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.

CTO Hire 329

CTO Hire Equity Seed Stage Option Pool 329

SoCal CTO

MARCH 2, 2015

This includes links to CTO Salary and Equity Trends, Technology Roles in Startups , Initial Conversation with a CTO or Technical Advisor , Finding a Technical Cofounder for Your Startup , Hiring a CTO for Your Startup and many others. How could you search and identify the companies that would hire you?

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Los Angeles CTO Hire Part-Time VPE 150

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. I understand the desire for hiring someone who is going to product product. 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.

CTO 225

CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review 225

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 7, 2010

This is purely anecdotal, but it seems like a lot of companies are hiring technology talent here in Southern California. And we have been looking to hire several positions (but are being really picky as is normally the case). I’ve recently seen several tweets from software development companies looking for talent.

Southern California 150

Southern California California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

You should avoid spending your time here and instead focus on finding a way to generate revenue or to attract investors so that you can afford to hire someone. What sweat equity is not good for is for people who you don’t know at all. How To Get There

Technical Cofounder 241

Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Equity Sweat Equity 241

SoCal CTO

MAY 27, 2010

Do not hire a CTO at this point. I can almost guarantee a full-time CTO hire is wrong for you. Obviously, the more this person does the more you should expect to compensate them with equity and/or cash. We are not talking about a full-time role. They will either not be senior enough or they won’t be producing code enough.

CTO Hire 170

CTO Hire Developer Founder Startup 170

SoCal CTO

MAY 13, 2014

You can’t afford and don’t want to hire a full-time CTO or architect. We both felt that most startups are not taking a very systematic approach to defining with they need in terms of advisors. Here’s the other aspect that both Tony and I preach: get help. But, advisors, coaches, and mentors can often fill the bill.

Advisory Board 241

Advisory Board Fractional CTO CTO Hire Startup 241

SoCal CTO

APRIL 18, 2012

Or they are looking at Hiring a CTO and want to see what salary and equity ranges look like. CTO Salary and Equity Comparison My guess is that most people who come here are going to be Founders, CEOs and CTOs who want to compare salary and equity of the CTO Position in their organization vs. their peers.

CTO Hire 294

CTO Hire Salary Equity Los Angeles 294

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

But I thought I at least needed to do a post that made a few suggestions on how to avoid this situation: Keep your Eyes Open for the Symptoms of a Weak Development Team Hire a Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , or Acting CTO to help you keep an eye on what's going and increase your chances. I wish I had a better answer.

Software Developers 175

Software Developers Software Development CTO Hire Software 175

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 10, 2012

They need to be able to know the key Questions Developers May Have Forgot to Ask a Startup Founder , figure out where/when/how to bring on development talent ( Hiring Developers Before Product/Market Fit? , Look at the business and determine what's going to make sense from a development perspective in the short-term, longer-term.

Technical Review 332

Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review 332

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Common sense says you'd do your best to hire or otherwise permanently engage that lead developer. They were hired to build stuff. Anyone hiring a CTO needs to know that the person is still technical. They tend to understand the product management side of the product well enough to guide the technology in a complementary way.

CTO Hire 150

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Startup Architecture 150

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 14, 2009

First, early in the post, Mark mentions: The idea behind the meetup is to connect technology startups with prospective hires who may be interested to work for “alternative compensation”–e.g., reduced salary, partial equity, good experience, etc.

Software Developers 150

Software Developers Software Development Software Developer 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Mark Suster has similar advice in Hiring at a Startup? And I would add to his list that part of it might be time available to help product definition, pursue market opportunities, early sales, raise funds, etc. Know Thy Weaknesses is: I recommend that you start a company by yourself and own 100% of it.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Cofounder CTO Hire Founder 150

SoCal CTO

APRIL 9, 2013

You are looking for someone who cares about the look, but you are hiring the development firm for it''s development skills not its graphic design skills. Some developers just don''t quite get that you need to produce a quality result. That said, don''t be fooled by things that look really cool when you need functional results.

Web Development 204

Web Development Web Developer Los Angeles 204

SoCal CTO

MAY 19, 2010

I don’t have specific suggestions for people you can hire. Couple of quick thoughts: I’m not so sure that moving north will get you better talent. I get inquiries from there a lot even with the strong bias against LA. My methods are pretty vanilla.

Southern California 175

Southern California Los Angeles Developer Offshore 175

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2012

It always has great, fresh content from a wide variety of industry professionals.

CTO Hire 175

CTO Hire Seed Stage Curation Matching 175

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 17, 2007

Since then it has become much harder to find people and while we are talking about hiring relatively small numbers of people, the typical sources of candidates dont seem to be working. About 18 months ago, the entire group began to mention that they were having more difficulty finding good developers.

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Technical Cofounder Southern California CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

MAY 15, 2009

Companies also use social networking sites in the hiring process, and increasingly, to do innovative advertising (such as the recent Jack in the Box campaign). This Panel will explore issues such as: How can companies best utilize social networking media?

Social Network 150

Social Network Networking Los Angeles Fractional CTO 150

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2011

This site aggregates and filters content from thought leaders who talk about topics such as Marketing , Sales , Design , Revenue , Hiring , Social Media , Business Models , Metrics , PR , Venture Capital , Angel Investors , Bootstrapping , Incubators , Agile and many others.

Intellectual Property 175

Intellectual Property Aggregator Startup IP 175

SoCal CTO

APRIL 20, 2010

Let me go back and do my classic search for "eHarmony of" startup and find a few examples to use: People to Projects (Managers) People to Jobs (Hiring Managers) Students to Tutors Each of these involve matching people to people (I’ve stayed away from content matching in these examples). What do I mean by this?

Matching 150

Matching Hiring Restful Management 150

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

In my last post, I mentioned that you should strive to hire people with the right kind of ambition. How #redgate hired 10 geeks in five weeks - Business of Software Blog , August 5, 2010 In April, I wrote : Right now, we’re running a “Ten geeks in five weeks” project. Then I remember the first day I stood up in front of a classroom.

Startup 191

Startup CTO Hire Cofounder Venture Capital 191

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 13, 2007

in Santa Monica - They’re hiring! But, what's interesting is that the old SoCal events hosted by folks like the Technology Council seem to be struggling for attendees, while you get 250 to a networking only event during the middle of the day. Or maybe it was free lunch? Other posts on the Lunch 2.0 event: Lunch 2.0

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Hosting Networking Hiring 150

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

Call it facts for hire. It would be a bit like the hired gun in the old west, but more suited for today’s times. Today, brands are hiring social media specialists for customer support, crowdsourced product development, promotions and even leads generation. Hiring The Right Candidate. The Proof Is In The Revenue.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

SoCal CTO

JULY 23, 2012

I also recognize that while I am the first technologist on the team, I will not by any means be the last and I'm hoping that subsequent hires will be people I consider brighter and more talented than myself. When will key hires come on? Make sure we make short-term progress, but not at the expense of longer-term objectives?

CTO Hire 231

CTO Hire Technical Review Developer Software Review 231

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

someone asked specifically about this) Hiring a CTO for Your Startup Founder / Developer Gap I've spent a lot of time on the Startup Founder Developer Gap and knowing what you need in terms of a Startup CTO or Developer.

Technical Cofounder 338

Technical Cofounder Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 338

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 25, 2007

I personally believe that the best way to hire, find partners, and find a job is through a network. For some reason over the past week, I've been asked by three different people I know about job opportunities that might fit them. Since, I've given them the same advice, I thought it was worth putting in my blog.

Networking 183

Networking Search Naming Hiring 183

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 5, 2010

8220; His three things (worth reading his whole post anyway) are set vision/strategy and communicate broadly, recruit/hire/retain top talent, and make sure there’s enough cash in the bank. Why You’re Going to Hire the Wrong Designer - Tony Wright dot com , September 14, 2010 “We are not UI experts but do know when we see a good design.&#.

Technology 191

Technology Product San Francisco CTO Hire 191

SoCal CTO

MAY 4, 2010

- A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , April 19, 2010 5 Tips On VC Alignment: Discuss The Exit Before You Enter - OnStartups , April 29, 2010 Founder Agreements – Vesting, Vesting and more Vesting - High Contrast , April 25, 2010 Web Sites and Books for Novice Programmers - Feld Thoughts , April 25, 2010 Adding a Co-Founder In 140 Characters (..)

CTO Hire 150

CTO Hire Vesting Venture Capital Startup 150