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In this episode of CTO Insights, I’m joined by Julien Lavigne du Cadet, now CTO at Lottie and formerly the CTO who led Zoe’s growth from zero to nine-figure ARR.
Julien brings deep experience in growing engineering teams and products through rapid scale. We unpack what it takes to balance structure with speed, how to build the right platform teams, and where automation makes the biggest impact. Whether you’re navigating early-stage chaos or planning for scale, this one’s packed with hard-earned lessons.
What you’ll learn:
How to balance structure and speed in early-stage startups without over-engineering.
The real challenges at each growth stage - from 0 to 9-figures ARR.
When to promote from within vs. bringing in external talent.
Why team clarity beats micromanagement for driving output.
How a consistent analytics framework keeps data from turning into chaos.
What it takes to maintain high standards while scaling fast.
How to free up your engineers by automating customer support.
What Julien would do differently and why iterating on process matters more than getting it perfect the first time.
As a leader, one of the main inflection points is when you start adding layers. First, everybody reports to you and everything is simple. Then you start adding managers and engineering directors—now suddenly you have no idea what is happening on a team's day-to-day.
Every time that happens, you need to develop good structures to start having the information flow back to you, the problems.
Resources:
Content Chapters:
[00:00] The Journey from Zero to Nine Figures
[03:55] Balancing Structure and Agility in Startups
[06:53] Navigating Growth Challenges and Leadership Flexibility
[10:13] Hiring Strategies: Internal Growth vs. External Talent
[12:55] Building Effective Teams and Standardizing Processes
[15:58] The Role of Analytics and Data Consistency
[19:04] Maintaining Agility During Scaling
[22:09] Optimizing Customer Support and Product Efficiency
[25:08] Learning from Mistakes and Decision-Making Strategies
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