SoCal CTO

JANUARY 18, 2011

I received an inquiry from a reader of my blog and thought I would provide some thoughts, but would definitely welcome input: I am an unpaid CTO of a small startup. I tried to argue that the equity should be what it was at the time I joined and discussed but there was no formal agreement at that time. Of course, that doesn’t help here.

CTO 150

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SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

I've posted quite a few things on the topics associated with being a Startup CTO. Lessons Learned: What does a startup CTO actually do? Startup Advice: When to Use a Consulting CTO Attracting a CTO to your startup Startup CTO: Could It Work? And you may also want to review Startup Development.

CTO Hire 175

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Startup Equity 175

SoCal CTO

MAY 13, 2014

A large part of this conversation is what kinds of advisors startups should be looking for. A little while ago, I suggested that Every Web/Mobile Startup Should Have a Technical Advisor. We both felt that most startups are not taking a very systematic approach to defining with they need in terms of advisors. Connected Advisors?

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SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

I've posted quite a few things on the topics associated with being a Startup CTO. Lessons Learned: What does a startup CTO actually do? Startup Advice: When to Use a Consulting CTO Attracting a CTO to your startup Startup CTO: Could It Work? And you may also want to review Startup Development.

CTO Hire 175

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Startup Equity 175

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2012

I've recently received several emails from people looking for a technical cofounder for their startup. Make sure you go through the 32 Questions Developers May Have Forgot to Ask a Startup Founder. You should definitely hit up the Startup Weekend events as well. And look at StartupDigest.com for lots of startup oriented events.

Technical Cofounder 211

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SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. But the reality is that I engage with about 5 new startups each year which means that I end up working with less than 5% of the startups where I provide these free consulting sessions. Do you have a Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

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SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. But the reality is that I engage with about 5 new startups each year which means that I end up working with less than 5% of the startups where I provide these free consulting sessions. Do you have a Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

Fractional CTO 259

Fractional CTO CTO Hire NDA Technical Review 259

SoCal CTO

APRIL 27, 2011

Several people have recently come to me to help them source and/or hire full-time CTOs for their startup having found me through my post that looks at: Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data. I'd suggest: Startup CTO or Developer , Startup Founder Developer Gap , Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO.

CTO Hire 282

CTO Hire Los Angeles Hiring Technical Review 282

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 14, 2009

There’s quite a bit of truth to what Mark is saying about startup software developers, but my guess is that there’s another reason that it seems harder to find developers in this context. reduced salary, partial equity, good experience, etc. reduced salary, partial equity, good experience, etc. who would love to talk with you.

Software Developers 150

Software Developers Software Development Software Developer 150

SoCal CTO

APRIL 27, 2011

Several people have recently come to me to help them source and/or hire full-time CTOs for their startup having found me through my post that looks at: Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data. I'd suggest: Startup CTO or Developer , Startup Founder Developer Gap , Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO.

CTO Hire 225

CTO Hire Los Angeles Hiring Technical Review 225

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. There are a few different ways you might engage with this person - see Technology Roles in Startups.

CTO Hire 170

CTO Hire Developer Founder Startup 170

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

The conversation centered around a founder who's key question is "Where Do I Find a Developer for My Startup?" His goal was to find a programmer who would come in as an early partner and work as an Equity-Only Developer. At that point, you can't really just try to find someone to build it on the side, do equity only, etc.

Fractional CTO 349

Fractional CTO Southern California Startup Mobile 349

SoCal CTO

MAY 10, 2011

A long-time friend and colleague, Steve Wexler, who is great at visualization took my Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data and produced a really need interactive visualization via Tableau. Of course, as you would suspect, equity percentages dilute based on years in business. Most non-founders have less than 2%.

Salary 198

Salary Equity San Francisco Dilution 198

SoCal CTO

MAY 10, 2011

A long-time friend and colleague, Steve Wexler, who is great at visualization took my Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data and produced a really need interactive visualization via Tableau. Of course, as you would suspect, equity percentages dilute based on years in business. Most non-founders have less than 2%.

Salary 175

Salary Equity San Francisco Dilution 175

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

The conversation centered around a founder who's key question is "Where Do I Find a Developer for My Startup?" His goal was to find a programmer who would come in as an early partner and work as an Equity-Only Developer. At that point, you can't really just try to find someone to build it on the side, do equity only, etc.

Fractional CTO 296

Fractional CTO Southern California Startup Mobile 296

SoCal CTO

APRIL 8, 2010

If I Launched a Startup - The Startup Lawyer , March 17, 2010 Great advice on initial steps of setting up a Startup. If I Launched a Startup - The Startup Lawyer , March 17, 2010 Great advice on initial steps of setting up a Startup. There are MANY of them. You might be surprised why this is the case.

Software Review 150

Software Review Startup PR Exit Strategy 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 2, 2015

I’ve written quite a bit about aspects of this topic, especially from the perspective of startup founders looking for talent – you can find these in: Startup CTO. If you are going after venture-backed startups, then certainly look at socaltech.com and formds. Ideally, they’ve thought through all of these characteristics.

Technical Cofounder 150

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SoCal CTO

APRIL 25, 2017

Here is the most recent version of an all too common email inquiry from a startup founder. That post and How to Find Programmers for You Startup - a Field Guide both lay out a lot of the tactics that will prepare a founder for important early conversations. Startup and Founder Backgrounds This is a cold email.

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SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Mark Suster has similar advice in Hiring at a Startup? I advocate treating them like a co-founder in every way except when they join and how much equity they get. Know Thy Weaknesses is: I recommend that you start a company by yourself and own 100% of it.

Technical Cofounder 150

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SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

August was a slow month in terms of traffic and I was away for a lot of the month, but there were some really great posts at the intersection of startups, technology, product and being a Startup CTO. He blogs to 10,000 web entrepreneurs at Software by Rob and co-hosts the podcast Startups for the Rest of Us. equity debate.

Startup 191

Startup CTO Hire Cofounder Venture Capital 191

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.

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Management Product Entrepreneur Silicon Valley 150

SoCal CTO

APRIL 28, 2014

This is something I’ve explored several times already in my blog: Startup Founder Developer Gap Startup CTO or Developer Technical Advisors – Why Every Startup Needs Them Bottom line - for most startups, what they really need is a technical advisor or part-time CTO along with some development resources. Great question.

Technical Cofounder 280

Technical Cofounder Developer Fractional CTO CTO Hire 280

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers - SoCal CTO , November 1, 2010 I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

The real reason to build an MVP is to do early tests of key Startup Metrics for the business. Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers Technology Roles in Startups Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering? I'm always happy to try to help startups figure out how to go after creating their MVP.

Technical Cofounder 338

Technical Cofounder Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 338

SoCal CTO

MARCH 4, 2010

I’ve worked with 30+ early-stage companies in all sorts of capacities (and spoken to many, many more), so I thought it might be worthwhile trying to classify the various ways that I’ve engaged in different technology roles in startups. Later he posted about his experience in Challenges of Startups.

Technical Review 170

Technical Review Fractional CTO Technology CTO Hire 170

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Great content again in September that meets at the intersection of startups, technology, product and being a Startup CTO. Chris Dixon , September 12, 2010 My most useful career experience was about eight years ago when I was trying to break into the world of VC-backed startups. Why You Should Write. Your service: the game.

Technology 191

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SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

Some really great stuff in 2010 that aims to help startups around product, technology, business models, etc. 500 Hats , February 1, 2010 When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Google Friend Connect for Authentication? 500 Hats , February 1, 2010 When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Google Friend Connect for Authentication?

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Silicon Valley Startup Term Sheet Venture Capital 378