I just got ousted as CTO, Is it justifiable?

Do you have significant equity which you retain even after your ouster? If so, I say pack it up, go on to something else, and hope that they succeed wildly and your equity becomes a huge windfall somewhere down the line.

If not, it's just a job anyway, and if the CEO really doesn't want you there, you're probably not going to be happy even if you somehow win this fight. In which case, I say negotiate as hard as you can for the best possible severance deal, preferably cash in hand and not equity, and then move on to your next thing. Wish them luck if you feel like it.

In the end, remember that you are not defined by someone else's judgment of your merit and abilities. The only that matters is your view. Go start something new, and kick ass. Laugh at those guys when you roll past them on the street in your Aston Martin Victor.

It is just business -- if the CEO & VC have the power to replace you, and believe that replacing you with a more experienced candidate is, after consideration of the downside (the potential that you and some of your team might quit), a bet that is likely to result in a more valuable / more successful business, then from their perspective it might seem like a sound and profitable business decision to replace you.

You haven't talked about what you want -- that might be worth thinking about, when you're in a place where you can mull it over in a fairly unemotional way.

Do you want: enough wealth to be retired in 5 years/buy a house/whatever; a C-suite job with high status ; a job with a large degree of autonomy and responsibility ; to gain experience growing an engineering organization ; to gain experience shipping a great service/product ; revenge ; ...

edit: it is also possible to reframe things as: different people can be a good fit for different phases in a company's lifecycle -- instead of staying with a single growing company for a long time, there could be a quite interesting and profitable career in jumping from early-stage company to early-stage company and helping them get on a good trajectory for future expansion

That's tough to say, but I understand the confusion on what to do. It's a challenging situation to be in.

I do know this - this decision will affect more than just you, and you see that based on how the rest of your team is reacting.

I would recommend you listen to this talk from Ben Horowitz lecture on YC's How to Start a Startup series. It goes over a similar situation that you are experiencing with being demoted. It will give you perspective.

Here's a link. It's lecture 15 in the series: https://startupclass.samaltman.com/

Why care about the title? If you really care about the company and want to see it succeed then you should welcome someone with more experience.

If things go great maybe the outsider leaves and you slide in and replace him with the extra knowledge you gained from working with him.

If things don't go great then it wasn't your fault when you're interviewing for your next role.

obviously you were not "delivering" or they won't have pushed you out, why would they hire someone and pay someone if you were not "under performing"?

the problem is they didn't communicate to you what you really need to be doing and you didn't realize it. it might be that technically you are doing everything right, but politically you are doing it all wrong. working is not just about doing the actual work, but also about the performance of a work.

with that said, if you believe in the company, mission, product, then don't think much about it. you can become director of engineering, vp of engineering, etc. find a way to make yourself very useful and keep contributing. ... imagine this company was the next google, facebook, amazon, would you leave? so back to the question, do you believe in the company, mission and product?

for all you know, the new CTO might actually hate it and quit in less than a year.

It's all good imo, I assume that removes some load on your work without reducing your salary.

If you're still not getting the hint, it's an opportunity for you to build some side-business, an additional stream of cash-flow.

Cash-flow is king, not corporate positions.

>CEO and VC ... the CTO ... My team ... I'm doing a decent job

so have you delivered anything sellable yet? Sometimes VC funded companies arent all about burning the seed round while having a good time.

I think what they did could be reasonable depending on the details. I do question why they are keeping you at the (small?) company. It seems like they could be making a big mess if your subordinates feel more loyal to you than the new guy. If I were a worker there, I wouldn't feel too good about my future if I find out you were demoted for political reasons.

A lot of details unknown, so difficult to say. I’m inclined to say fight for it, you’re the incumbent with vision for the company, a deep understanding of the current situation and trust of the team. We’re you a part of selecting the new ceo? How old is the company and we’re you a founder?

Bit odd to base it of a github repo. I've met some prolific open source people who work terribly inside a product team.

What’s best for the company? How/where can you help the most going forward?

What’s your new position and can you negotiate better pay/equity?

Leave.

And remember respect is everything! ~gta2