Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

A while back I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ For a Startup, Two Heads are Always Better Than One.” The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. Look at the big picture first of development, finance, and marketing/sales.

Partner 258

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Equity 258

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

. — Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm. The startup process has become demystified – information is everywhere. Hire a CEO to Go Public. Board Control.

Founder 269

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 269

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Projecting from the seed stage, there are two types of team-building topics you want to address – key senior hires and org-level team building. As the company progresses through product market fit (PMF), you will want to highlight other key senior hires required to scale and round out the functional expertise of the exec team.

Part-Time VPE 195

Part-Time VPE Seed Stage CTO Hire Forecast 195

Gust

APRIL 13, 2014

A while back I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ For a Startup, Two Heads are Always Better Than One ”. The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. Look at the big picture first of development, finance, and marketing/sales.

Partner 179

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 179

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

I think I’ve read Paul Graham’s post on “ Startup = Growth ” three or four times now. “The growth of a successful startup usually has three phases: There’s an initial period of slow or no growth while the startup tries to figure out what it’s doing. So I like that bit, too.

Silicon Valley 390

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 390

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2010

A week ago I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ How to Select an Ideal Startup Co-Founder ”. The reason is that good attributes apply equally well to “external” partners, as they do to internal partners, like a co-founder or CTO. Look at the big picture first of development, finance, and marketing/sales.

Partner 230

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 230

Business Plan Blog

OCTOBER 4, 2013

Aligning the Startup Team Strategy with the Capitalization Strategy. The single most important factor to raising capital for any tech startup is the management team. A bonafide team is the assurance that the idea can be executed and that the business can scale when the time is right. Don’t make everyone a founder.

Part-Time VPE 79

Part-Time VPE Fractional VPE Cofounder CTO Hire 79

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 1, 2017

Since your business is in infancy, have those who believe in your product, who would invest equal time and money, by your side — it’s how top businesses like Apple, Harley-Davidson, and Google started out. As the team builds, you’ll need a few other team members to develop an effective startup: 4. Alright, so what?

Software Review 54

Software Review Technical Review CTO Hire San Antonio 54

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2017

When you run a startup you’re always on borrowed time. I’ve never met a founder who wasn’t acutely aware of his or her ticking time bomb and the sense that failure and humiliation is a real possibility. But if you work your entrepreneur network, talk with lawyers who do a ton of startup deals, ask existing investors, etc.

Burn Rate 238

Burn Rate Term Sheet CTO Hire Fractional CTO 238

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. The Dry Run.

Startup 191

Startup CTO Hire Cofounder Venture Capital 191

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 19, 2010

Early stage startups have that task many times over after they receive their first funding. That's why hiring at the stage that our companies tend to be at is a unique proposition.one that can seriously create or destroy a ton of value. So, as many startups do, we've decided to take what we learned and pivot.

CTO Hire 99

CTO Hire Hiring Portfolio Early Stage 99

www.inc.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

500|5000 Conference Honorees Resources Press Apply 2011 ); Topics > Leadership and Managing > Human Resources > Job Descriptions > How to Hire a CTO When its time to add a technologist to your slate of executives, what are the best practices to follow? Some companies have a CTO focused on operations under the CIO.

Fractional CTO 42

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Hiring 42

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Since AI and ML startups cut across verticals (analytics, fintech, health, adtech, security, etc), it’s easier to group them under the “machine intelligence” umbrella, coined by Shivon Zillis , a partner at Bloomberg Beta. In 2016 alone, 300+ “machine intelligence” (AI + ML) startups in Europe raised over €1.4

Artificial Inteligence 122

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Startup 122

The Next Web

OCTOBER 7, 2013

That’s what a couple of my friends – engineers at Google and Bloomberg who have been following the rise of startup culture with intrigue – told me recently. They were referring to non-founder engineers, most commonly the first hire for technology businesses. Every time a startup raises capital, all common shareholders are diluted.

Engineer 129

Engineer Dilution Option Pool Vesting 129

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 28, 2011

I’m looking for somebody who can sell, but not better than our head of sales. I’m looking for somebody who is good at planning but doesn’t try to do the work of the VP Finance. You do a startup and decide you want somebody to step in and run the company so you can focus on technical excellence.

Leadership 363

Leadership CTO Hire Technical Review Cofounder 363

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2010

One other big tell for me is the CEO’s grasp of the sales pipeline. I can’t tell you how many CEO’s I’ve met with who can’t walk me through the details of their sales pipeline. I want the names of the key buyers, the last time you met them, who the competition is and what are the criteria for a decision.

Entrepreneur 286

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Cofounder Early Stage 286

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

In this period (less than 2 years) he has brought on incredibly talented senior execs is sales, marketing, product management, client services, finance, vp engineering and more. In his spare time he raised nearly $30 million. Startup Advice' Equally each of your board members are probably on 5-10 boards.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board CTO Hire Fractional CTO Los Angeles 365

The Next Web

AUGUST 12, 2013

It’s unrelated to the startup world, but I can highly recommend to watch “ Being Liverpool ”. But that’s the case for only tiny amount of startups. Launching a product means you need to be incredibly prepared, for downtimes, bugs, or the worst part: nothing. Learning to deal with those moments is a process, and it takes time.

Cofounder 119

Cofounder CTO Hire Startup Europe 119

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. A caller dialed in to ask us questions about his startup. He was from South America but living in Switzerland and had launched a startup while holding down a day job at a consulting firm (McKinsey if memory serves). Not my problem.

Entrepreneur 293

Entrepreneur CTO Hire South America Salary 293

David Teten

JUNE 6, 2011

Previously CTO, Goldman Sachs. After Goldman, ran startup Gadgetoff, which brought together inventors and entrepreneurs. Very enthusiastic about the potential for the NY tech ecosystem, leveraging our strength in finance. Adrian Kunzle, Head of Firmwide Engineering & Architecture (CTO), JP Morgan Chase. Maria Gotsch.

Fractional CTO 122

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Azure 122

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

Large Tech Meetups: Web Innovators Group : Quarterly Demo-Style meetup in Cambridge draws over 1000 members of the startup community each time. Online Resources and Newsletters: Bostinno : Great coverage of local startup happenings with a growing network of local writers. HBS Startup Tribe. The Grand-daddy. Harvard iLab.

Boston 72

Boston Community CTO Hire Cofounder 72

www.quora.com

JANUARY 16, 2011

Find Questions, Topics and People Add Question Add Question Team Configuration 500 Startups Guerilla Marketing Organizations Entrepreneurship Startup Founders & Entrepreneurs Startups Startup Incubators and Seed Programs Seedcamp Y Combinator TechStars Lean Startups What is the perfect startup team?

Technical Review 51

Technical Review Startup CTO Hire Cofounder 51

Duct Tape Marketing

MAY 4, 2022

John Jantsch (00:00): This episode of the duct tape marketing podcast is brought to you by the female startup club, hosted by Doone Roisin and brought to you by the HubSpot podcast network. One of my favorite episodes who should be your first hire, what's your funding plan, Dr. Lisa Cravin shares her top advice from building spotlight oral.

CTO 79

CTO Cofounder Networking Operations 79

www.entrepreneur.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Entrepreneur Homepage Startups Starting a Business Home How-To Guides Startup Basics Business Ideas Business Planning Startup Financing Success Stories Home-Based Business Starting a Business Play Video How to Take a New Product from Just an Idea to a Business (Video). Startup Basics Does College Matter for Entrepreneurs?

Sweat Equity 55

Sweat Equity Equity Fractional CTO CTO 55

www.avc.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

The most common comment in this long and complicated MBA Mondays series on Employee Equity is the question of how much equity should you grant when you make a hire. For your first key hires, three, five, maybe as much as ten, you will probably not be able to use any kind of formula. First, a caveat. Let's say the number is $25mm.

Equity 64

Equity Employee CTO Hire Fractional CTO 64

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

If you want a slice of the pie, there isn’t a better time to get involved. To give you a better idea of what entrepreneurs in this industry are thinking about during each phase of the startup process, I interviewed SaaS entrepreneurs from all over the world, including our own COO Noah Parsons. The Recommended Sales Forecasting Method.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Startup Company Lawyer

MAY 1, 2009

Data is analyzed by: founder/non-founder status, company revenue and headcount, geography, business segment, and number of financing rounds raised. Additional detail is provided on compensation for the Board of Directors, general organizational changes over time and other compensation trends. Head of Technology/CTO 1.19%.

Stock Options 31

Stock Options CTO Hire Equity 31

rob.by

MARCH 8, 2012

Twelve months into my startup journey I had four half-built websites that had been built by my four ex-technical co-founders. What makes software engineers different in the startup world is that they have the requisite skills to hack together an idea on their own if they so choose. Tuesday, August 17, 2010 e.p.c.

Technical Cofounder 42

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Engineering Fractional CTO 42

Startup Company Lawyer

MAY 4, 2009

The driving beliefs behind the Institute are that (1) great founders are often overlooked by the current entrepreneurial ecosystem, and that (2) innovative startups have a dramatic positive effect on the global economy. Joe Betts-LaCroix – CTO, OQO. How to scale from the first sale to the millionth. Hiring and Firing.

Founder 28

Founder Warrant San Francisco Intellectual Property 28

Up and Running

MARCH 11, 2015

There’s another presentation I deliver on the top ten reasons startups fail, and the number one reason startups fail is because of the wrong team, and in my first company, we were not necessarily the right team. Now entrepreneurship is the sexiest word on the planet, so a lot of people have startup weekends.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence Exit Strategy 60