Ben Howdle

Two-time startup CTO. Now building products and writing about the job nobody explains. Created ReqRes (

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

I've been CTO at two early-stage startups.

Both times, I had no idea what I was doing.

So I wrote the playbook I wish existed:

"The First CTO: The Job Nobody Explains"

Pre-order is live (30% off until launch):
https://t.co/GzGk0X72UR

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

Hey! The First CTO is now live:

https://t.co/XdXXc4bhva

Go grab it and feel better about any failures you've made along the way...

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

Started writing The First CTO thinking I'd catalogue my experience for new CTOs. Ended up putting every bad decision under a microscope. Never claimed to be a great CTO. Just wanted to document the mistakes honestly.

2 weeks to launch.
https://t.co/Qi10g3E3d5

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

@jasonfried Incredible. I've been working with a custom bash script for https://t.co/XdXXc4bhva

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

Print it. Pin it to your wall. Point at it next time someone asks if you can launch on Friday.

Pulled from Chapter 6 of "The First CTO: The Job Nobody Explains" - launches March 31st with five more templates.

https://t.co/Qi10g3E3d5

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

I'm giving away one of the templates from my CTO playbook.

The Readiness Scale: a one-page framework for answering "is this ready to ship?"

Six levels, from "works on my machine" to "survives a paid campaign influx."

Free PDF: https://t.co/aXyLPQ91eT

🧵

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

Level 1: Does it work for me?
Level 2: Does it work for a technical colleague?
Level 3: Does it work for a non-tech stakeholder?
Level 4: Does it work for 100 fanatical users?
Level 5: Does it work for a cold new signup?
Level 6: Does it work for an influx from a paid campaign?

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

12 years of a free fake API, now it's a real backend you call with fetch().

Collections, auth, logs, AI generation. No backend server code.
https://t.co/0ulq47EEIB

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

Writing a book about being a startup CTO. Chapter 9 is about "brilliant assholes". It starts with admitting I was one.

https://t.co/Qi10g3E3d5

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

Something I keep coming back to while writing this CTO playbook:

Early in your career, success is "look what I built."

Later, it's "look how fast everyone else is building."

That shift is the entire job and nobody warns you about it.

https://t.co/GzGk0X72UR

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

@TheBrousse That's exactly the confusion the book addresses. At 10-15 people, the title says CTO but the job is part lead dev, part architect, part hiring manager, part founder-therapist. The lines blur completely. Whether that’s "really" a CTO is semantic, the challenges are real either way

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

I've been CTO at two early-stage startups.

Both times, I had no idea what I was doing.

Writing the playbook I wish I'd had:

https://t.co/GzGk0X6v5j

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

@TheBrousse for those two roles, between 10-15 in total! both were early seed stage startups...

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

@siquick Noted! Will change, thanks

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

I made an app and it’s live 🎉 It’s called Somna - helps you notice the patterns behind stress and reactivity. https://t.co/EdnLWFomnI

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

Write up https://t.co/BW6ukNW5e5

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

Free to use, no account required, your entries stay on your device. Also has simple breathing/grounding for when things flare up. Would love feedback if you try it.

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

Landing page for a new iOS app I've just submitted for App Store review...

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

Shipped a big update to ReqRes.

It's no longer just a mock API - it's a real backend for frontend devs.

Collections, auth, logs, automations.
All called with fetch().

https://t.co/O7FdK4h0OC

[Ben Howdle @_benhowdle]

It turns out that after 15 years of building things for other people, I needed a better place that explains what I actually do and who for.

New layout, updated projects, clearer story.
https://t.co/3MDepQ4g5j