Nathan on Innovattic

As CTO I’m responsible for the technical delivery of all our products. I think we have some super-smart people who know exactly what to do in their own field. I see it as my job to ensure that that intellect and that knowledge ends up helping the customer in the right way.

I think that as a CTO you shouldn’t want to make too many technical choices yourself. I don't have an infinite capacity in my brain, nor do I have the time to think and decide everything myself. In addition, I only have limited knowledge of all the fields - but that’s also my strength. I want our Android or iOS specialists to make the right choices in their field, and the same goes for the web and backend specialists. I provide guidance or advice where necessary, and I am the glue between the different teams.

We don’t want to be the people who immediately start working with every new technology. Because if that technology doesn't work, you're stuck with it. In addition, we also don't want to be the people who lag so far behind that they use something that was already old-fashioned 10 years ago. There is an ideal point somewhere in between, and I think we're in the right place. We are small enough to be able to switch quickly and large enough to be a reliable partner. There are very few projects in which we remain involved indefinitely, and that's a good thing. It means that at some point, if things go well, customers will have the capacity to handle it themselves. We’re then happy to move along and help the customer on their way.

What I like to do, as do several people at Innovattic, is to get to grips with the technical problem. As unique as your idea is, the problem you're trying to solve technically isn't very different from that of the person I spoke to yesterday, or the hospital I spoke to last week. We all have the same technical challenge: we want to deliver things quickly that are technically well put-together. The solution we come up with for one customer is also relevant for another. From a consultancy role, we can monitor customers who have a technical challenge.

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