Becoming a successful CTO and the importance of mentors and self-development

Niilo is the CTO of Wolt, a subsidiary of DoorDash. In this episode, he talks to Swarmia founder and CEO Otto Hilska about lessons learned while rapidly scaling an engineering organization.

Timestamps (0:23) Niilo’s background (03:49) Where to focus first (06:02) Product management in a 3-way marketplace (07:36) Principles-driven development (09:18) Turning “big things” into reality (12:26) Choosing the right work (15:18) Staying close to the customer (17:26) The culture at Wolt (21:17) A high bar for excellence, driven by data (24:11) Recruiting and hiring (32:43) Growth & Growing Pains (41:30) Ownership and standardization (47:11) Niilo’s journey

Find the transcript: ⁠https://unblocked.fm/episodes/niilo-säämänen-cto-scaling-wolt

Where to find Niilo

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niilosaamanen

Where to find Otto

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilska
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mutru

Where to find Rebecca

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmurphey

Links and mentions

• Wolt: https://wolt.com/en
• High Output Management: https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884
• Marty Cagan books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Marty-Cagan/author/B00J21JTNM
• Project Aristotle: https://rework.withgoogle.com/print/guides/5721312655835136/