So, what if you're in a start-up doing a CTO's job, VP/E and VP/PM. What job title should you have in your opinion?
It's also my understanding VP/E and VP/PM report to CTO usually.
The VP/PM's I've known reported either to CEO or to VP/M. The VP/E's I've known invariably reported to CEO. I'm not saying it never happens that the CTO heads engineering, but I don't think that's typical.
I guess this depends on startup size. I think most technical co-founders see the hierarchy divided between a CE(xec)O and a CE(ng)O and tend to call that second slot the CTO. After twenty employees or so the VP/E tend to take over the real management duties and the CTO tend to be an architect role that slowly loses influence unless the CTO active asserts themselves.
There are soooo many ineffectual CTOs, and even more ineffectual architects --- if you want to be the tech vision founder, why not stay right next to revenue and become VP/Product Management? Trying to make the (IMO notorious) CTO position work seems like playing to lose.
