The Builders CTO Network is a community of technical founders, CTOs, and engineering leaders who share lessons from the trenches — the things you won’t always find in books or blog posts.

This time, we spoke with Walter Heck, co-founder of Helixiora, and someone who’s been shipping real products for nearly 20 years. Walter has seen the ups and downs of startup building first-hand: from the tools that actually help, to the challenges of European funding, to the shift from writing code to leading teams.

We asked Walter five quick questions about the mindset and tactics that shape how he builds today.

1. What’s one book, paper, or tool that’s actually changed the way you build?

“Fathom, the AI note taker, has been a game-changer. It lets me focus fully on conversations without worrying about capturing every detail. That clarity helps me engage better with customers and come away with insights I can actually use.

I often take parts of those calls and, with ChatGPT, turn them into the foundation for new ideas and features. It’s something I’ve wanted for years — and now I even find myself wishing I had it in face-to-face meetings too.”

2. If you could fix one constraint in Europe’s tech ecosystem, what would it be?

“Access to public funding. There’s a lot of talk about billions in EU investment for AI, but for early-stage startups without a fundraising history, actually tapping into that money is nearly impossible. The process is so complex and time-consuming that it ends up favoring large, well-resourced companies. That’s a missed opportunity.”

3. If you were starting fresh today as a technical founder, what would you do differently?

“We started our company, Helixiora, with five founders — and most people told us that was a poor idea. Turns out, they were right. Two years in, we’re now two founders, which is how it should’ve started. Aligning early on who’s truly in it for the long haul would’ve saved us a lot of time and energy.”

4. When you shifted from “builder” to “leader,” what was the most painful adjustment?

“Letting go of the keyboard. In a leadership role, your words carry more weight than you think — sometimes too much. I had to learn that just because I said something offhand doesn’t mean it should become the team’s new direction. That shift in how people interpret you takes time to adjust to.”

5. What’s one hard-earned lesson you’d pass on to other builders?

“Two, actually: Done is better than perfect, and a little better every day. When you’re building from scratch, it’s okay if things are messy. Just focus on progress. Perfect can wait.”

Wrapping up

Walter’s answers are a classic CTO Network snapshot: practical, candid, and rooted in real experience.

From discovering how an AI note taker can change customer conversations, to the reality check on EU funding, to the hard truth about starting with too many co-founders — these are the kinds of insights that only come from time in the arena.

That’s exactly why we built the CTO Network: to surface hard-won lessons from peers who are building and leading right now.