Every would-be CEO & founder wants to be like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, or Mark Zuckerberg. The thing they have in common? They’re engineering-focused. 

Unbeknownst to many, this type of founder & CEO is a rare breed. Most CEOs are now focused on sales, and engineering-focused ones are often replaced before their companies go public. 

Engineering-focused CEOs are the perfect ones for tech companies, as proven by well-known tech entrepreneurs. You can take a look at Silicon Valley for more proof.

But what exactly does an engineering-focused founder & CEO do? Here are 6 facts about them: 

1. An engineering-focused founder & CEO doesn’t rush to market. 

A founder & CEO with an engineering background understands and accepts how long it takes for products to be developed. 

Due to this, he or she doesn’t rush to market partially developed products. He or she also makes sure that every aspect of the product is flawless before releasing it to the public. 

2. An engineering-focused founder & CEO might favor theoretical approaches. 

Engineering heavily relies on theories, and so does an engineering-focused founder & CEO. Thus, his or her decisions must be backed up by theory, and everything has to be thoroughly researched. 

In addition, he or she prefers theoretical business frameworks over conceptual ones. 

3. An engineering-focused founder & CEO understands roadmaps and the intricacies of developing software. 

Creating software doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years to come up with an algorithm that’s good enough for public use. An engineering-focused founder & CEO fully understands that there are no shortcuts. 

As a result, he or she closely follows roadmaps and is patient enough to go through the often tiring process of developing software. 

4. An engineering-focused founder & CEO might be paralyzed by the pursuit of perfection.

In relation to the previous fact, an engineering-focused founder & CEO aims to achieve perfection. However, the pursuit of perfection can paralyze him or her. 

Rather than giving attention to other business aspects such as marketing, operations,  and CEO-employee relationship, an engineering-focused CEO tends to solely focus on the technical side. 

5. An engineering-focused founder & CEO might have difficulty making decisions that are hard to stomach. 

With a more academic background, an engineering-focused founder & CEO is often not trained to be as ruthless as the other types. Because of this, he or she might find it hard to make business decisions such as laying off employees, choosing when to expand, and following investors. 

6. An engineering-focused founder & CEO might be a better individual contributor than a manager. 

Going back to our examples at the start of this article, engineering-focused founders & CEOs started out as introverts who prefer to work alone. However, time and time again prove that no man is an island. Adapting is crucial. 

However, there are still engineering-focused founders & CEOs out there who focus too much on the technical aspect that they forget how to effectively manage their companies. 

While it is rare to see them nowadays, a new generation of engineering-focused founders & CEOs is being called to rise up. Tech companies clearly need them, and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon.