Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

The next default of waiting until later is equally bad, since partners who bow out early will still expect an equal share of that first billion you make later. That way, if one of the partners disappears, or their role changes, a portion of the equity can be re-captured and reallocated to the other members.

Equity 238

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 238

Hunter Walker

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

If you combine this with self-awareness, you get a powerful combination for an early stage CEO. Pair a Difficult CEO with a COO/CTO/CPO who knows how to manage alongside and whole just might be greater than the sum of its parts. Do they have a cofounder who can balance them out? Make sure to talk with this person as well.

Technical Cofounder 101

Technical Cofounder Founder Cofounder .Net 101

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

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2013

Add basic partner contracts or alliances. Using contracts with partners for growth resources (“borrowing”) is best when you can both define the resources clearly and protect them with effective contractual terms. Too much reliance on growth via contracts and alliances makes you vulnerable to partners’ actions and conflicts of interest.

Merger 221

Merger Acquisition CTO Hire Fractional CTO 221

www.bothsidesofthetable.com

MAY 13, 2012

Want to Know Difference Between a CTO and a VP of Engineering? Because more technology people probably read startup blogs I’m guessing this post will come under more scrutiny. I hope many will read this and have an answer for the question, “what’s the different between a CTO and a VP of Engineering?”

Fractional VPE 89

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YoungUpstarts

MAY 21, 2020

by Nick Frandsen, co-founder and managing partner at Dovetail. In doing so, it then ensures you will deliver an MVP that not only captures your market but saves you time and money in the long run by not building features that don’t appeal to your target customer or are not necessary for early-stage launch. It’s genius!

Product 264

Product Cofounder Audience Product Development 264

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

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2012

Add basic partner contracts or alliances. Using contracts with partners for growth resources (“borrowing”) is best when you can both define the resources clearly and protect them with effective contractual terms. Too much reliance on growth via contracts and alliances makes you vulnerable to partners’ actions and conflicts of interest.

CTO Hire 229

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Merger Non-Compete 229

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

Companies manage these three types of innovation with an innovation portfolio – they build innovation internally, they buy it or they partner with resources outside their company. Corporate business development and strategic partner executives are flocking to Silicon Valley to find these five types of innovation.

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2014

The next default of waiting until later is equally bad, since partners who bow out early will still expect an equal share of that first billion you make later. That way, if one of the partners disappears, or their role changes, a portion of the equity can be re-captured and reallocated to the other members.

Cofounder 261

Cofounder Stock Founder Technical Cofounder 261

Steve Blank

JUNE 19, 2014

We assumed that for commercial hypotheses (clinical utility, who the customer is, data and quality of data, how reimbursement works, what parts of the product are valuable, roles of partners, etc.) clinical utility, customer, quality of data, reimbursement, what parts of the product are valuable, roles of CRO’s , and partners, etc.,)

Lean 269

Lean SBIR Intellectual Property Customer Development 269

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

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

We help founders through difficult moments, we help coach, we act as sparring partners, we help them resolve conflicts when they’re fighting with co-founders and we help them deal with adversity as well as successes. That’s why I often say The role of VC is “chief psychologist.” The role of VC is sparring partner.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Fractional CTO Cofounder Early Stage 150

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO). Set realistic milestones and achieve some.

Intellectual Property 281

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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

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

One of the readers asked my opinion around sharing your startup concept: My first question has always been - how do you protect your idea while shopping around for feedback, partners, developers, etc.? 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.

NDA 211

NDA Stealth Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement 211

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2016

The next default of waiting until later is equally bad, since partners who bow out early will still expect an equal share of that first billion you make later. That way, if one of the partners disappears, or their role changes, a portion of the equity can be re-captured and reallocated to the other members.

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

One of the readers asked my opinion around sharing your startup concept: My first question has always been - how do you protect your idea while shopping around for feedback, partners, developers, etc.? 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.

NDA 198

NDA Stealth Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement 198

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Understanding where your VC partner sits in their respective fund and where their fund is in the cycle of its investment lifecycle will help you understand your VCs behavior. I would say the norm for many early-stage companies is somewhere between 6-10 in-person meetings per year. What Rob wrote in his post is right.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board CTO Hire Fractional CTO Los Angeles 365

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 4, 2011

Almost every day I'm talking to early stage startup founders (see Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions ) about what they plan to do. I tend to ask a lot of questions, challenge aspects, make suggestions. But I've often been very surprised by one aspect of these conversations. What have you done so far to validate the concept?

Developer 396

Developer Founder Viral Oauth 396

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 4, 2011

Almost every day I'm talking to early stage startup founders (see Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions ) about what they plan to do. I tend to ask a lot of questions, challenge aspects, make suggestions. But I've often been very surprised by one aspect of these conversations. What have you done so far to validate the concept?

Developer 384

Developer Founder Viral Oauth 384

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO). Set realistic milestones and achieve some.

Intellectual Property 260

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

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

MARCH 20, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Time Rich, Time Poor and Apple Jeremy Liew at Lightspeed Venture Partners has an interesting post: Time Rich or Time Poor? He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO. He has been the CTO for several start-ups, most notably eHarmony.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

View from Seed

MAY 11, 2016

A few years ago, a friend of mine who was coming off an EIR gig at a well-known venture fund in Boston ended up joining one of my portfolio companies part-time as a technical advisor / interim CTO. They assemble what looks like a dream team — but one that ends up moving surprisingly slowly in the early stages.

Founder 159

Founder Cofounder CTO Hire Early Stage 159

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO). Set realistic milestones and achieve some.

Intellectual Property 253

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 253

www.entrepreneur.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

When you're getting started, sweat equity is often a critical component of your negotiating leverage with co-founders, early stage employees and others who aren't paid market wages to help you grow your business. Market value doesn't equal the sum of sweat equity invested by you and your partners.

Sweat Equity 55

Sweat Equity Equity Fractional CTO CTO 55

SoCal CTO

JULY 23, 2012

I seem to encounter a lot of people who want to attach a CTO label to me as I'm the only programmer on the founding team of three. While I do fill that role at the moment, I'm a little hesitant to refer to myself as a CTO as we still haven't launched a product, acquired a single user, or turned or a penny in profit.

CTO Hire 231

CTO Hire Technical Review Developer Software Review 231

SoCal CTO

MARCH 22, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Thursday, March 22, 2007 Discussion Creation Among Bloggers - LinkedIn, Blogging and Discussion Groups Ive been participating in a Yahoo Group that are users of LinkedIn and who are Bloggers: [link] Its an interesting group of folks from diverse backgrounds.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2010

Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CIO) and a product lead (CTO). Set realistic objectives and milestones.

Intellectual Property 222

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 222

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 11, 2009

She is a go to person for me when I have questions around technology or early stage marketing and branding. Same partner all along: Jorge Alonso, Creative Director. We do a lot of B2B and also have an "Early Stage Branding" practice for technology startups. Maybe ten years. Having fun again.

Early Stage 150

Early Stage Southern California Los Angeles Marketing 150

Rob Go

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 36

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 36

BeyondVC

JANUARY 3, 2019

We had another solid year filled with learning, growth, laughter, and new projects and partners. Thanks to all of the amazing founders, advisors, co-investors, corporate partners, and others that helped make 2018 an amazing year. Welcome to our annual boldstart recap and enterprise predictions letter. First check to Series B?—?congrats

Stealth 79

Stealth Advisory Board Cloud Virginia 79

SiliconHills

MAY 18, 2018

Jose Ancer is a tech and venture capital focused corporate partner in the Startup and Emerging Technology Group of Egan Nelson and the firm’s Chief Technology Officer. He represents early-stage companies across a variety of tech-focused industries and […]. He received his B.A.

Early Stage 64

Early Stage Texas Venture Capital Entrepreneur 64

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 28, 2010

This week’s guest was David Travers from Rustic Canyon Partners. Investors: Matrix (Dana Stadler, who was the CTO of PayPal). What I found strange about this funded was the fact that it was led by Summit Partners. Investors: Summit Partners (lead), Jeff Clavier, Aydin Senkut, Gary Vaynerchuk. 15mm in Series A.

Venture Capital 270

Venture Capital Cofounder Spain San Diego 270

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Capitalize - Regular pitch events where early stage companies get direct feedback from local VC’s. link] – Not a meetup, but a great mentorship program started by serial CTO Sean Lindsay. Investors: Antonio Rodriguez – Matrix Partners, HP ( blog , @antrod ). Invite only. Coworking Spaces and Accelerators.

Boston 56

Boston Technical Review Community CTO Hire 56

Austin Startup

APRIL 2, 2021

My CTO and I were asked at a cafe to complete a form with our names and contact details, using a pen that had been shared by many diners before and would be shared with many diners after. It was our aim to provide the solution free of charge in hopes that successful contact tracing would speed up the return of live events.

Austin 62

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