech start-ups were all about the CEO. But, in the recent time, with technology becoming the key to unlocking the future development of companies, CTO roles and other technological leadership profiles have become essential to the future and fostering the business of an organization. These profiles are very niche and there is a limited pool of candidates with adequate experience, skills and leadership characteristics. This scarcity gave birth to the idea behind Purple Quarter and we stick to it by only providing startups with a tailored fit solution for a Chief Technology Officer.
Why CTO is more important than the CEO?
A CEO has a vision to solving a problem, but in this era where technology has made our lives easier, this CEO/ Founder is depended on a core tech leader to bring his vision to life.
A CTO or Tech Visionary is not just a technologist on a senior level, they wear multiple hats. They lead the engineering team and often collaborate with vendors too. They are responsible for developing strategies, leveraging technologies in order to enhance or build the product. They are highly focused on the customers, the end products, the revenues and how to enhance them with their innovations. This proves how important role a CTO (chief technology officer) plays in his company.
The function of CTO will become the cornerstone of an organization, possibly becoming CEO of tomorrow as businesses continue to employ and are reliant on technology. The present roles and duties of CTO will become key to any future CEO.
How does your company operate?
We customize our study, research, and meetings (350+ people) in order to understand the thinking process of tech-leader and our clients. Whilst meeting potential talent, we also met notable Industry Technology Visionaries and arrived at the below (2) analogies that have paved the way to our speedy success. We focus on finding an absolutely perfect match as we follow the below two analogies to the ‘T’.
1. PQ Search Index = IQ+EQ+BQ = Intelligence Technology Quotient (+) Emotional Quotient (+) Behavioural Quotient
2. ABE approach
Absorb – Spend considerable time with the Owner(s) of the role and the potential match to make an absolutely certain decision on the proposal
Build – Act as a strategic partner and build and own the nine-yards
Engage – Don multiple hats as Strategic Advisor, Information Provider or Mentor throughout the journey
Why startups are focusing on the right tech leader?
Due to the increasing number of technology-enabled startups, the need for a leader, who is accountable not only for technological advancements but also to scale up the business of the organization has increased. An ideal CTO has strategic and technical skills. Tech Leadership functions as the greatest weapon for any tech-enabled start-up or growing organization. To conclude, the absence of technology management can significantly limit their strategic planning and implementation and plunge them into a downward spiral.
What are your strategies for growth and expansion?
By placing 8 Tech-Heads in India’s top Soon icorn and Unicorn businesses, Purple Quarter has already imprinted its footprints in the executive search industry. Purple Quarter is planning to expand its operations to other geographies; we have already started working in the Southeast Asian market and Bay Area, aiming to offer best-adapted CTOs.
Not just that, Purple Quarter wants to tap every technology dominant industry such as Fintech, Ed-Tech, Health-Tech, Logistics, and E-commerce. Striving to be a global verb for CTO search, we are looking forward to strategic acquisition in Israel.
What predictions do you have for the role of the CTO in the future and what potential it holds?
Tech startups often lag behind in this competitive market because they struggle to successfully navigate the transition from the first stage to the second, or from second to the third. To a large extent, the responsibility for flawless transition rests on technology leadership. Tech Leadership acts as the strongest weapon for any tech-enabled startup or growing organization. In other words, the CTO with the right skills or lack thereof can make or break a startup’s milestone transitions from its birth to maturity. While the choice is clear for nascent and small startups; mature startups need to painstakingly assess the decision between having a visionary or a technocrat as their CTO. A mismatch could set the growth of business back by months, if not years – something that a startup can ill afford.
