In this episode of Stay Ahead with StayWhizzy, Satvik (Co-Founder & CEO @ StayWhizzy) sits down with Arunansu Pattanayak, a tech leader at Microsoft and the mind behind the game-changing Partial CTO model.

From scaling products within one of the world’s biggest tech ecosystems to mentoring and guiding early-stage founders through his unique fractional CTO approach — Arunansu has seen both sides of the startup and enterprise world.

This conversation is a roadmap for anyone building technology in 2025 — founders, product managers, early engineers, or aspiring CTOs.

• Arunansu’s journey from being a curious tech tinkerer to a thought leader in tech strategy

• How his work at Microsoft shaped his thinking around scale, structure, and leadership

• The real problems most early-stage founders face when hiring or working with tech teams

• Why he created the “Partial CTO” model and how it fills critical gaps for growing startups

• Common mistakes in product-building cycles and how to avoid expensive pivots

• Systems vs hero culture: how to build lasting, repeatable tech teams

• Red flags to watch for in bad product/engineering roadmaps

• Why creating content as a tech leader matters in building credibility

• Where Arunansu is headed next — and why he’s doubling down on product-community building

🧠 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Arunansu’s journey from being a curious tech tinkerer to a thought leader in tech strategy

• How his work at Microsoft shaped his thinking around scale, structure, and leadership

• The real problems most early-stage founders face when hiring or working with tech teams

• Why he created the “Partial CTO” model and how it fills critical gaps for growing startups

• Common mistakes in product-building cycles and how to avoid expensive pivots

• Systems vs hero culture: how to build lasting, repeatable tech teams

• Red flags to watch for in bad product/engineering roadmaps

• Why creating content as a tech leader matters in building credibility

• Where Arunansu is headed next — and why he’s doubling down on product-community building

🕒 Timestamps — Episode Flow:

00:00 – Welcome and Introduction to Arunansu Pattanayak

02:10 – Childhood curiosity & tech: From tinkerer to Microsoft

06:25 – What “building at scale” actually means

10:50 – The birth of the “Partial CTO” concept

15:30 – Where startups go wrong without tech co-founders

20:00 – Fractional CTO vs full-time CTO: When and why

24:45 – Hiring smart: Aligning with founder vision and market speed

29:30 – Engineering mistakes, red flags, and failed builds

34:00 – Thought leadership and building online credibility

38:00 – What’s next for Arunansu and his Partial CTO movement

41:18 – Final thoughts and gratitude

👤 Guest Details:

• Name: Arunansu Pattanayak

• Role: Microsoft Leader, Creator of “Partial CTO”

• Website:arunansupattanayak.com

• LinkedIn:linkedin.com/in/arunansuspeaks

🎙️ Host Info:

• Name: Satvik

• Role: Co-Founder & CEO @ StayWhizzy

• LinkedIn:linkedin.com/in/satvik-mishra-8abb2a186

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🚀 About StayWhizzy

StayWhizzy helps ambitious startups and founders grow through creative content, SEO, podcast production, and strategic storytelling.

• 🌐 staywhizzy.com

• 📧 [email protected] | [email protected]

• 📸 Instagram: @staywhizzy