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. Select Startup CTO Speaking Topics Ten Lessons from Working on 30+ Startups Over the Past 15 Years Tony looks back over his experience working with startups and extracts elements that have led to success or failure.

Fractional CTO 175

Fractional CTO CTO Hire Startup Social Network 175

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

Don’t expect that you can create a new social networking site in your garage, and steal all the users away from Facebook. Fund it yourself (bootstrapping) and do-it-yourself entrepreneurs are the best kind, because they can focus on the business, rather than fund raising, and have full control of their destiny.

Hosting 248

Hosting Bootstrapping .Net Social Network 248

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

Don’t expect that you can create a new social networking site in your garage, and steal all the users away from Facebook. Fund it yourself (bootstrapping) and do it yourself entrepreneurs are the best kind, because they can focus on the business, rather than fund raising, and have full control of their destiny. Marty Zwilling.

Cost 220

Cost Startup Hosting Bootstrapping 220

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2012

Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. A large percentage of startups never apply to either. You need to explore more common and more productive approaches for getting your startup moving forward. Self-funding is the preferred source of cash for your startup – if you can do it.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 257

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 245

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 245

Gust

APRIL 27, 2014

Even when your startup is a one-man show and lots of fun, a “business” needs some discipline and controls to keep it from being defined as a hobby by investors, and assure some financial return. Here are eight key business tasks that relate to almost every startup, generally prioritized by criticality. Funding process.

Startup 187

Startup Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping 187

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have often been asked about Startup Funding by entrepreneurs. Many myths surround the subject of startup funding. Here is Startup Funding, a Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs. You must have seen a lot of startups giving out promotions, discounts, and incentives at the early phase of their business. Bootstrapping.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

VC Cafe

JANUARY 22, 2021

A few months ago, VC Cafe launched a series on startup engagement and outreach programs of large tech companies. After covering Google startup outreach and support (from first hand experience), today I’m happy to add Amazon and AWS, by looking into the variety of ways startups can engage with the commerce and cloud giant.

Technical Review 174

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Incubator 174

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 25, 2016

Myspace was the largest social networking website in the world. Determining if your product can be bootstrapped. Business decisions must be made carefully at a bootstrapped company. In order to scale while continuing to be a profitable bootstrapped company, we focus on tasks that will provide the most value first.

Bootstrapping 100

Bootstrapping San Francisco New York City Software Development 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 1, 2010

Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. In reality, there are multiple more productive approaches you should explore in getting your startup moving forward. Yet, I find that startup founders often fixate on one or two sources, often to the detriment of their business. Startup incubators.

Technical Review 149

Technical Review Startup Bootstrapping Venture Capital 149

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. Why do startups?

Startup 191

Startup CTO Hire Cofounder Venture Capital 191

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 11, 2010

This is Part 5 of the 5-part series: 5 lessons from 150 startup pitches. Ask a technical founder about his startup, and he'll proudly describe his stunning software — simple, compelling, useful, fun. We're going to start with our own network and grow it from there.". We're going to get reviews on blogs.".

Software Review 261

Software Review Technical Review Viral Software Development 261

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2014

Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. Here is my perspective on the highest risk elements, from my years of working with investors and watching startups come and go: All the co-founders are first-time entrepreneurs.

New York City 254

New York City Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Technical Review 254

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 31, 2011

Tweet. --> It’s one of the hardest steps in a startup, getting that first rube to part with their money over your barely-minimum barely-viable product. At this point you’ll be tempted to argue that speaking to such a tiny sliver of the population is too narrow-minded, even for a small startup. (Powered by LaunchBit ).

Customer 279

Customer Software Review SEM Technical Review 279

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 13, 2024

The country has some of the greatest startups to its credit. 2 Brainstorm Startup Ideas Embarking on a journey to entrepreneurship doesn’t mean you should have an out-of-the-box idea. You can launch a successful startup with an existing idea in the market. But if bootstrapping isn’t a choice, explore fundraising options.

United States 140

United States Bootstrapping Social Media Angel Investor 140

YoungUpstarts

JULY 6, 2017

The romantic ideal of a successful startup includes little more than a good idea, a laptop and plenty of coffee. In reality, most startups require an early capital infusion to successfully transform from a dream into a business. The good news is that it’s easier than ever to find capital for your startup.

Syndication 127

Syndication Syndicate Software Review Angel Investor 127

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2023

Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. Here is my perspective on the highest risk elements, from my years of working with investors and watching startups come and go: All the co-founders are first-time entrepreneurs.

New York City 246

New York City Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Technical Review 246

VC Cafe

MARCH 16, 2025

Mention that you do “Consumer tech” as a startup founder and you’d be limiting your funding options to one third of the venture capital funds (in Israel that figure is probably closer to 10%). Despite the renewed potential offered by AI, consumer startups still need to overcome significant challenges.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review B2C Generative AI IPO 78

Gust

JUNE 17, 2012

Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. A large percentage of startups never apply to either. You need to explore more common and more productive approaches for getting your startup moving forward. Self-funding is the preferred source of cash for your startup – if you can do it.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 164

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JANUARY 11, 2010

In this installment we hear from startup expert Bob Walsh , whose many works for startup founders include: Blog: 47 Hats. Podcast: Startup Success. New book: Web Startup Success Guide. Online guides and support network for founders: StartupToDo.com. What are the big killers lurking for the new startup founder?

Entrepreneur 225

Entrepreneur Social Media Software Web 225

YoungUpstarts

MAY 28, 2014

In other words, you have done wonders while “bootstrapping.” Things like winning startup competitions, getting selected to a startup incubator, partnering with a large company, are all good ways to show traction and some proof that you’re creating value. Social networking is so last year.

Security 200

Security Incubator Technical Review Bootstrapping 200

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Reinvest gross profit. Do it yourself.

Bootstrapping 278

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 278

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2018

Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. Here is my perspective on the highest risk elements, from my years of working with investors and watching startups come and go: All the co-founders are first-time entrepreneurs.

New York City 202

New York City Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Technical Review 202

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 10, 2013

Don’t expect that you can create a new social networking site in your garage, and steal all the users away from Facebook. Fund it yourself (bootstrapping) and do-it-yourself entrepreneurs are the best kind, because they can focus on the business, rather than fund raising, and have full control of their destiny.

eCommerce 196

eCommerce Hosting Bootstrapping .Net 196

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 144

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 144

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 3, 2010

When I came to Paris in 2006, I had a well-developed idea for a startup and nothing else. In that time, I've discovered that the startup scene is infused with passion, energy and a strong spirit of collaboration. Pamela Poole is a blogger, translator and tech writer, and founder of Francophilia.com , a social startup for Francophiles.

France 163

France Technical Review Incubator Early Stage 163

Genuine VC

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

Chad is the CEO of thoughtbot, a consulting firm that makes web + mobile apps for early-stage startups. The stats behind what Bryan and the team had accomplished while bootstrapping the business were incredible, including signing up over 1,000 paying accounts and analyzing over 30,000 code repositories EVERY DAY.

Software Review 191

Software Review Chad Ruby PHP 191

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 24, 2024

Building a startup is incredibly exciting; however, finding the right staff can significantly impact your business. Photo by Pixabay Let’s explore some strategies for finding the right staff for your startup, including how to streamline the hiring process. Conclusion Hiring the right staff for your startup is crucial for success.

Startup 156

Startup Bootstrapping Early Stage Hiring 156

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 9, 2010

It is a very good format for entrepreneur groups around the world to get together and network around the roundtable programming which happens every week, religiously. In terms of monetization, Vin expects the ad networks to supply ads to his site by selling ads to local restaurants. Or, bootstrap longer. That sounds great.

Silicon Valley 117

Silicon Valley Malaysia India China 117

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2016

Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. Here is my perspective on the highest risk elements, from my years of working with investors and watching startups come and go: All the co-founders are first-time entrepreneurs.

New York City 120

New York City Silicon Valley Startup Bootstrapping 120

Tim Keane

MARCH 9, 2011

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. It’s a deceptively simple question:  what is the optimal way to finance a new startup? It’s a deceptively simple question:  what is the optimal way to finance a new startup? Can you bootstrap your way to positive cash flow? « Leaving a Trail | Main. |

Finance 83

Finance Bootstrapping Startup Equity 83

crowdSPRING Blog

APRIL 25, 2014

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Salaries Startup Founders Pay Themselves | Business Insider – crowdspring.co/1nHU2OK. Corporate Acquisitions Of Startups — Why Do They Fail? – crowdspring.co/1hrlsaI.

Social Media 92

Social Media Small Business Design Media 92

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 1, 2010

Here’s my best attempt to shed some light on the most common misconceptions about building a company here in NYC: Misconception #1: There’s no money in NYC for startups… and the money that’s here isn’t smart or experienced money. Should they work on your “real time” web startup or write code that processes a million trades a minute?

New York City 115

New York City New York Startup Burn Rate 115

Up and Running

JULY 10, 2017

You can have all traction in the world—acquire, activate, and retain users, but until your startup earns money, you are doing charity work, not running a business. Even if you are just starting to consider building a SaaS startup , you’ve probably used products with either freemium pricing or a free trial. Choose wisely.

Startup 110

Startup Non-Compete Viral Software Review 110

YoungUpstarts

MAY 6, 2019

by Arsalan Sajid, startup community manager at Cloudways. Life is not a box of chocolates and startups are not always easy to start. There is a complete process that governs the startup lifecycle including inception to exit. This startup stage starts from the day you decide to work on a startup idea. Early Stage.

Startup 113

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 113