Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2014

A while back I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ For a Startup, Two Heads are Always Better Than One ”. The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. You may be too independent to be partner material. Level of integrity.

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Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 269

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2022

These have helped them build trust and confidence among team members, and effectively sell their message to partners, investors, vendors and customers. As a role model, you must continuously upgrade your own skills, be alert for new developments and hone your listening ability. This applies to suppliers and business partners as well.

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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. Many of these founders have talked with several developers or development firms about their plans. Team – is there or will there be multiple segments in the development team?

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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. Many of these founders have talked with several developers or development firms about their plans. Team – is there or will there be multiple segments in the development team?

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Developer Founder Viral Oauth 384

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

I was driving home from the BIO conference in San Diego last month and had lots of time for a phone call with Dave, an ex student and now a founder who wanted to update me on his Customer Discovery progress. My contract developers building the app aren’t very responsive. A founding team without these skills is likely dead on arrival.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

A while back I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ For a Startup, Two Heads are Always Better Than One.” The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. You may be too independent to be partner material. Level of integrity.

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Partner Software Review CTO Hire Equity 258

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

How do you figure out what’s the right mix of skills for the co-founders of your startup? “After reading your post on Why Founders Should Know How to Code it looks like web/mobile startups have it easy. Trying to figure out what the right set of co-founders isn’t so clear. Are We Missing A Founder?

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2017

The challenge is to recognize and recruit that ideal partner match early with minimal cost and risk. In fact, I would broaden the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” Some people are too independent to be partner material. Neither partner needs to be managed.

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Partner Software Review CTO Hire Cofounder 140

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 29, 2019

The startup industry is littered with stories of founders being taken for a ride by their app developer. The key to choosing an app developer is research. Here are four critical questions to ask both yourself and an app developer before making the decision to engage them to design and deliver your app.

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Technical Review Developer Hiring Software Review 147

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2022

You may dream of developing a new silicon chip technology, but a bit of research should tell you that most disruptive solutions take billions in investment, and more time than you can afford for acceptance. Working for a well-funded existing company, or pursuing your dream as a hobby, may be more satisfying and productive.

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Founder Intellectual Property Social Media Business Plan 262

Mucker Lab

OCTOBER 10, 2023

Sales development is a nuanced blend of art and science, requiring a delicate balance for its effective implementation within a company. Drawing from substantial experience, Sally Duby from The Bridge Group provides valuable insights into the intricate realm of sales development. Sally's wisdom sheds light on this dilemma.

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Early Stage Sales Developer Development Team Review 78

SiliconHills

OCTOBER 25, 2019

Instead of seeking venture capital, Joyce Durst, Co-Founder, and CEO of Growth Acceleration Partners decided to bootstrap the software development company. Growth Acceleration Partners, known as GAP, offers analytics, cloud, mobile and QA services. At that company, she raised […].

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Software Developers Software Development Partner Software 81

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 4, 2023

Today we present Olga Camargo as part of The Startup Magazine’s Female Founder Interview series. Olga has a great story as CEO and Founder of SHENIX , a Chicago-based fintech app company focused on financial education and advisory services for Latinas. IL Latino Legislative Caucus Foundation Economic Development Committee.

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Gust

APRIL 13, 2014

A while back I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ For a Startup, Two Heads are Always Better Than One ”. The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. You may be too independent to be partner material. Level of integrity.

Partner 179

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 179

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2011

A while back I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ Ten Steps in Choosing the Right Startup Partner ”. The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. You may be too independent to be partner material.

Partner 240

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 240

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2010

A week ago I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ How to Select an Ideal Startup Co-Founder ”. The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal business partner. You may be too independent to be partner material. Similar values and goals.

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Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 230

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2016

Today is amongst the proudest days I’ve had at Upfront Ventures — getting the chance to announce that Kevin Zhang has been promoted to Partner. Watching him develop over the past 4.5 We are sparring partners, not “deciders.” years at Upfront has been both a pleasure and also has taught me a lot about venture capital.

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YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 25, 2018

Toronto’s Mark Attanasio has spent some 20 years advising businesses at various stages in their development on what it takes to position themselves for growth – whether it’s through traditional transactional activities like management buyouts and mergers and acquisitions or via a public listing on a Canadian stock exchange.

Partner 113

Partner Technical Review Management Due Diligence 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Excellent detailed resources are everywhere, including a classic book, “ The Startup Checklist ,” by serial entrepreneur and founder of the New York Angels, David S. Incorporating a business entity early through online services.

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Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

Here’s another from The Startup Magazine Founder Interview Series. We interviewed Mr. Abraham Gin, an entrepreneur, business coach, and CEO of Gin Consulting Group , which provides unique leadership development and training platforms. TSM: With a bit more detail, what does Gin Consulting Group do? What problems does it solve?

Leadership 166

Leadership Founder Technical Review Entrepreneur 166

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 18, 2020

As part of The Startup Magazine Female Founder series , we sat down with award-winning entrepreneur Elizabeth Colón. Elizabeth: An investment in a NAWBO membership provides a portfolio of benefits that propel business growth and fuel personal and professional development. Tech development? to advocate for the 11.6

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Founder Chicago LLC Leadership 158

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

The market was down considerably with public valuations down 53–79% across the four sectors we were reviewing (it is since down even further). ==> Aside, we also have a NEW LA-based partner I’m thrilled to announce: Nick Kim. To that end I’m really excited to share that Nick Kim has joined Upfront as a Partner based out of our LA offices.

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Technical Review Pre-Money Valuation San Francisco Valuation 416

View from Seed

APRIL 6, 2021

You have 4-6 years of professional experience as a technology operator, founder, or investor in New York. You are intentional about developing a point of view on new sectors that we can learn from. You have a deep desire to learn the venture capital business and are ready to hustle to meet the next great founder. You are hungry.

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Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage Cofounder 317

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2013

Product development is stuck at that 90% mark, a key person leaves, and customers are talking but not buying. I challenge any startup to show me they have avoided all of these: One of the founders isn’t delivering. Investment partners are squeezing you. entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki startup founder marriage business'

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2014

Much has been written about when it is time to hire a “professional CEO” to run a startup company and of course that has long been a norm in Silicon Valley when founders find that their inexperience may be a limiting factor in company growth ( know as the Peter Principle ). I like technical founders so this wasn’t an issue.

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Founder CTO Hire Silicon Valley Leadership 309

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2012

The simple answer is to find a business partner, not an “implementer,” who already has the technical experience you need, and is willing and able to run that side of the business. If you are an entrepreneur, like Andrew Mason , CEO of Groupon, with a degree in music and no technical business partner to be found, your job is a bit harder.

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Technical Review Technology Founder Management 230

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. The mess really comes from a developer who was willing to get started on a product that was not fully thought out. Some founders are taken aback.

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Software Developers Software Development Developer Software 292

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2021

As an entrepreneur mentor, my mission is to foster the attributes in you as a startup founder that I believe will lead to success. As an example, I worked with Bill Gates early on, but I fear he may have failed without partners Steve Ballmer and Paul Allen. You will find that your team, partners, and vendors feel the same way.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

For startups, the entrepreneur and founder is almost always the face of the company. Investors, partners, team members, and customers implicitly value or devalue a startup based on the leader’s physical presence, emotional identity, social skills, intellectual agility, moral values, and past performance in the domain.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

Women Entrepreneurs Can

JUNE 3, 2021

Business success requires a range of skills and talents and it often makes sense to have a business partner rather than going solo. Iconic companies that have achieved phenomenal success include Microsoft, Apple, Google and Intel — every one of these companies had a couple of founders. Integrity & Trustworthiness.

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Partner Technical Review Cofounder Georgia 52

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2011

The simple answer is to find a business partner, not an “implementer,” who already has the technical experience you need, and is willing and able to run that side of the business. If you are an entrepreneur, like Andrew Mason , CEO of Groupon, with a degree in music and no technical business partner to be found, your job is a bit harder.

Technical Review 236

Technical Review Partner Entrepreneur Architecture 236

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. And I tried to evaluate the idea and figure out: What did the founder really need here? Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ? Did they really need a Startup CTO or Developer or both? Was it a case of needing Homework?

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2021

Startup founders are known for their passion for their startup idea, and for their passion to kill every competitor. It provided an industry-leading graphic development interface, but was not so strong on modeling and simulation. As a result, we shared in capturing a new high-end market, without major new marketing or development.

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SoCal CTO

JANUARY 26, 2010

What worries me a bit is how often I read that startups should hire a developer / hands-on lead developer. But often the result of a Founder hiring a developer or lead developer or even a VP engineering is a gap created between the founders and the developers. Gap closed, right? Probably not.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

He gives a wealth of practical advice on building a successful technical startup, including some specifics that I like on what constitutes a dream team of partners: The technical guru. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. Outsourcing your core competency does not work. The financial suit.

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Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

Supportive co-founder and executive positions. Every young entrepreneur needs an experienced partner for credibility with investors, and as a trusted cohort for strategy and growth discussions. Software and hardware development architects and designers. Member of the Advisory Board. Manage customer service.

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Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Excellent detailed resources are everywhere, including a classic book, “ The Startup Checklist ,” by serial entrepreneur and founder of the New York Angels, David S. Incorporating a business entity early through online services.

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Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404