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.? My basic claim is that you MUST HAVE LOTS OF EARLY CONVERSATIONS. Lots of thoughts here. But let's leave that aside for a minute.

NDA 211

NDA Stealth Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement 211

SoCal CTO

MAY 22, 2012

I recently posted about the Increase in Early-Stage Startup Activity in Los Angeles. In that post, I mentioned how one of the signals is the big increase in number of startup events and the number of attendees at those events. Of course, given the size of this list and having kids, I really can't attend a lot of these.

Los Angeles 198

Los Angeles Southern California PHP Ruby 198

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.? My basic claim is that you MUST HAVE LOTS OF EARLY CONVERSATIONS. Lots of thoughts here. But let's leave that aside for a minute.

NDA 198

NDA Stealth Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement 198

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. SEO for Startups )? What are your key Startup Metrics ? See Branchout an Example of Viral Spread Opportunity for Startups. Who are the other stakeholders involved?

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. SEO for Startups )? What are your key Startup Metrics ? See Branchout an Example of Viral Spread Opportunity for Startups. Who are the other stakeholders involved?

Developer 384

Developer Founder Viral Oauth 384

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 14, 2012

I was just asked about a particular startup situation (seed stage, CMO hire, non-founder) and particularly what compensation and equity is appropriate. Seed Stage Compensation What are typical compensation numbers?

CTO Hire 329

CTO Hire Equity Seed Stage Option Pool 329

SoCal CTO

APRIL 2, 2012

When I talk with early-stage companies, often the discussion starts with them asking me about Hiring a CTO for Your Startup , or Finding a Technical Cofounder for Your Startup or How to Find Programmers for Your Startup. These companies are very early-stage and definitely have not shown product/market fit.

CTO Hire 205

CTO Hire Technical Cofounder Fractional CTO Los Angeles 205

SoCal CTO

MARCH 1, 2010

Here are some recent great posts that I’ve come across that generally fall in the intersection of startups and CTOs. They have a related post: Designing startup metrics to drive successful behavior | For Entrepreneurs , but I think that looking at my Startup Metrics post provides a bit broader set of metrics to consider.

Acquisition 150

Acquisition Cofounder Technical Cofounder Cost 150

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

I was talking with an early-stage founder who has a product vision and wants to get it built. 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? He is not a technical person, but is somewhat web savvy.

Developer 354

Developer Technical Review Fractional CTO Software Review 354

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. We do a lot of B2B and also have an "Early Stage Branding" practice for technology startups. I've known Farida for quite a while. Maybe ten years. It has been fun to get to know her again.

Early Stage 150

Early Stage Southern California Los Angeles Marketing 150

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 ). CTO salaries are escalating quickly.

CTO Hire 294

CTO Hire Salary Equity Los Angeles 294

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Are you a non-technical startup founder who’s about to go have a conversation with a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) or Technical advisory type person? Maybe you are going for a reality check on your current situation - wondering if you have a Weak Development Team or a Startup Founder Developer Gap. Small talk is not a motivator.

Fractional CTO 211

Fractional CTO Conversion NDA Early Stage 211

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 6, 2011

" Today I had two conversations with early stage startups (see Free CTO Consulting ). Vision Synching in a Lean Startup The Fallacy of Customer Development Entrepreneurs, Lower Investors’ Risk by Validating your Start-up Company’s Business Proposition Lessons Learned: What is customer development?

Customer 227

Customer Fractional CTO Viral Lean 227

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 28, 2010

Yesterday, I met with someone at the early stage of a startup. In fact, my belief is that most startups should either be looking for a marketer or a web developer as they likely need to be differentiated in terms of marketing or should have complexity in their development. Especially for an early-stage startup?

Los Angeles 167

Los Angeles Web Development Web Developer 167

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 20, 2007

Ive personally been involved in the start-up world in Los Angeles for about 15 years, and have had the opportunity to work on many early-stage companies (e.g., Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO?

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 7, 2009

size of company (startup to very large), stage (early stage to established firms) vary widely. But where do the software development companies in Southern California congregate? Part of the reason is that when I look at the CTOs, we see that the industries (games, entertainment, aerospace, retail, etc.),

Southern California 150

Southern California Software Developers Software Development California 150

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. By placing them on your advisor board, you are hoping that some of that credibility will rub-off on your startup.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Advisory Board Technology Fractional CTO 150

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

From there, I became the first non-founder employee at an e-commerce startup called BITSource, which was the first electronic software distributor delivering electronic volume software licenses to corporations. Earlier this year I founded a new startup called KlickFu. What are you working on now? For me, it's a matter of degree.

Management 150

Management Product Entrepreneur Silicon Valley 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 2, 2011

A lot of my time is spent helping early-stage companies get to proof points so that they can raise capital. They might have some seed money and are thinking or raising a Series A based on success of an early release (MVP). Bill Payne is an expert on how early-stage investors should look at valuation.

Valuation 198

Valuation Revenue Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 198

SoCal CTO

MARCH 18, 2010

More Visible Networking Marketing, Startups and Networking in Los Angeles – Cliff Allen Los Angeles Technology Connector – Kurt Daradics Product Manager Entrepreneur Mark Geller Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouhi Attorney and Startup Business Advisor – Aaron Shechet Negative Customer Acquisition Costs - Creative Startup Marketing Ideas (..)

Los Angeles 225

Los Angeles Revenue Southern California Social Network 225

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 8, 2009

A post by Fred Wilson pointed me to Dave McClure's Startup Metrics presentation. This is a great presentation and one that I'm going to point out to startup / early stage company CEOs. Startup Metrics for Pirates (SeedCamp, Sept 2009) View more documents from Dave McClure. Great stuff.

Metrics 225

Metrics Startup Retention Acquisition 225

SoCal CTO

MARCH 20, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 9, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 20, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Search Engineer 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 13, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles Internet 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 28, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles Mobile 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 17, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Los Angeles Southern California CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 1, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Networking Southern California Los Angeles 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 17, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Technical Cofounder Southern California CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 27, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 17, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Incubator 150

Incubator Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 17, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 20, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 5, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Open Source 150

Open Source Business Model Technical Cofounder Southern California 150