Creating Teams That Last: My Year as CTO

Andreev Sergey — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 07:29:00 +0000

Yesterday was my last day as CTO.
I’ve always followed the principle: work in such a way that you could be replaced tomorrow. Reflecting on my journey, I feel I managed to live up to it.

Over the past year, starting from scratch, I was able to:

Build an IT team,
Launch an internal product,
Integrate it into the company’s business processes.

It was a significant step toward transforming the company into a truly IT-driven organization.

Thankfully, I hired a strong team, and I’m confident the project will continue to thrive. In my final days, we spent hours discussing future strategies, revisiting concepts, and preparing for what’s next.

The importance of the team
A critical factor often overlooked in development is the team itself. After my departure, some things may no longer be possible, while others might flourish.

Teams excel at what they do repeatedly. Like it or not, if a team spends most of its time fixing bugs, they’ll get really good at producing and fixing bugs. This is why the role of a CTO is so crucial—to influence day-to-day operations and introduce innovation through them.

Surprisingly, routine practices can elevate a team’s performance. For instance:

Bug-free releases,
Designing complex features,
Keeping documentation up-to-date.

Routine may be dull, but it’s what determines whether we rise or sink.

The decision to leave
As for leaving, my feelings are mixed. I’m someone who either plans everything meticulously or jumps headfirst into the unknown. Being in between just isn’t my style.

At the start of the year, I set a goal: find a remote job with a salary in USD. I planned to look for opportunities gradually. But as the year went on, this goal didn’t materialize. Perhaps the market changed, or maybe I struggled with the idea of searching while still employed—it felt like betrayal, even though it wasn’t.

Eventually, I realized leaving was inevitable. Before updating my resume, I did something unusual: I informed my manager. Transparency felt like the right move, even though it’s a hard conversation to have.

As a manager myself, I’ve been on the other side of this discussion. It’s tough to hear, but knowing is always better than being caught off guard.

Ultimately, these conversations accelerated my departure. Questions like “What happens when you leave?” became more frequent.

If all goes well, this decision will benefit everyone. Companies in my region are facing budget constraints, so reducing a high-cost position could be a win. Meanwhile, I’ve entered the open job market and am already speaking with some exciting companies.

The role of culture
Another factor that heavily impacts work is company culture. Unlike the development team, which can be transformed relatively quickly, culture is much harder to change.

Over the past five years, I’ve successfully introduced values like:

Public communication in team chats,
Open discussions,
Release demos.

These practices save time and foster collaboration. However, scaling them to the entire company proved challenging.

Culture evolves with people. If a company has cultural challenges, hiring fresh talent can help. Newcomers have a few months to bring change before they adapt to the old ways. A steady flow of fresh perspectives can gradually transform the company’s culture.

Looking ahead
Today is my first day officially unemployed. For the first time in years, I have no obligations. With the holiday season approaching, it feels like a good moment to pause, rest, and focus on myself and my family.

“This year was tough” may be a cliche, but it perfectly captures how I feel. Despite the challenges, I sense opportunities on the horizon—not tomorrow, but perhaps in a few months.

If you’re reading this and resonate with any part of my story, I hope it encourages you to keep moving forward. Take care of yourself and stay true to your goals. The world is unpredictable, but if you follow your internal compass, the destination matters less than the journey.

Why Is Talking to AI So Comfortable? I Think I Figured It Out.

Andreev Sergey — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 18:45:47 +0000

When you ask AI for something, it simply responds. It doesn’t judge, argue, or hesitate—it just does what you ask. AI always starts from a state of acceptance.

People, on the other hand, have this peculiar habit: we often begin from a state of non-acceptance. You share an idea, and the first response is, “That’s a bad idea,” “It won’t work,” or “You haven’t thought it through.”

It’s only after several rounds of defending your idea that the other person might switch to acceptance and start helping. But by then, both of you are already drained.

This is why communities of interest feel so good. Everyone there has already accepted the topic. You can skip the exhausting stage of convincing others that your idea matters and dive straight into a meaningful discussion.

With AI, this happens by default. It’s always on your side. Maybe it’s just not “smart” enough yet to judge or critique, but honestly, I hope it stays that way.

Here’s a personal example. I recently told my mom we were moving to Phuket. Her first reaction? “That’s a terrible idea—there are only savages there!” After a few conversations, she calmed down, began to see the positives, and now fully supports us. But that initial pushback left a heavy feeling.

So here’s the takeaway: let’s learn from AI. It has a rare talent—seeing value in your words right away. That’s a skill we could all use more of.

DEV Community: Andreev Sergey

Creating Teams That Last: My Year as CTO

Why Is Talking to AI So Comfortable? I Think I Figured It Out.