In this episode, I sit down with Nate Sullivan, the CTO at Academia.edu, to discuss technology strategy and special projects. Nate shares insights on identifying and prioritizing emerging technologies, balancing innovation with business needs, and collaborating with product teams to drive impactful technical advancements.Key TakeawaysThe Role of a CTO in Special ProjectsNate focuses on exploring technologies a few quarters ahead while aligning them with business strategy.Balancing Exploration with Business NeedsSpecial projects should solve real business problems rather than being just theoretical experiments.AI & Its Application in ResearchAcademia.edu has developed AI-powered tools like Academia Answers to extract insights from millions of research papers.Assessing Emerging TechnologiesInstead of chasing distant tech trends, Nate prioritizes technologies with immediate use cases.Product & Engineering AlignmentSpecial projects often treat the product team as the customer, ensuring technical capabilities translate into valuable user experiences.Measuring Success & Knowing When to PivotProjects have clear time-bound evaluations—if results don’t align with expectations, it's time to reassess or move on.Timestamped Highlights[00:00] Introduction to the episode & guest, Nate Sullivan[00:01] What Academia.edu does & Nate’s role as CTO[00:02] Exploring technologies for future implementation[00:04] AI-powered innovation at Academia.edu (Academia Answers)[00:07] How far ahead should companies look at emerging tech?[00:08] Working with the product team—when and how to involve them[00:12] Deciding when to stop a special project that isn’t progressing[00:14] Evaluating success: AB testing & impact on users[00:17] How the special projects team operates within engineering[00:19] Communicating progress to leadership & aligning with company goals[00:21] Final thoughts & how to connect with NateNotable Quote"I think the crucial thing is building something that a customer actually wants, which is very hard as we all know. It requires really understanding their needs, but also knowing about tools that they might not naturally think of." — Nate SullivanConnect with NateFind Nate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nate00/Enjoyed the Episode?Share this episode with a fellow tech leaderSubscribe & leave a review on your favorite podcast platformFollow us for more insights from industry experts