The No-BS Guide to Being a Great CTO with Zach Goldberg

What separates decent CTOs from great ones? It’s not coding chops or architecture diagrams. It’s people—and the ability to lead them.

In a recent episode of Commit & Push, host Damien Filiatrault talks with Zach Goldberg, CTO of Gruntwork and author of The Startup CTO’s Handbook, about what really matters when you’re scaling an engineering team. From avoiding overcomplicated tech to investing in developer experience, Zach brings hard-earned, no-fluff advice for technical leaders navigating the chaos of growth.

Start With People, Not Tech

According to Zach, too many CTOs focus on the stack when they should be focused on their team. 

If you’re not hiring well, everything else falls apart. Zach breaks down the foundations of smart hiring: define success before the job post goes up, create a structured interview process, and remove ambiguity around promotions. Your org shouldn’t be guessing what growth looks like.

That also means knowing when not to hire. Contractors can be a powerful option—if you’re solving a short-term or niche problem. The key is intentionality.

Skip the Sparkle. Build What Works.

When it comes to architecture, Zach’s advice is blunt: don’t overengineer. Don’t fall for hype. Don’t build microservices unless your scale demands it.

“If you’re not sure, go with the monolith.”

Simple, stable architecture is a force multiplier. It makes onboarding easier, deployments faster, and debugging less painful. Choose the tools your team can use today—not the ones you might need tomorrow.