The product and engineering organization typically experiences strong structural changes as a startup grows. This is necessary to accommodate the increasing complexity and assure effective product creation and delivery.
Initially, a product org tends to be simple and monolithic. This kind of structure typically scales up to 10-15 employees (in the product org).
In a next growth phase, the product org is often broken up into two equally important part: One that defines the product under the leadership of the CTO (or CPO) and one that makes and delivers the product, typically led by a VP of Engineering. This duality ensures a balance of priorities between innovation speed and quality.
In even larger companies, the CTO often moves into a staff role and starts focusing on long-term innovation and external visibility. The product definition part is taken over by a CPO, while a VP of Engineering keeps leading the product delivery departments.
