In today’s fast-paced fintech world, building a tech team that consistently delivers results is more challenging than ever. At the 2024 US Fintech Symposium, Inspirit was proud to be a Startup Sponsor, and our CEO, Yevhen Melnyk, had the honor of speaking on a topic that resonates with every tech-driven organization.
So, how do you build a team that meets your project goals, hits deadlines, and ensures scalability? Yevhen shared a straightforward approach:
At its core, a successful tech team delivers:
1. Bug-free code—the foundation of reliability.
2. Timely delivery—consistently meeting deadlines to keep the business moving forward.
3. Scalable software—built with the right architecture from day one ensuring that the system grows with your business needs.
These three elements may sound simple, but they’re far from easy to achieve. It requires a carefully crafted team with the right balance of skills and personalities.
Forget the tech stack for a moment. The key to a great tech team is in the people behind the code. HR and psychology tell us that every successful team—whether in tech or not—consists of certain key personalities. And when it comes to a tech team, soft skills often prove more critical than hard skills.
Here are the essential roles you need to fill:
These are the ground-level team members who get things done.
1. Who they are: In a tech team, these individuals are typically junior developers and QA.
2. Why they’re important: These team members are essential for handling the day-to-day tasks like fixing bugs, implementing features, and performing straightforward QA tasks. They get things done and keep the momentum going on basic and moderately complex tasks.
3. Proportion in a team: Typically, about 40-50% of your team should be doers. They are the engine room of productivity.
Without doers, you’ll lose time on smaller, everyday tasks. Relying solely on senior engineers for basic work is inefficient. Doers ensure that simple, repetitive work doesn’t bog down the higher-level roles.
Super-doers are the backbone of your team.
1. Who they are: Strong mid-level engineers, senior engineers, and experienced QA.
2. Why they’re important: Super-doers handle more complex tasks and work faster, more accurately, and with greater independence than doers. They also understand the full architecture of the project and are trusted with more responsibility, including high-risk areas.
3. Proportion in a team: Around 30-35% of your team should be super-doers. They’re the backbone, ensuring that the hard
stuff gets done right.
Super-doers bridge the gap between high-level strategy and day-to-day execution. They take ownership of critical areas, allowing the team to tackle larger, more strategic goals without micromanaging.
These people were once super-doers, but now they carry additional responsibility.
1. Who they are: Tech leads or senior engineers with leadership responsibilities.
2. Why they’re important: Coaches and mentors don’t just lead by example; they actively guide the development of both doers and super-doers. They make high-level decisions about architecture and technology while ensuring the team is growing and following best practices
3. Proportion in a team: You typically need one mentor for every 5-7 team members. So, in a team of 10, you’ll likely have one coach.
Without coaches and mentors, there’s no one to oversee the technical growth of your team or maintain high standards. They provide direction, ensuring the team doesn’t just hit deadlines but builds scalable, future-proof solutions.
This group plays a crucial role in aligning the technical team with the broader business goals.
1. Who they are: Product managers, engineering managers, and heads of product/engineering.
2. Why they’re important: Influencers align the tech team with business goals. They translate business requirements into technical deliverables and ensure that the team is working on the right priorities to move the company forward.
3. Proportion in a team: For every 15-20 engineers, you’ll typically have one influencer, depending on project complexity.
Tech teams often lose sight of business objectives if they don’t have influencers keeping them on track. These roles make sure your team is not just building something, but building the right thing.
At the top, you have those responsible for defining the long-term direction and vision.
1. Who they are: C-level executives and stakeholders.
2. Why they’re important: Visionaries set the long-term goals and a strategic vector for the company. They ensure the tech team’s work aligns with the broader business strategy and that the company’s future needs are being considered today.
3. Proportion in a team: You’ll only need one or two visionaries overseeing the entire tech function of your company.
Without visionaries, the tech team may lack alignment with the company’s broader goals. Visionaries help maintain focus on the bigger picture, ensuring that today’s work supports tomorrow’s growth.
A balanced team structure is crucial. Having too many juniors will overwhelm your seniors, while too many seniors will lead to inefficiency. Here’s a general guide on the proportion of each role:
1. Doers (Junior Developers/QA): 40-50% of the team
2. Super-Doers (Senior Engineers/QA): 30-35% of the team
3. Coaches & Mentors (Tech Leads): 10-15% of the team
4. Influencers (Product Managers, Engineering Managers): 5-10%
5. Visionaries (CTO, C-Level): 1-2%
A balanced team structure is crucial. Having too many juniors will overwhelm your seniors, while too many seniors will lead to inefficiency. Here’s a general guide on the proportion of each role
While building your tech team, it's easy to fall into some traps:
Mistake 1: "I’ll hire three juniors, and they’ll perform like one senior." Juniors need guidance, and without proper mentorship, this approach leads to chaos—poor architecture, scalability issues, bugs, and missed deadlines.
Mistake 2: "One senior engineer can handle everything." Seniors swamped with mundane tasks will lose the capacity to focus on strategic work. A better strategy? Pair juniors with seniors for an optimal balance.
Mistake 3: "We don’t need QA, we’ll just automate everything." Automated testing is important but doesn’t catch every edge case. Having one QA engineer for every two developers ensures a thorough approach to quality.
1. Ensure your junior engineers aim to become super-doers.
2. Guarantee your senior engineers are capable super-doers.
3. Make sure your coaches and mentors are taking responsibility for the team’s growth.
By focusing on the human side of tech and aligning the right personalities in the right roles, you'll create a tech team that not only meets its goals but surpasses them.
Building a high-performing tech team isn’t easy, but it’s crucial. With the right structure, your team can deliver bug-free, scalable solutions on time, every time. Need help assembling the perfect mix of talent? Hire Inspirit, and we’ll take care of building and managing a tech team that aligns perfectly with your company’s goals and scales with your growth.
Ready to build your dream tech team? Let Inspirit help you get there.
