Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

As a CTO, I can definitely say without a doubt that few people understand what a CTO does. When I tell someone I’m a CTO, I’m often met with a blank stare. Even when someone is aware of what a CTO does, they often have limited context due to the wide variety of CTO roles.

Fractional CTO 54

Fractional CTO CTO Hire CTO Technical Review 54

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2019

The challenge is to recognize and recruit that ideal partner match early with minimal cost and risk. In fact, I would broaden the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” The reason is that good attributes apply equally well to “external” partners, as they do to internal partners, like a co-founder or CTO.

Cofounder 221

Cofounder Software Review CTO Hire Founder 221

Gust

APRIL 13, 2014

The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. In this context, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” You may be too independent to be partner material. Does not need to be managed.

Partner 179

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 179

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2011

A while back I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ Ten Steps in Choosing the Right Startup Partner ”. The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. You may be too independent to be partner material. Compatible work styles.

Partner 240

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 240

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2023

The next default of waiting until later is equally bad, since partners who bow out early will still expect an equal share of that first billion you make later. Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors, and large potential customers. Now comes the reality check.

Technical Cofounder 247

Technical Cofounder Equity Distribution Cofounder 247

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2010

The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal business partner. In this article, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” You may be too independent to be partner material. Does not need to be managed.

Partner 230

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 230

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2020

The next default of waiting until later is equally bad, since partners who bow out early will still expect an equal share of that first billion you make later. Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors, and large potential customers. Now comes the reality check.

Cofounder 435

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Equity Intellectual Property 435

mashable.com

MAY 9, 2011

Hiring the wrong person for key company positions can cost a business thousands — or tens of thousands — of dollars and man hours. This is especially true when it comes to tech companies hiring the wrong chief technology officer. Leadership Abilities Are A Must It’s natural to want a tech savvy and competent CTO.

CTO Hire 73

CTO Hire Fractional CTO CTO Technical Review 73

blog.aparttimecto.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

A Part-Time CTO Technology. Depending on the level of complexity and difficulty, it might not be the most efficient use of your time. Un-knowledgeable - Since it’s just you and your partners, you might not be making the best choices. In Plain English. Archive Jun 20th Sun In-House or Outsource?

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Equity Vesting 40

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2014

It’s your startup, so you can give early partners any title you want, but be aware of potential investor and peer implications. The most common ones I see and salute are CEO, CFO, and CTO. This person may be an extraordinary communicator, who rallies employees, customers, and colleagues around the vivid future he sees.

CTO Hire 252

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Angel Investor Public Relations 252

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 21, 2014

The truth is you really don’t know how your teammates or your bosses will perform in good times and bad. You hire people who look good on paper. So one of the surest signs you’ve hired a leader is the willingness of his or her former team to re-assemble. After 6 months – you know. You REALLY know.

CTO Hire 320

CTO Hire Cofounder San Francisco Silicon Valley 320

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

The next default of waiting until later is equally bad, since partners who bow out early will still expect an equal share of that first billion you make later. Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors, and large potential customers. Now comes the reality check.

Equity 238

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 238

www.bothsidesofthetable.com

MAY 13, 2012

Want to Know Difference Between a CTO and a VP of Engineering? The terms “CTO” and “VP Engineering” have such stigmas associated with what they are that I’m sure some people will feel uncomfortable with the definitions I’ve put forward. I’ve heard both arguments from CTO’s.

Fractional VPE 89

Fractional VPE Part-Time VPE Fractional CTO CTO Hire 89

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2013

It’s your startup, so you can give early partners any title you want, but be aware of potential investor and peer implications. The most common ones I see and salute are CEO, CFO, and CTO. This person may be an extraordinary communicator, who rallies employees, customers, and colleagues around the vivid future he sees.

CTO Hire 244

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Startup Angel Investor 244

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 5, 2015

by Marcus Turner, President and CTO of Enola Labs. We were not any different, we had corporate bylaws, which my partner and I both reviewed and signed. Our company was essentially going to be 50/50, but since my partner at the time was Indian, we decided that we would apply for HUB status as a business.

CTO Hire 100

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Advisory Board Software Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2014

Much has been written about when it is time to hire a “professional CEO” to run a startup company and of course that has long been a norm in Silicon Valley when founders find that their inexperience may be a limiting factor in company growth ( know as the Peter Principle ). Shaping an industry.

Founder 309

Founder CTO Hire Silicon Valley Leadership 309

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

A week or so ago, we launched the Key Hire Wire at First Round. You will initially spend majority of time personally working with individual accounts and coaching sales team. CTO, Modcloth – San Francisco, CA (corrected from e-mail version) Remember that girl from back home? How do you like them apples?

Part-Time VPE 92

Part-Time VPE CTO Hire Engineer Sales 92

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO). Get a real customer and real revenue.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Sweat Equity CTO Hire 281

Gust

APRIL 20, 2014

It’s your startup, so you can give early partners any title you want, but be aware of potential investor and peer implications. The most common ones I see and salute are CEO, CFO, and CTO. This person may be an extraordinary communicator, who rallies employees, customers, and colleagues around the vivid future he sees.

CTO Hire 171

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Angel Investor Public Relations 171

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

As your organization grows and you hire senior staff where you are no longer managing every employee directly the issue of how to manage people that are not your “direct&# reports arises. You’ll get sales information from your VP of Sales, marketing information from your VP Marketing, tech information from your CTO and so on.

CTO Hire 308

CTO Hire Management Technical Review Part-Time VPE 308

www.allthingsdistributed.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Main July 11, 2007 The Different CTO Roles I was putting together a short panel presentation on the roleof a Chief Technology Officer in corporate innovation and I once again realized that there is quite a bit of confusion around the role of the CTO. I am posting it here as it might be of generalinterest.

CTO 40

CTO CTO Hire Syndicate Syndication 40

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 1, 2010

It’s your startup, so you can give early partners any title you want, but be aware of potential investor and peer implications. The most common ones I see and salute are CEO, CFO, and CTO. This person may be an extraordinary communicator, who rallies employees, customers, and colleagues around the vivid future he sees.

CTO Hire 227

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Startup Angel Investor 227

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

By spending more time educating your board on your business you get more valuable advice from them. Understanding where your VC partner sits in their respective fund and where their fund is in the cycle of its investment lifecycle will help you understand your VCs behavior. In his spare time he raised nearly $30 million.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board CTO Hire Fractional CTO Los Angeles 365

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2014

The next default of waiting until later is equally bad, since partners who bow out early will still expect an equal share of that first billion you make later. Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors and large potential customers. Now comes the reality check.

Cofounder 261

Cofounder Stock Founder Technical Cofounder 261

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I’m super excited to announce that GRP Partners led the investment in Ethan Anderson’s new company MyTime (link has LA-based merchants but will give you a good feel for the product). I told him that this had been a big theme for me for some time. Let me not bury the lede. And we wanted a head of global marketing.

Southern California 359

Southern California San Francisco CTO Hire SEM 359

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO). Get a real customer and real revenue.

Intellectual Property 260

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

Companies manage these three types of innovation with an innovation portfolio – they build innovation internally, they buy it or they partner with resources outside their company. Corporate business development and strategic partner executives are flocking to Silicon Valley to find these five types of innovation.

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

www.informationarbitrage.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

Home About Press IA Capital Partners Archives After 17 years in M&A, Derivatives and Trading, Im spending my time with young entrepreneurs in and around financial technology and digital media. Main February 23, 2010 Advice for CTO Founders: Dont Let Business Kill the Business Founding a technology company is an amazing thing.

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire Founder Cap Table Vesting 40

devver.wordpress.com

NOVEMBER 9, 2010

Boulder CTO December Lunch with Tim Wolters with 5 comments The Boulder CTO Lunch meets once a month with a guest speaker and covers topics and questions that startup CTOs should find interesting. Collective Intellect’s customers use this analysis to inform and measure the effectiveness of their PR and marketing strategy.

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire Part-Time VPE Architecture Ruby 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO). Get a real customer and real revenue.

Intellectual Property 253

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 253

Growthink Blog

OCTOBER 23, 2015

I had the good fortune to attend and participate in GTK Partners and Pillsbury's Internet of Things (IoT) Executive Event in Palo Alto last week. Both a vast expansion of a potential customer base for a product/service and a delivery of it in exactly the way those new customers wish to purchase and consume. The result?

Internet 48

Internet CTO Hire Fractional CTO Silicon Valley 48

ReadWriteStart

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

They also signed Global eTelecom as a customer, one of U.S.' Our plan is to have seven figure revenues and be profitable by Q3, in addition to to seven new hires by end of the year," he says. Anthony Favazza, CEO of DiningCircle has hired a CTO that will be overseeing a rebuild of our product in early 2012. "We

St. Louis 118

St. Louis CTO Hire Fractional CTO Entrepreneur 118

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2016

The next default of waiting until later is equally bad, since partners who bow out early will still expect an equal share of that first billion you make later. Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors, and large potential customers. Now comes the reality check.

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

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.? Beyond that, I want lots of conversations with experts, users, customers, VCs, partners, etc. Lots of thoughts here.

NDA 211

NDA Stealth Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement 211

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

That said, we tend to be very flexible on syndication to bring on great partners, and have collaborated with terrific partners like our most frequent co-investors Founder Collective, Accomplice, LHV, Softech, and others. Despite these shifts, the core principles of our approach and the ethos of our firm has remained the same.

North America 120

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 120

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? In it he separates web consumers into: Time Rich (more time than money) and Time Poor (more money than time).

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 5, 2010

They often make great team members such as head of products, CTO, head of sales, CFO, etc. He and his partner told me about this new idea over the course of nearly a year. Partners in VC funds only wanted to fund entrepreneurs who had a certain percentage of their net worth tied up in their venture. I finally called bullshit.

Entrepreneur 293

Entrepreneur CTO Hire South America Salary 293