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.? As Chris Dixon says in Why you shouldn’t keep your startup idea secret. Lots of thoughts here. " Ummm.

NDA 198

NDA Stealth Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement 198

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 26, 2010

However, I’ve now begun questioning how and what an early-stage / startup CTO should be. Most often at the earliest point in the life of a startup, the dominant need is certainly to produce product to get something in the market, get funding, etc. 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

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. If I’m being asked to do startup software development, I’m going to push fairly hard on key questions that the startup needs to have answered before they develop anything.

Software Developers 292

Software Developers Software Development Developer Software 292

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Continuing my series of posts that I’ve been collecting that live at the intersection of Startups and being a Startup CTO : Startup CTO Top 30 Posts for April 16 Great Startup Posts from March here are the top posts from May 2010. It is to out friend. Enjoyed this post? Disruptive. We get it! I Be specific. Stay Tuned.

Fractional CTO 248

Fractional CTO Startup Venture Capital Cofounder 248

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. Or ask me Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions. It needs to be funded to be successful.

Fractional CTO 349

Fractional CTO Southern California Startup Mobile 349

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. Or ask me Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions. It needs to be funded to be successful.

Fractional CTO 296

Fractional CTO Southern California Startup Mobile 296

SoCal CTO

APRIL 25, 2017

Here is the most recent version of an all too common email inquiry from a startup founder. I'm working on a start up idea in the XXX market with my partner and we are currently looking for full stack developer to join us as a technical co-founder. Startup and Founder Backgrounds This is a cold email. Why is this a great startup?

Email 150

Email Developer Elevator Pitch Cofounder 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 Hire 294

CTO Hire Salary Equity Los Angeles 294

SoCal CTO

MAY 17, 2011

I was just talking with someone who's new to Los Angeles and wanting to connect into the Los Angeles Startup Community. Los Angeles Startup Community Posts/Articles Here are some interesting articles and posts on the ecosystem around startups in Los Angeles. As is usual, I couldn't remember where I had seen those posts.

Los Angeles 196

Los Angeles Community Southern California Silicon Valley 196

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

Todd Gitlin of Safire Partners was nice enough to compile some data on CTO Equity and Compensation at Venture Backed Companies for the LA CTO Forum and present last year. Todd is a go to resource for people looking for talent in startups. He agreed to make this data public which is awesome. He was a great presenter to our group.

CTO Hire 273

CTO Hire Equity Southern California France 273

SoCal CTO

MAY 17, 2011

I was just talking with someone who's new to Los Angeles and wanting to connect into the Los Angeles Startup Community. Los Angeles Startup Community Posts/Articles Here are some interesting articles and posts on the ecosystem around startups in Los Angeles. As is usual, I couldn't remember where I had seen those posts.

Los Angeles 188

Los Angeles Community Southern California Silicon Valley 188

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 ? Did they really need a Startup CTO or Developer or both? who start with small equity percentages don’t end up making very much from startups. Was it a case of needing Homework?

Technical Cofounder 241

Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Equity Sweat Equity 241

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

This is not only sad but incredibly frustrating, because it is so easy to see how a great technology can be developed and commercialized if only - if only the CTO hadn't been impulsive and insecure and brought on a business partner too early in the game. … Mark Suster has similar advice in Hiring at a Startup? Lack of confidence?

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Cofounder CTO Hire Founder 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

MARCH 20, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Time Rich, Time Poor and Apple Jeremy Liew at Lightspeed Venture Partners has an interesting post: Time Rich or Time Poor? Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2009

Fantastic post by Christian Gammill - Startup Delta Force… From a competitive perspective (e.g. all the other folks out there that will try to enter the same market) the barriers have been dropping over the last few years. Business - how are you actually going to make money? many more (please comment below)

Business Model 150

Business Model SEM IP Syndicate 150

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 17, 2009

He’s done several startups and is a board member of the Technology Council of Southern California (which is where I met him originally). A day might include a discussion with a finance partner, an investor, a customer or a fusion partner. I recently posted about SEO for Startups. Great stuff! Any thoughts on my post?

Southern California 170

Southern California Acquisition Cost Customer 170

SoCal CTO

JULY 23, 2012

I received a great question via LinkedIn: I'm the founding engineer and working hard to launch my startup. I've previously addressed the role of a CTO in early-stages in my post Startup CTO or Developer. What do we need to do to make sure we can survive technical due diligence by investors and partners? A skills gap will emerge.

CTO Hire 231

CTO Hire Technical Review Developer Software Review 231

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

I recently got together with Aaron Shechet and an early stage startup to discuss the direction the company might want to take. While in law school, my partner, Leigh, and I had a concept for a law firm that did more than just “law.” We have a number of startups (or pre-startups) that we are helping get launched.

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Southern California Startup SEO 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 22, 2007

Charles Edge :: Partner, 318 Author :: Mac Tiger Server Little Black Book April 16, 2007 1:37 AM Shashank said. 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

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

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

JANUARY 31, 2011

As I discussed in Matching Algorithm , I end up talking to a lot of startups who want to become the eHarmony of careers, eHarmony of clothes, eHarmony of jobs, eHarmony of tutoring, eHarmony of services, eHarmony of investments, etc. So, it makes it much harder to predict, test and scale a network effect startup.

Marketing 204

Marketing Matching Algorithm Bootstrapping 204

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 31, 2011

As I discussed in Matching Algorithm , I end up talking to a lot of startups who want to become the eHarmony of careers, eHarmony of clothes, eHarmony of jobs, eHarmony of tutoring, eHarmony of services, eHarmony of investments, etc. So, it makes it much harder to predict, test and scale a network effect startup.

Marketing 196

Marketing Matching Algorithm Bootstrapping 196

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

Because I was the Acting CTO for eHarmony at it's start, I quite often get introduced to people who have an idea for a startup company that is based on some kind of matching algorithm. In fact, you can get a good idea of these various things by just searching on Google for "eHarmony of" startup. That feels powerful.

Algorithm 196

Algorithm Matching Los Angeles Angel Investor 196

SoCal CTO

APRIL 20, 2010

I’ve had several recent conversations with startups who are building companies based on matching. Example of “Must Have's”: Chemistry - I must feel deeply in love and attracted to my partner. Thus, as a startup, you need to think beyond the match and towards how you will support the rest of the performance.

Matching 150

Matching Hiring Restful Management 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 4, 2009

Here’s how to do it.

San Diego 159

San Diego Los Angeles Southern California Aggregator 159

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 11, 2009

Same partner all along: Jorge Alonso, Creative Director. We do a lot of B2B and also have an "Early Stage Branding" practice for technology startups. The firm used to be called Fotouhi Alonso and were one of LA's top mid-sized agencies for 20 years, working with clients like Honda, Epson, the LA DWP, and the FX Network.

Early Stage 150

Early Stage Southern California Los Angeles Marketing 150