TechEmpower

JULY 24, 2023

Still, if you’re a business leader and your developers haven’t asked you these questions, look for a Fractional CTO to help navigate the critical early stage of development. The innovator/developer relationship needs to be a conversation.

Developer 520

Developer Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 520

SoCal CTO

MAY 21, 2012

So, here goes: Dr. Tony Karrer Over the past 15 years, Tony has been a part-time CTO for more than 30 startups. Most notably, he was the original CTO for eHarmony for its first four years making him partly responsible for more than 4% of the marriages every year. Tony has a Ph.D. He is a frequent speaker at trade and industry events.

Fractional CTO 175

Fractional CTO CTO Hire Startup Social Network 175

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 ). Or they are looking at Hiring a CTO and want to see what salary and equity ranges look like.

CTO Hire 294

CTO Hire Salary Equity Los Angeles 294

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Are you a non-technical startup founder who’s about to go have a conversation with a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) or Technical advisory type person? Maybe you are trying to determine what technologies might apply that you should be evaluating. Or you want to know about whether you have the right Web Development Company.

Fractional CTO 211

Fractional CTO Conversion NDA Early Stage 211

dontbesoanalytical.blogspot.com

MAY 13, 2012

Daddy, What Does a Chief Technology Officer Do? I’ve seen openings for a “CTO” whose responsibilities include maintaining servers and managing the help desk. I’ve seen openings for a “CTO” whose responsibilities include maintaining servers and managing the help desk.

CTO 40

CTO Technical Review Technology Software Review 40

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2007

I generally am working as an acting CTO for about 3-4 start-ups or other companies at any one time. I also found this interesting graphic of the changing needs around the CTO role in different size/type companies that somewhat echoes my experience. During Stabilization, often the focus is transitioning to a full-time CTO.

Fractional CTO 231

Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review Early Stage 231

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2021

Startups can’t usually afford a business development team, so that effort is just one of the measurements that should fall on every CTO and CEO. Budget relatively small “educational investments” at early stages, to learn from a target firm without a full commitment, or without leading either partner astray. Partial acquisition.

CTO Hire 330

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Merger Non-Compete 330

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2023

Because these considerations can be quite complex, very emotional, and have long-term implications, smart entrepreneurs don’t hesitate to get some legal advice at this early stage, in drawing up an agreement document to be signed by each of the cofounders. The CTO of many technical startups was the original founder.

Technical Cofounder 247

Technical Cofounder Equity Distribution Cofounder 247

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 10, 2012

It was like having a bunch of mini- Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions all in one room. This is exactly the kind of thing I'm doing as a Part-Time CTO or Technical Advisor for startups. And it made me come to a new realization: Every early-stage web/mobile/online startup should have at least one technical advisor, probably two.

Technical Review 332

Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review 332

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2020

Because these considerations can be quite complex, very emotional, and have long-term implications, smart entrepreneurs don’t hesitate to get some legal advice at this early stage, in drawing up an agreement document to be signed by each of the co-founders. The CTO of many technical startups was the original founder.

Cofounder 435

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Equity Intellectual Property 435

SoCal CTO

APRIL 2, 2012

When I talk with early-stage companies, often the discussion starts with them asking me about Hiring a CTO for Your Startup , or Finding a Technical Cofounder for Your Startup or How to Find Programmers for Your Startup. These companies are very early-stage and definitely have not shown product/market fit.

CTO Hire 205

CTO Hire Technical Cofounder Fractional CTO Los Angeles 205

YoungUpstarts

MAY 30, 2019

In 2013, I left a CTO job overseeing a 50-person product engineering team for the same job at a four-person startup. Upon arrival, I incorporated a few elements from my previous stop into this new endeavor, including a battle-tested Agile Scrum process and the corresponding technology. Manage Your Workflow — Or Else.

Management 129

Management Product SCRUM Early Stage 129

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. This is somewhat the heart of what a CTO does. Do not hire a CTO at this point.

CTO Hire 170

CTO Hire Developer Founder Startup 170

www.bothsidesofthetable.com

MAY 13, 2012

Want to Know Difference Between a CTO and a VP of Engineering? Because more technology people probably read startup blogs I’m guessing this post will come under more scrutiny. I hope many will read this and have an answer for the question, “what’s the different between a CTO and a VP of Engineering?”

Fractional VPE 89

Fractional VPE Part-Time VPE Fractional CTO CTO Hire 89

rapidrollout.wordpress.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

Web Startup Lessons Advice from a CTO and Entrepreneur Home About Startup Advice: When to Use a Consulting CTO There are not many to be found. He or she might call himself a “consulting CTO,&# “freelance CTO,&# “on-demand CTO,&# “CTO on call,&# “CTO for hire,&# or just a “technology strategy advisor.&#

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Fractional VPE 40

Hunter Walker

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

If you combine this with self-awareness, you get a powerful combination for an early stage CEO. Pair a Difficult CEO with a COO/CTO/CPO who knows how to manage alongside and whole just might be greater than the sum of its parts. Do they have a cofounder who can balance them out? Make sure to talk with this person as well.

Technical Cofounder 101

Technical Cofounder Founder Cofounder .Net 101

SoCal CTO

MAY 14, 2012

Increase in the number of inquiries I've been getting for: Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions and/or other similar kinds of inquiries. A lot of this action is early-stage startups and it's not clear to me how all of this will shake out given how hard it is for VCs to raise capital right now.

Los Angeles 254

Los Angeles Fractional CTO Startup Early Stage 254

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

Because these considerations can be quite complex, very emotional, and have long-term implications, smart entrepreneurs don’t hesitate to get some legal advice at this early stage, in drawing up an agreement document to be signed by each of the co-founders. The CTO of many technical startups was the original founder.

Equity 238

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 238

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

I was talking with an early-stage founder who has a product vision and wants to get it built. I asked some of the same questions I ask in my Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions and then I get to a very common conversation: Me : Do you have specs? He is not a technical person, but is somewhat web savvy.

Developer 354

Developer Technical Review Fractional CTO Software Review 354

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 19, 2024

Kenneth Wenger – Unveiling the Future of AI Kenneth Wenger is an author, a research scholar at Toronto Metropolitan University, and CTO of Squint AI Inc. His research interests lie at the intersection of humans and machines, ensuring that we build a future based on the responsible use of technology.

Fractional CTO 77

Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review Marketing 77

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 2, 2013

I've had several Startup CTO Consulting sessions recently where it became apparent that the Founder needed help with the business and product as much or more than the technology. Then I got an email that asked: I'm leading the marketing efforts for an early-stage startup. An early-stage startup is a different animal.

Startup 259

Startup Early Stage Incubator Los Angeles 259

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

It occurred to me that although we mentioned our new thematic approach when we raised our last fund in 2017, we haven’t really shared a broader manifesto about how we are approaching the early stage market. It’s been an interesting several years in the early stage venture eco-system, and the sands have shifted considerably.

North America 120

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 120

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 7, 2009

I've helped organize the Los Angeles CTO Forum for almost 10 years. As part of doing that, I've had the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of different chief technical officers from different kinds of companies over those years. But not really CTO events. or focused on industry or type of company.

Southern California 150

Southern California Software Developers Software Development California 150

firstround.com

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

How to Go From Google Engineer to First-Time CTO. How to Go From Google Engineer to First-Time CTO. Today, he’s the co-founder and CTO of Artillery , bringing console-quality gaming to the web browser. Today, as CTO and co-founder of Artillery, I’m split between infinite freedom and infinite responsibility.

CTO Hire 52

CTO Hire Engineer Software Review Part-Time VPE 52

YoungUpstarts

MAY 21, 2020

In doing so, it then ensures you will deliver an MVP that not only captures your market but saves you time and money in the long run by not building features that don’t appeal to your target customer or are not necessary for early-stage launch. How is it done?

Product 264

Product Cofounder Audience Product Development 264

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2013

Startups can’t usually afford a business development team, so that effort is just one of the measurements that should fall on every CTO and CEO. Budget relatively small “educational investments” at early stages, to learn from a target firm without a full commitment, or without leading either partner astray. Partial acquisition.

Merger 221

Merger Acquisition CTO Hire Fractional CTO 221

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 28, 2010

Yesterday, I met with someone at the early stage of a startup. The LA CTO Forum , which I help organize, has more than 100 Software/Web CTOs from all sorts of companies. Especially for an early-stage startup? He has a great concept with some complexity to it. It’s a pretty active, but very private network.

Los Angeles 167

Los Angeles Web Development Web Developer 167

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. And don’t confuse having a CTO with getting an Technology Advisor.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Advisory Board Technology Fractional CTO 150

Software By Rob

DECEMBER 20, 2016

The emails I’m highlighting here are easy to set up and pack a punch – ideal for early-stage products. Imagine the following scenario: Bob, the CTO of ConstConvSoft, signs up for your app, starts the 30 day trial, looks around a bit and gets distracted by the CEO/his wife/an alien invasion. prevent payment-related churn.

Early Stage 27

Early Stage Email Fractional CTO Churn Rate 27

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 6, 2011

" Today I had two conversations with early stage startups (see Free CTO Consulting ). I’ve spoken to dozens of customers, I have a validated customer persona, built an MVP to test key behavioral hypotheses, and the data doesn’t back what you’re saying." " One was an enterprise software product.

Customer 227

Customer Fractional CTO Viral Lean 227

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2011

Modern digital curators for early-stage entrepreneurs are the expert bloggers who put “content into context.” Mark is a serial entrepreneur who is now active in the venture capital community for early-stage startups. and books for entrepreneurs like “Think and Grow Rich.” Lessons Learned , by Eric Ries.

Curation 230

Curation Technical Review Entrepreneur Cofounder 230

Software By Rob

DECEMBER 20, 2016

The emails I’m highlighting here are easy to set up and pack a punch – ideal for early-stage products. Imagine the following scenario: Bob, the CTO of ConstConvSoft, signs up for your app, starts the 30 day trial, looks around a bit and gets distracted by the CEO/his wife/an alien invasion. prevent payment-related churn.

Early Stage 27

Early Stage Email Fractional CTO Churn Rate 27

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

Ventures that are further along and now executing their business model are no longer startups, they are now early-stage companies. Large corporations come to the valley to looking to acquire both startups which are searching for a business model and early-stage companies which are executing.

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

A good early-stage CEO needs to be accessible, to be accountable for producing results and should be establishing the cultural norms of the company through direct leadership at all levels. 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

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2012

Startups can’t usually afford a business development team, so that effort is just one of the measurements that should fall on every CTO and CEO. Budget relatively small “educational investments” at early stages, to learn from a target firm without a full commitment, or without leading either partner astray. Partial acquisition.

CTO Hire 229

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Merger Non-Compete 229

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2014

Because these considerations can be quite complex, very emotional and have long-term implications, smart entrepreneurs don’t hesitate to get some legal advice at this early stage, in drawing up an agreement document to be signed by each of the co-founders. The CTO of many technical startups was the original founder.

Cofounder 261

Cofounder Founder Stock Technical Cofounder 261

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

I recently wrote a post about why I didn’t think early-stage startups should have COOs. I usually encourage people to think about titles like, “Founder & CTO&# or “Founder & VP Marketing.&#. In summary, tons of early-stage M&A is driven by only one thing: CEO ego. and my favorite].

Operations 292

Operations CTO Hire Startup Early Stage 292