SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 10, 2012

It was like having a bunch of mini- Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions all in one room. This is exactly the kind of thing I'm doing as a Part-Time CTO or Technical Advisor for startups. And it made me come to a new realization: Every early-stage web/mobile/online startup should have at least one technical advisor, probably two.

Technical Review 332

Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review 332

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

In September 2017, I spent 2 weeks in Austin, Texas to understand what makes this vibrant startup ecosystem tick. This 4-part story, however, explores the Austin ecosystem based on the 4Cs framework —  culture , capital, customers , and competencies. Should Early Stage Startups Move to Austin because of Capital?

Early Stage 48

Early Stage Austin Silicon Valley Texas 48

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Does the mind metabolize the failure quickly, is there a good, natural framework for reflection in place? How is the company culture, in its early stages, set up to process a setback ? Like Vivek’s team, consistent winners often have multiple early encounters with failing, being set back, and falling short.

Early Stage 134

Early Stage Technical Review Software Review Algorithm 134

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2013

Every entrepreneur tries to maximize his startup growth by building and selling more product and services for the widest geographic area that he can support. In every startup, as well as in mature companies, there is no substitute for constantly maintaining a pipeline of alternatives. Both of these qualms are wrong and shortsighted.

Merger 221

Merger Acquisition CTO Hire Fractional CTO 221

Eric Friedman

JULY 19, 2019

Many early stage investors look for financial models for 3+ years from founders to make an investment. The best resource I have seen for financial modeling templates for startups is [link] which is built by [link] and a constant place I have sent founders. In fact, for early stage companies you are usually wildly wrong.

Early Stage 114

Early Stage Startup Framework Revenue 114

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 8, 2010

Most technology startups seem to be founded by three types of people: product managers, engineers or biz dev types (MBAs and the like). Very few of them are started, in my experience, by sales people and very few early stage companies really understand sales. Here’s mine: Let me start with a few biases.

Early Stage 350

Early Stage Startup Sales Campaign 350

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2012

Every entrepreneur tries to maximize his startup growth by building and selling more product and services for the widest geographic area that he can support. In every startup, as well as in mature companies, there is no substitute for constantly maintaining a pipeline of alternatives. Both of these qualms are wrong and shortsighted.

CTO Hire 229

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Merger Non-Compete 229

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 1, 2019

This is the second in a three-part series that aims to help you understand the Traction Gap Framework® – a step-by-step approach that startup teams can use to go from ideation to preparing to scale. Read on to find out what exactly the “gap” in the Traction Gap Framework is and why traversing that gap is so critical to your success.

Cleveland 127

Cleveland Framework Marketing Early Stage 127

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. I love how transparently Danielle lives her startup (& encourages other to join in) because it provides much needed transparency to other startups. Let’s set up a framework. Gross Burn vs. Net Burn.

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

View from Seed

JULY 5, 2022

RH: What’s your favorite thing about being an early-stage founder? Today sustainability and ESG are still very nascent within companies, with regulatory bodies and frameworks still being set in stone. RH: Please introduce yourself. I’m Connor Cash, the founder of Caesar and I grew up outside of Boston but currently live in DC!

DC 156

DC Software Review Government Boston 156

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 24, 2013

One of the challenges for investing in startups has always been the lack of an established way for founders and investors to actually measure and decide on the valuation of the startup concerned. “If you are an angel investor and a venture is seeking capital from you, insist on getting its Worthworm report.

Pre-Money Valuation 150

Pre-Money Valuation Web Technical Review Angel Investor 150

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. However, I’ve now begun questioning how and what an early-stage / startup CTO should be. Here are a bunch of other kinds of questions that get addressed by Startup CTOs.

CTO 225

CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review 225

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2022

The good news is that a recent Kauffman Early-Stage Entrepreneurship (KESE) Index shows the highest level of new business activity recorded in the last two decades, and the cost of entry at an all-time low. In this context, it’s time for every business, not only startups, to take a fresh look at the basics of business success.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Startup Early Stage Venture Capital 281

YoungUpstarts

MAY 7, 2019

If followed, we believe it can help startup teams navigate the critical early stages of development – and avoid joining a majority of early stage companies that end up on the entrepreneurial scrap heap. Read on to discover why successfully traversing the Traction Gap is critical to early stage companies.

Cleveland 196

Cleveland Early Stage Framework Startup 196

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 3, 2021

Underpinning it all are OKRs — Objectives and Key Results — the framework by which individuals, teams and the entire company is managed. Now we have software startups who have basically built their business around OKR-style planning! is a software startup making it easier for companies to manage and monitor their AI/ML models.

Early Stage 145

Early Stage Management Startup Portfolio 145

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 7, 2017

Launching your startup in a down economy doesn’t make it any less likely to last. Two conditions that do matter to your startup’s out-year viability are the cost and length of its product development cycle. These five strategies are proven to work for early-stage companies in a variety of industries — including, perhaps, yours.

Cost 100

Cost Developer Small Business Administration Marketing 100

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

This philosophy comes from The Lean Startup methodology , which relies on testing hypotheses to better understand your customers’ pain points and goals. Marketers can use this framework to evaluate the risks associated with different growth strategies. Think about the touchpoints at each stage of the AARRR framework.

Marketing 115

Marketing Framework Metrics Channel 115

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2022

Every startup wants to be a predictable success, yet so few ever achieve this enviable position. In reality, getting there is not a random walk, and requires an understanding of the stages that every business must navigate and the organizational characteristics necessary at each stage.

Startup 351

Startup Framework Employee Management 351

Up and Running

APRIL 12, 2021

For many startups and small businesses, talent management can sometimes be deprioritized from the everyday chaos and operations. Establishing a performance management strategy and a feedback culture early on, even with 1-2 employees, will improve employees’ performance, ultimately contributing to the overall companies’ success.

Employee 139

Employee Management Salary Retention 139

View from Seed

DECEMBER 8, 2015

Editor’s note: At a recent team meeting at NextView, we looked at the high number of startups we invested in which were pre-product at the time. We have a bias towards very early stage investing for a bunch of reasons, but it’s not easy. I think this stage, more than others, is very dependent on the individual investor.

Product 120

Product Startup Early Stage Seed Capital 120

JANUARY 9, 2014

No clear vision or purpose This should be the starting point for any startup founder, but it’s often overlooked. Tony Hsieh Without a clear purpose, a startup can meander along without much momentum. in business we can create much deeper connections with our audience and give our startups a better chance of success.

Early Stage 102

Early Stage Startup Cofounder Design 102

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2022

As an entrepreneur, you need to start early to implement the discipline and business practices that will lead to success. Even though everyone has an opinion on good early stage practices, I was impressed with the actionable blueprint in the classic book by Scott Duffy, “ Launch! Use personal credit cards for business.

Early Stage 307

Early Stage Bootstrapping Revenue Framework 307

David Teten

APRIL 1, 2021

I propose here a framework for prioritizing your platform buildout. Real Ventures , an early-stage, Canadian-based fund, runs a two-day Founder Camp every six months. Cory Bolotsky , Co-Chair of the VC Platform Global Community shares a ten-component framework to comprehensively cover a VC fund’s Platform Strategy.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Portfolio Equity 78

View from Seed

APRIL 21, 2015

On the heels of our research on HBS entrepreneurs , NextView’s Dimitri Dadiomov (HBS ’15) interviewed several top founders on the early stages of their companies. On Launching and Finding Early Traction. Startups are all about just going out there and doing it.

Founder 120

Founder Las Vegas Entrepreneur Cofounder 120

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 30, 2017

In September 2017, I spent 2 weeks in Austin, Texas to understand what makes this vibrant startup ecosystem tick. This 4-part story, however, explores the Austin ecosystem based on the 4Cs framework —  culture , capital , customers , and competencies. Should Early Stage Startups Move to Austin because of Competencies?

Early Stage 48

Early Stage Austin Silicon Valley Intellectual Property 48

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 4, 2015

It’s no secret that setting goals is critical to achieving any kind of success, and making sure they’re realistic and measurable is vital to maintaining momentum and motivation, especially in the startup game. The challenge for most startups is that they don’t just have a few goals — they have every goal. How OKRs Can Help.

Agile 100

Agile Startup Cofounder Metrics 100

techcrunch.com

JUNE 22, 2012

Startup Battlefield. Free Startup Docs: How Much Equity Should Advisors Get? He covers startups, music, social, mobile, health, and education. So, the Founder Institute has developed a solution to this long-standing pain in the ass that all startups experience. Enterprise. Smartphones. Digital Cameras. Headphones.

Equity 94

Equity San Francisco Startup Silicon Valley 94

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

There is much talk these days that startup valuations have decreased and may continue to do so and that the amount of time it takes to fund raise may take longer. The earlier the round, the less capital you need and the more reasonable your valuation the less time that is needed generally to raise capital.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate Cap Table Valuation Software Review 150

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

However the Customer Development Model and the Lean Startup work equally well for startups on the web. I realized the Customer Development model needs to be clearer in what exactly a startup is supposed to do, regardless of the business model. But it also requires you to ask a few questions about your startup before you use it.

Customer Development 219

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2023

I remember a classic book, “ The Purpose Effect ,” by renowned author Dan Pontefract, that provides a good framework and background or doing just that. In the difficult early stages of any business, it can also seem like you are leaving some things for others that should be in your pocket.

Early Stage 238

Early Stage Framework Community Customer 238

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2019

As an entrepreneur, you need to start early to implement the discipline and business practices that will lead to success. Even though everyone has an opinion on good early stage practices, I was impressed with the actionable blueprint in the classic book by Scott Duffy, “ Launch! Use personal credit cards for business.

Early Stage 317

Early Stage Bootstrapping Framework Revenue 317

The Equity Kicker

JULY 19, 2013

This graphic comes from a post on Venture Village about design thinking for startups but it should apply equally to investment companies. Beyond highlighting areas that need fixing this framework is useful tool to make sure we are doing as well as we can across all aspects of our product design. Exactly what is in the bundle?

Early Stage 113

Early Stage Design Venture Capital Framework 113

David Teten

MARCH 28, 2012

In addition, in light of increasing competition in the startup funding space, a methodology for helping portfolio companies consistently is a strong competitive advantage. So how can VCs help their startups? Lowering that failure rate would be highly impactful on venture capitalist returns, if we could figure out how to do it.

Portfolio 144

Portfolio Private Equity Venture Capital Early Stage 144

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2020

I remember a classic book, “ The Purpose Effect ,” by renowned author Dan Pontefract, that provides a good framework and background or doing just that. In the difficult early stages of any business, it can also seem like you are leaving some things for others that should be in your pocket.

Early Stage 436

Early Stage Framework Community Customer 436

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. Seed-stage compatible: Like traditional equity VC investors, Flexible VCs accomodate early-stage investment risk within their portfolios better than a traditional RBI funder. Less established regulatory framework. . Of the Inc.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Dividend Equity 78

Steve Blank

MARCH 3, 2015

Starting in the 1950’s, Stanford’s engineering department became “outward facing” and developed a culture of spinouts and active faculty support and participation in the first wave of Silicon Valley startups. It has replaced how to write a business plan with hands-on Lean Startup methods. That has changed in the last few years.

Business Plan 120

Business Plan Silicon Valley Saudi Arabia Lean 120

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 3, 2009

So I thought I’d try to lay out a framework for how you should think about it as many you will inevitably be faced with this experience. Another big question you’ll want to answer is whether your strategic investor has a long history in investing in startups. And I had 2 “strategic&# investors in my first company.

Strategic Investors 279

Strategic Investors Venture Capital Due Diligence Early Stage 279