SoCal CTO

APRIL 2, 2012

Using my StartupRoar as a radar, I came across a great post by Gabriel Weinberg Do you really need a full-time hire for that? Hiring seems to be the preferred use of seed funds (by investors and founders), whereas I'd prefer a focus on customer acquisition. In other words, they come in asking for help with sourcing and hiring.

CTO Hire 205

CTO Hire Technical Cofounder Fractional CTO Los Angeles 205

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 26, 2010

I’ve been having discussions with several people recently about the role of the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) in very early stage companies. In December 2007, I described how I commonly take on an Acting CTO Role in a Start-up. However, I’ve now begun questioning how and what an early-stage / startup CTO should be.

CTO 225

CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review 225

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 16, 2020

Being relatively a new service trend in today’s tech-driven world, CTO-as-a-Service (CaaS) is notably gaining its momentum. Though CTO as a traditional full-time position exists for decades, some companies do not feel they need a technology executive. Ideal scenario assumes there’s a CTO in house. Early-stage startups.

Fractional CTO 85

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Part-Time VPE 85

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 10, 2012

It was like having a bunch of mini- Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions all in one room. Structure development contracts appropriately or directing the in-house team appropriately. This is exactly the kind of thing I'm doing as a Part-Time CTO or Technical Advisor for startups. Is this person a CTO or a developer?

Technical Review 332

Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review 332

SoCal CTO

MAY 21, 2012

So, here goes: Dr. Tony Karrer Over the past 15 years, Tony has been a part-time CTO for more than 30 startups. Most notably, he was the original CTO for eHarmony for its first four years making him partly responsible for more than 4% of the marriages every year. Tony has a Ph.D. How do you know if you may have issues?

Fractional CTO 175

Fractional CTO CTO Hire Startup Social Network 175

SoCal CTO

APRIL 18, 2012

Todd Gitlin of Safire Partners - a go to resource here in LA for recruiting C-level positions at startups - was nice enough to compile some data again this year (see last year's Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data ). Or they are looking at Hiring a CTO and want to see what salary and equity ranges look like.

CTO Hire 294

CTO Hire Salary Equity Los Angeles 294

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2023

Level of responsibility and time allocated. Cofounders only able to work part-time, with responsibility and major income sources elsewhere, don’t carry the same risk as others with more operational responsibility. The CTO of many technical startups was the original founder.

Technical Cofounder 247

Technical Cofounder Equity Distribution Cofounder 247

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2020

Level of responsibility and time allocated. Co-founders only able to work part-time, with responsibility and major income sources elsewhere, don’t carry the same risk as others with more operational responsibility. The CTO of many technical startups was the original founder.

Cofounder 435

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Equity Intellectual Property 435

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2007

I generally am working as an acting CTO for about 3-4 start-ups or other companies at any one time. I also found this interesting graphic of the changing needs around the CTO role in different size/type companies that somewhat echoes my experience. During Stabilization, often the focus is transitioning to a full-time CTO.

Fractional CTO 231

Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review Early Stage 231

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2013

This strategy is called “organic growth,” yet it alone may yield only a fraction of the potential you could achieve, unless you add the additional strategies of partnerships and M&A (mergers and acquisitions). Add basic partner contracts or alliances. Use external sourcing to fill in the non-critical gaps. Partial acquisition.

Merger 221

Merger Acquisition CTO Hire Fractional CTO 221

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 19, 2024

Kenneth Wenger – Unveiling the Future of AI Kenneth Wenger is an author, a research scholar at Toronto Metropolitan University, and CTO of Squint AI Inc. Biggest Takeaway: While significant progress has been made in AI, we are still in the early stages of its development. Click here to listen to the episode.

Fractional CTO 77

Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review Marketing 77

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2012

This strategy is called “organic growth,” yet it alone may yield only a fraction of the potential you could achieve, unless you add the additional strategies of partnerships and M&A (mergers and acquisitions). Add basic partner contracts or alliances. Use external sourcing to fill in the non-critical gaps. Partial acquisition.

CTO Hire 229

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Merger Non-Compete 229

SoCal CTO

MAY 27, 2010

And I always recommend it to people involved in early stage startups. I received a follow-up question from an early-stage startup about the Founder Developer Gap that I’ve described before and that was part of the interview with Frank. This is somewhat the heart of what a CTO does. It’s a painful situation.

CTO Hire 170

CTO Hire Developer Founder Startup 170

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

Level of responsibility and time allocated. Co-founders only able to work part-time, with responsibility and major income sources elsewhere, don’t carry the same risk as others with more operational responsibility. The CTO of many technical startups was the original founder.

Equity 238

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 238

www.bothsidesofthetable.com

MAY 13, 2012

Want to Know Difference Between a CTO and a VP of Engineering? The terms “CTO” and “VP Engineering” have such stigmas associated with what they are that I’m sure some people will feel uncomfortable with the definitions I’ve put forward. I’ve heard both arguments from CTO’s.

Fractional VPE 89

Fractional VPE Part-Time VPE Fractional CTO CTO Hire 89

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 5, 2010

CEO, VP Products and CTO must all be in the physical location. I don’t like distributed development teams in early stage businesses. This is a topic that comes up often in Los Angeles because many CEOs are tempted to hire their tech teams in the Bay Area. I prefer the first sales hires to be in the home office.

Distribution 335

Distribution Offshore CTO Hire Bulgaria 335

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2014

We pride ourselves on being early-stage (thus the name, Upfront) but in this case it’s as early as it gets. The journey just under 18 months ago with a coffee meeting with my friend Sam Rosen in NYC just after Hurricane Sandy. I wrote about that experience here without giving away the details of the business.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Software Review Cofounder CTO Hire 380

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

It occurred to me that although we mentioned our new thematic approach when we raised our last fund in 2017, we haven’t really shared a broader manifesto about how we are approaching the early stage market. It’s been an interesting several years in the early stage venture eco-system, and the sands have shifted considerably.

North America 120

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 120

rapidrollout.wordpress.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

Web Startup Lessons Advice from a CTO and Entrepreneur Home About Startup Advice: When to Use a Consulting CTO There are not many to be found. He or she might call himself a “consulting CTO,&# “freelance CTO,&# “on-demand CTO,&# “CTO on call,&# “CTO for hire,&# or just a “technology strategy advisor.&#

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Fractional VPE 40

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2014

Level of responsibility and time allocated. Co-founders only able to work part-time, with responsibility and major income sources elsewhere, don’t carry the same risk as others with more operational responsibility. The CTO of many technical startups was the original founder.

Cofounder 261

Cofounder Stock Founder Technical Cofounder 261

firstround.com

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

How to Go From Google Engineer to First-Time CTO. How to Go From Google Engineer to First-Time CTO. Today, he’s the co-founder and CTO of Artillery , bringing console-quality gaming to the web browser. at least until one of our new hires requested one. Product and Engineering. First Round Capital.

CTO Hire 52

CTO Hire Engineer Software Review Part-Time VPE 52

SoCal CTO

MARCH 9, 2010

In my post, Technology Roles in Startups , I described some of the different ways I engage with startup companies such as CTO Founder , CTO , Part-Time CTO , Acting CTO , Consultant, Advisor and Advisory Board Member. And don’t confuse having a CTO with getting an Technology Advisor.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Advisory Board Technology Fractional CTO 150

View from Seed

MARCH 29, 2016

Founders furiously work their networks, post open positions on every reasonable-looking job board, and hope to quickly start hiring. While an entrepreneur’s enthusiasm is certainly necessary for effective recruiting, inefficient hiring processes put a strain on a startup’s already limited human capital resources.

Metrics 120

Metrics Founder CTO Hire Technical Review 120

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

A good early-stage CEO needs to be accessible, to be accountable for producing results and should be establishing the cultural norms of the company through direct leadership at all levels. You’ll get sales information from your VP of Sales, marketing information from your VP Marketing, tech information from your CTO and so on.

CTO Hire 308

CTO Hire Management Technical Review Part-Time VPE 308

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

In response, venture capital firms like Sequoia and Andreessen/Horowitz are hiring new partners just to work with their portfolio companies and match them to corporations. Ventures that are further along and now executing their business model are no longer startups, they are now early-stage companies.

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2012

Sacrifice and time commitment. A part-time commitment, while holding down a “real” paying job, is obviously not the same as a full-time executive role, especially if the cash compensation is nonexistent, deferred, or at high risk. Who will be the CEO, CFO, and CTO?

Intellectual Property 252

Intellectual Property Equity Cofounder CTO Hire 252

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

I recently wrote a post about why I didn’t think early-stage startups should have COOs. One great solution I see is to hire an outstanding CFO who runs both. I usually encourage people to think about titles like, “Founder & CTO&# or “Founder & VP Marketing.&#. But they aren’t the COO.

Operations 292

Operations CTO Hire Startup Early Stage 292

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO). Intellectual property is a large element of most early-stage company valuations, and this value determines what percent of the company an investor will expect to get for his money.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Sweat Equity CTO Hire 281

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 17, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Saturday, February 17, 2007 Finding Good Developers in Los Angeles? Im part of a CTO group that meets once a month to discuss various topics. He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO. He has been the CTO for several start-ups, most notably eHarmony.

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Technical Cofounder Southern California CTO Hire 150

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 19, 2010

Early stage startups have that task many times over after they receive their first funding. That's why hiring at the stage that our companies tend to be at is a unique proposition.one that can seriously create or destroy a ton of value. We're reversing the model. Why senior level?

CTO Hire 99

CTO Hire Hiring Portfolio Early Stage 99

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

He left out capital sources, but it's still a pretty succinct list of the types of people / communication you should be having early stage. Startups that come to me and ask me to sign an NDA in order to get Free Startup CTO Consulting really are missing it. You need all of these people to bake the cake. What is Stealth?

NDA 211

NDA Stealth Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement 211

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 14, 2012

To learn more about how your startup can find, hire and keep the top talent and quality workers it needs to succeed, download this free ReadWriteWeb Report: The Talent Wars: Today’s Toughest Startup Challenge. And you need to do it sooner rather than later. So what does it actually take to build a kickass startup team?

Technical Review 159

Technical Review CTO Hire Software Review Startup 159

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 20, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Tuesday, February 20, 2007 Innovation and Geography I ran across a post in Read/Write Web - Does Location Matter in Web Innovation? that talked about a recent NY Times article When It Comes to Innovation, Geography Is Destiny. eHarmongy) as an acting CTO.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

He left out capital sources, but it's still a pretty succinct list of the types of people / communication you should be having early stage. Startups that come to me and ask me to sign an NDA in order to get Free Startup CTO Consulting really are missing it. You need all of these people to bake the cake. What is Stealth?

NDA 198

NDA Stealth Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement 198

Business Plan Blog

OCTOBER 4, 2013

This is true for early stage funding as well as venture capital funding. A bonafide team is the assurance that the idea can be executed and that the business can scale when the time is right. Don’t hire people with skills and qualifications similar to yours. Hiring the right people at the right time is key.

Part-Time VPE 79

Part-Time VPE Fractional VPE Cofounder CTO Hire 79

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO). Intellectual property is a large element of most early-stage company valuations, and this value determines what percent of the company an investor will expect to get for his money.

Intellectual Property 260

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 27, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Tuesday, February 27, 2007 Stanford Podcasts - eHarmony - Greg Waldorf I was just pointed to a set of great podcasts done by Stanford B-School and particularly, I just listed to the podcast by eHarmonys Greg Waldorf. He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150