SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

I asked some of the same questions I ask in my Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions and then I get to a very common conversation: Me : Do you have specs? And in the case of defining mobile/web/software, there is even more variability in terms of form and format. The business canvas model is a good short list. Founder : Ummm.

Developer 354

Developer Technical Review Fractional CTO Software Review 354

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 9, 2009

I just had an all-too common conversation with the founder of a startup who had spent more than a year working with a software development company who had produced a mess. If I’m being asked to do startup software development, I’m going to push fairly hard on key questions that the startup needs to have answered before they develop anything.

Software Developers 292

Software Developers Software Development Developer Software 292

YoungUpstarts

MAY 21, 2020

You envision your business as the next Uber or Spotify, yourself as the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, reaching that prestigious ‘unicorn’ startup status in record time. Like most entrepreneurs, you’ve probably mapped out the business plan, dreamed up the layout and you’re already snapping up domains and emailing developers with your plan.

Product 264

Product Cofounder Audience Product Development 264

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 6, 2011

" Today I had two conversations with early stage startups (see Free CTO Consulting ). " One was an enterprise software product. I’ve spoken to dozens of customers, I have a validated customer persona, built an MVP to test key behavioral hypotheses, and the data doesn’t back what you’re saying." billion dollar mistake.

Customer 227

Customer Fractional CTO Viral Lean 227

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

Meredith came to see me along with the CTO Marc Berte. Meredith Perry came up with the idea for uBeam while still in college at University of Pennsylvania and like many great inventors won her school’s business plan competition. Methods for identifying the size, shape & motion of devices while they are moving.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence CTO Hire 418

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. Part of those questions are around Startup Metrics.

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

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

I spent nearly a decade building software for large companies and then advising companies on the same. You’re sales person is getting blocked by the CTO who says she shouldn’t go above him but the CTO isn’t approving the deal. When he re-approached me he had a much better plan and he had a prototype!

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Fractional CTO Technical Review CTO Hire 414

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 15, 2009

Steve Gilison worked as a market researcher and product manager at a startup where my company, TechEmpower , did the software / web development. I’m currently working with several startups, helping them launch new web businesses. It was great to hear from a long, lost colleague the other day. Remind me about your background Steve?

Los Angeles 179

Los Angeles Southern California Management Product 179

Business Plan Blog

AUGUST 22, 2013

If you decide to outsource your website/mobile development to a third-party service provider you will want to put together a good RFP with your CTO before approaching potential vendors. Additional documentation such as a business plan , wire-framing, etc. Plans to integrate with any third party technology.

Web Development 55

Web Development Web Developer Fractional CTO 55

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

YoungUpstarts

JULY 17, 2020

by John Blackmon, CTO of eLearning Brothers. As VR technology rapidly evolves, the costs involved will continue to drop, and the number of situations where it makes sense to train digitally instead of physically will exponentially increase. The advantages of immersive technology as a teaching tool are almost limitless.

Video 254

Video Cost Developer Technology 254

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

In 1997 we hired an NYU undergrad to create a better bplans.com site, focusing on business planning and especially publishing sample plans. He’s now in his middle 30s, has become known for his success as CTO of Huffington Post and as of this month as founder of rebelmouse.com. He worked for us remotely from New York.

CTO Hire 66

CTO Hire New York Software Web 66

www.inc.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

500|5000 Conference Honorees Resources Press Apply 2011 ); Topics > Leadership and Managing > Human Resources > Job Descriptions > How to Hire a CTO When its time to add a technologist to your slate of executives, what are the best practices to follow? Some companies have a CTO focused on operations under the CIO.

Fractional CTO 42

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Hiring 42

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

Since the term “cloud computing” was coined in 1996—at least as we have come to understand its meaning—the software as a service industry has exploded. Step 1: Start with a lean plan. Instead of sitting down to write a 40-page business plan, start with a one-page pitch. How to Write a Business Plan in Under an Hour.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Steve Blank

JULY 14, 2015

Oren Jacob , ex-CTO of Pixar and now CEO of ToyTalk. —– The focus of our first segment was on Alexander Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas – how and why he created it and how startups and large companies are using it to search for repeatable, scalable business models. They all know they’re made up.

Channel 120

Channel Business Model Cofounder Business Plan 120

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

Another called Parker Harris, the co-founder and CTO. We have also been very busy with our next release, which is due out by December 11th (but I’ll save that for a different post). Consumer approach to software for business users. Page 4: Business Model. Page 2: What’s unique about Koral. Folksonomy.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Writing A Business Plan. Running A Home-Based Business. Naming a Business. Financing a Small Business. Buying a Small Business. RUNNING A BUSINESS. TECHNOLOGY. Internet and Online Business. Business Software. Technology. Sales & Marketing | Wednesdays. Newsletters.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

rob.by

MARCH 8, 2012

He argued that software engineers don’t finish what they start, and that you’re better off paying a technical person than partnering with one. Michael’s second problem comes from holding software engineers to an unprecedented standard of business savviness: Most software engineers aren’t business people.

Technical Cofounder 42

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Engineering Fractional CTO 42

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. Five Reasons You Haven’t Launched - Software By Rob , November 10, 2010 Photo by stevendepolo. How to Take Down Facebook -- Hint: It Ain't Twitter.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

blog.captainrecruiter.com

MARCH 8, 2012

Two years ago I got the bug to do an online recruiting startup and I began the hunt to find a technical co-founder - a software engineer who works for no cash - to help me build my dream website. You may get a software engineer to start something for you, but they wont stick with the project when it gets difficult.

Cofounder 40

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Founder Software Engineering 40

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 8, 2008

It felt like software that grownups were supposed to use, and we didnt qualify. It cost us a few hundred thousand dollars to get our app up and running, but none of that was dollars spent on software licenses or professional services. I dont really remember why it didnt work. It wouldnt boot. It would boot and crash. yeah, its awesome.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Technology Continuous Deployment Lean 68

thebarefootvc

FEBRUARY 1, 2011

Or the boy in Detroit who becomes a software developer and creates an app to educate a child in the slums of Brazil. It could be the little girl in Iraq who grows up to be a scientist that makes the discovery which will one day save an American life.

Silicon Valley 45

Silicon Valley India Africa Burma 45

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. He blogs to 10,000 web entrepreneurs at Software by Rob and co-hosts the podcast Startups for the Rest of Us. Retirement Plans.

Startup 191

Startup CTO Hire Cofounder Venture Capital 191

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

If the founder was lucky, he got to stay as chairman or CTO. It’s hard to imagine, but in the 20th century there were no startup blogs or books on startups to read, and business schools (the only places teaching entrepreneurship) believed the best thing they could teach startups was how to write a business plan.

Founder 245

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 245

Campus Entrepreneurship

APRIL 29, 2011

Shortly after, he served as Director of Technology at Progress Software. Later he served as CTO at AppZero. Receives Babson College 2011 Student Business Of The Year Award. . * Carl Hu has over a decade of experience in IT. His work was crucial in building Microsoft SQL Server 2000. For more, read: Min.us

SQL 34

SQL Hosting SEO Cloud 34

Up and Running

OCTOBER 8, 2015

See Also: How Not Doing Market Research Sunk My Business. Don’t just do it to fill in a section of your business plan. Do it because it will greatly reduce risk as you start your business. Detailed market research isn’t necessary for all businesses. Garrett embodies the attributes of our ideal customer.

Marketing 60

Marketing Forecast CTO Hire Finder 60

Up and Running

MARCH 11, 2015

.” Our featured speaker was Caroline Cummings, the VP of Business Development at Palo Alto Software. As the former co-founder and CEO of two technology companies, Caroline has experienced both start-up failures and successes, and has raised close to $1 million in investment capital.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence Exit Strategy 60

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?

Silicon Valley 378

Silicon Valley Startup Term Sheet Venture Capital 378

www.quora.com

JANUARY 16, 2011

If you are a creative guy with a good head for business looking for an engineering partner, send me a summary of your idea and business plan, and I'll do the implementation!" you can steal an idea just from hearing it, it is not really a good defensible business idea. Yishan Wong • Nov 8, 2010 lol.if

Developer 42

Developer Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder 42

blog.expensify.com

APRIL 24, 2012

This literally the dumbest, most ignorant piece that I’ve ever read about software development and/or hiring programmers. NET and PHP, I can tell you the average.NET guy knows far more about good software design than the average PHP guy. In every population there are some that are both brilliant and malicious. Sjoerd Franken.

Java 107

Java PHP Software Review Coder 107

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

The group seeks out technologies that are complementary to the company’s core operations, including applications, software and infrastructure startups. Ted Serbinski: Angel investor Ted Serbinski sold his startup MothersClick to Lifetime in 2008 and joined the cable network as CTO of the ParentsClick Network.

Angel Investor 80

Angel Investor Startup San Francisco Social Media 80