SoCal CTO

MARCH 11, 2010

Tim Berry has a great post on Why I Hate Those Huge Market Numbers tells us that he doesn’t like to see business plans with multi-billion market numbers used as the basis for projections. And it will be a consistent picture provided both to the team (CTO, COO) and to investors. We all are signing up for the same thing.

Metrics 159

Metrics Startup Retention Software Developers 159

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Continuing my series of posts that I’ve been collecting that live at the intersection of Startups and being a Startup CTO : Startup CTO Top 30 Posts for April 16 Great Startup Posts from March here are the top posts from May 2010. it’s about measuring online influence and I’m big on metrics as a key element of business planning; 2.)

Fractional CTO 248

Fractional CTO Startup Venture Capital Cofounder 248

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 15, 2009

I’m currently working with several startups, helping them launch new web businesses. Basically everything from initial feasibility analysis and business plans through defining the product (PRDs) and project managing the development of the project. What are you working on now? Wow, great questions.

Los Angeles 179

Los Angeles Southern California Management Product 179

SoCal CTO

APRIL 8, 2010

Granularity and Consistency of Startup Metrics - SoCal CTO , March 11, 2010 Tim Berry has a great post on Why I Hate Those Huge Market Numbers tells us that he doesn’t like to see business plans with multi-billion market numbers used as the basis for projections. It’s the old – 5% of massive market gives us a big number.

Software Review 150

Software Review Startup PR Exit Strategy 150

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 9, 2009

Yes, a lot of these questions are partially answered in a business plan / presentation deck / marketing plan. This discussion always is at a pretty high level in initial conversations and then drills down from there. A lot of the product discussion feeds off the answers to this conversation.

Software Developers 292

Software Developers Software Development Developer Software 292

SoCal CTO

MAY 4, 2010

Some great posts from April 2010 that talk to me in terms of being a CTO at a Startup. Redeye VC , April 13, 2010 Startup Development - SoCal CTO , April 23, 2010 Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering? Ben Casnocha: The Blog , April 15, 2010 Everyone I spoke with loved the idea.

CTO Hire 150

CTO Hire Vesting Venture Capital Startup 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 4, 2010

I’ve worked with 30+ early-stage companies in all sorts of capacities (and spoken to many, many more), so I thought it might be worthwhile trying to classify the various ways that I’ve engaged in different technology roles in startups. Actually, David’s taking even broader roles than I generally do as he’s CEO for at least one startup.

Technical Review 170

Technical Review Fractional CTO Technology CTO Hire 170

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers - SoCal CTO , November 1, 2010 I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. No Business Plan Survives First Contact With A Customer – The 5.2 How to Take Down Facebook -- Hint: It Ain't Twitter. But I don’t think so.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

August was a slow month in terms of traffic and I was away for a lot of the month, but there were some really great posts at the intersection of startups, technology, product and being a Startup CTO. Like it or not, you are now entering the dreaded realm of “formal business processes.” Develop your business plan.

Startup 191

Startup CTO Hire Cofounder Venture Capital 191

SoCal CTO

MAY 19, 2010

In his recent post, Top 10 Ways to Win a Business Plan Competition , he says: #4 I wanted to push this further down the list, but I just bristle at this: the revenue forecast. My 4 plans get increasingly more incredible, ranging from $50M, $60M, $70M to $161M in year 5! These are so detached from reality.

Hockey Stick 205

Hockey Stick NPV IRR Valuation 205

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Sometimes we draft business plans and coach the entrepreneurs on their pitch, and sometimes we even help develop a business model. Los Angeles is a great place for startups. We occasionally get involved with very early stage startups. We are not “finders” and usually serve the role of advisor and attorney.

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Southern California Startup SEO 150

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

500 Hats , February 1, 2010 When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Google Friend Connect for Authentication? 500 Hats , February 1, 2010 When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Google Friend Connect for Authentication? First Principles.

Silicon Valley 378

Silicon Valley Startup Term Sheet Venture Capital 378