Olio cofounder Tessa Clarke.

Opinion

March 10, 2026

A startup’s most essential hire is no longer a coder — but a clear thinker

Startups used to be powered by engineering velocity. Now they’re powered by sharp, decisive thinkers

Tessa Clarke

5 min read

I’ve always wanted to learn to code. But I’ve never quite managed to carve out the time to do so, having been flat out as cofounder of Olio, the food sharing app. Recently I’ve had the dawning realisation that I can probably strike it off my to-do list for good. Not because I’ve done it. But because I will never need to. Coding, it seems, is on its way to becoming our generation’s calligraphy: a craft some people will continue to practise beautifully, even obsessively, but no longer the economic bottleneck around which entire organisations are designed.

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Tessa Clarke

Tessa Clarke is cofounder and CEO of OLIO

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