Does this product team model scale down for smaller organizations?
It's a fair question.
Here’s one way to look at it. Chances are that for an organization or company being founded today -- especially a startup run by younger entrepreneurs -- a technology leader is either a co-founder or the very first hire.
Why would that be?
Because for people who have grown up around tech it’s intuitively obvious that technology will be an essential part of successfully delivering their impact or services.
“Oh,” you say, “that doesn’t really apply to us. Our program happens entirely offline in the real world.” Are you sure it doesn’t apply? How do you track your program and constituents? Communicate with the public? Raise money? Evaluate your effectiveness?
When we talk about young entrepreneurs today, we’re not just talking about people who are creating apps. We’re talking about anyone in today’s landscape who is trying to do high quality work, optimize their effectiveness, and compete for hearts, minds, and eyeballs.
So yes, the model scales down. All the way down to an org size of one or two.
If you look at your smaller-size organization with fresh eyes, what’s the maximum size of a team you can really justify before you include a skilled technology leader in the mix?
Three? Maybe four? Seven?
Are you sure about that?