Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 2, 2011

Jane and Dick, our fearless cofounders of SayAhh, have set up an accounting system and created their first set of financial statements. This week they set out to create their cap table and hire a CTO. The founders each have common shares that will vest over four years. Time to update the cap table.

Cap Table 133

Cap Table CTO Hire Technical Cofounder Cofounder 133

The Next Web

OCTOBER 10, 2013

Two more entrepreneurial ventures later, Gleb cofounded online backup provider Backblaze to help consumers affordably, automatically, and safely back up their data. What are the pros and cons of starting a business alone versus with cofounders? How many founders are too many? Hire everyone you need as an employee.

Cofounder 143

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Kenya Dilution 143

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 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 ”. In this context, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” In this context, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.”

Partner 269

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 269

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 19, 2024

With a rapidly changing landscape, it’s never been a more exciting time to be an entrepreneur. Ash Ali & Hassan Kubba – Uncovering the Hidden Power of Your Unfair Advantage Both successful tech entrepreneurs with humble roots, Ash and Hassan have a message of hope to share. Which one was your favorite?

Fractional CTO 88

Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review Marketing 88

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2017

As a long-time business advisor and angel investor, I’m a believer that “two heads are better than one” in building a new business. Very few entrepreneurs have the range of skills and experience to be the solution creator as well as business creator, or operational as well as sales leader. All partners have compatible work styles.

Partner 140

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Cofounder 140

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 ”. In this context, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” Most entrepreneurs work long hours and weekends to get the job done. Compatible work styles.

Partner 179

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 179

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.” In this context, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” In this context, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.”

Partner 258

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Equity 258

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 3, 2015

Traction is a biweekly podcast where founders share the creative or unusual things they did during the seed stage to make early progress. Founders from LinkedIn , DraftKings , General Assembly , The Muse , Behance , InsightSquared , and more have appeared on the show. How did both these companies come into being at the same time?

CTO Hire 120

CTO Hire Framework Cofounder Seed Stage 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2016

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. Giving a co-founder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want. Level of responsibility and time allocated. Amount of venture funding provided.

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

Business Plan Blog

AUGUST 20, 2013

Many entrepreneurs of successful tech-based companies do not come from tech backgrounds. However, the biggest mistake that a non-tech entrepreneur launching a tech business is to neglect bringing on a tech savvy co-founder on the management team. CTO Level Board Member or dedicated Adviser (Free or Equity).

CTO Hire 55

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Architecture Cofounder 55

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 2, 2020

The no-code movement is one that’s completely revolutionizing the way small- and medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs take their operations and ideas digital, and it’s only just begun. As a result, entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs, marketers, and anyone in between can take advantage. How no-code tools work.

CTO Hire 264

CTO Hire eCommerce Engineer Software 264

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 Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 14, 2017

Guest Post by Misti Yang, Writer for Lean Startup Co. To confidently answer no, co-founder of Strategyzer Alex Osterwalder told our attendees, “What you really want to do is work more like Amazon. … For example, if a chief executive officer manages the daily operation, a chief entrepreneur heads up innovation efforts.

Lean 245

Lean Startup CTO Hire Cofounder 245

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 ”. In this context, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” In this context, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.”

Partner 240

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 240

Austin Startup

AUGUST 19, 2018

Being part of a community means lifting each other up and one easy way you can do that is with your mouse clicks… please take 5 minutes to go and vote for these other Austin entrepreneurs! Cultivating Conditions For Inclusion What is a Fractional Executive (CTO, CMO, CFO)? Fractional executives can help you get there.

CTO Hire 48

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Fractional VPE Austin 48

blog.captainrecruiter.com

MARCH 8, 2012

Technical Co-Founders Are A Myth. An Internet entrepreneur needs a website. Two years ago I got the bug to do an online recruiting startup and I began the hunt to find a technical co-founder - a software engineer who works for no cash - to help me build my dream website. Captain Recruiter. Real Advice. No Nonsense.

Cofounder 40

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Founder Software Engineering 40

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 ”. In this article, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” In this article, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.”

Partner 230

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 230

Steve Blank

MAY 27, 2010

But founders need to know how to ask for their advice and when to ignore it. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. Our conversation led us to Scott Walkers post Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers and why we both recommend that entrepreneurs print it out and tape it to their wall. Then Visio gave us their boilerplate contract.

CTO Hire 303

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review Startup 303

rob.by

MARCH 8, 2012

Finding Technical Cofounders Is Hard. Yesterday, Michael Pope posted an article titled Technical Cofounders Are a Myth. He begins by explaining how he arrived at his conclusion: I began the hunt to find a technical co-founder – a software engineer who works for no cash – to help me build my dream website.

Technical Cofounder 42

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Engineering Fractional CTO 42

View from Seed

MARCH 29, 2016

Ask a founder of a growing startup what they need most, and you’ll often get an answer along the lines of, “We need great people, and we need them fast.”. Founders need to make sure the quality of the startup’s offerings remains high and provide adequate sales and service support for prospective customers and new users.

Metrics 120

Metrics Founder CTO Hire Technical Review 120

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, September 30, 2008 What does a startup CTO actually do? Often times, it seems like people are thinking its synonymous with "that guy who gets paid to sit in the corner and think technical deep thoughts" or "that guy who gets to swoop in a rearrange my project at the last minute on a whim."

CTO 168

CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review 168

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2010

This is part of my series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. The best entrepreneurs focus on details.

Entrepreneur 286

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Cofounder Early Stage 286

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 1, 2014

Experienced entrepreneurs We’ve got speakers who are justifiably respected by a lot of entrepreneurs. For example: Mitch Kapor was a founder of Lotus. He’s a founder of Andreessen Horowitz, which has backed Facebook, Skype, Jawbone, and dozens of other companies whose products you use. Eric Ries will interview him.

Lean 165

Lean Fractional CTO Part-Time VPE Fractional VPE 165

Duct Tape Marketing

OCTOBER 31, 2024

Outsmart Competitors With Agency-First Web Design written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing  The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with Itai Sadan In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview Itai Sadan, founder of Duda , a website builder designed for marketing agencies and small businesses.

Web 55

Web Design Fractional CTO CTO Hire 55

The Next Web

MARCH 10, 2013

This is a guest post by Chris Hollindale, co-founder and CTO of Hasty. If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re probably measuring everything you possibly can about your business and your product. For entrepreneurs, there is always too much to do, too many things to take care of, and too many tasks to prioritise.

Entrepreneur 140

Entrepreneur Fractional CTO CTO Hire Stealth 140

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

APRIL 15, 2014

Keith Rabois famously quipped , “I don’t know of a single successful CEO or entrepreneur who blogs regularly.” As the CTO of a 130-person company that’s still growing along every dimension at a prodigious rate, that’s the appropriate job description. And agreeing.

CTO Hire 266

CTO Hire RSS Cofounder Algorithm 266

Business Plan Blog

OCTOBER 4, 2013

Don’t hire people with skills and qualifications similar to yours. If you have a technical background and you are focused on product development, consider a co-founder with a sales and marketing background that can focus on selling your world class product. Hire based on functionality and avoid having too many C’s.

Part-Time VPE 79

Part-Time VPE Fractional VPE Cofounder CTO Hire 79

View from Seed

MAY 11, 2016

Investors love the idea of backing second-time founders, especially if they have had success in their last company. etc… In addition, first-time founders I speak to often talk about how much they have learned and how they resolve to do things differently and better the next time.

Founder 159

Founder Cofounder CTO Hire Early Stage 159

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

The accelerator, which counts Amazon CTO Werner Vogels among its startup mentors , will be showcasing its first batch of startups (see list below) in Silicon Valley on the 20th of September, followed by a panel discussion about “The Future of the European Startup Community” Sounds riveting!

Silicon Valley 123

Silicon Valley CTO Hire Continuous Deployment Cofounder 123

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

Whatever the inspiration or relation may be, the naming of your business is one of the most important parts of becoming a CEO. 1- I credit my co-founder. I credit my co-founder Eric Frothingham with coming up with our name. Her picture is my office as an added reminder of the woman I consider our real founder.

Naming 115

Naming Fractional CTO Entrepreneur CTO Hire 115

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 11, 2017

Guest post by Jennifer Maerz, Program Chair of Lean Startup Co. For eight years, our flagship conference has focused on sharing stories and lessons of putting Lean Startup’s entrepreneurial methodology into practice. 31 ( limited to the first 200 Gold Passholders.) 31 ( limited to the first 200 Gold Passholders.) Sign up for free here.

Lean 108

Lean Programming San Francisco Cofounder 108

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

Most of these rhyme with what we’ve said in the past, but some have also evolved to fit the changing landscape and our own convictions about what really matters for founders and their investors at the seed stage. Belief #1: The best time to invest is early. And by early, we mean pre-traction.

North America 120

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 120

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

I’d say about 80% of the experienced entrepreneurs & VCs I know privately agreed with me. One great solution I see is to hire an outstanding CFO who runs both. “We’re all equal co-founders and we don’t care about titles.&# Naturally some didn’t. But they aren’t the COO.

Operations 292

Operations CTO Hire Startup Early Stage 292

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Should you co-found your company with a software development shop? I’ve seen a range of options for supporting entrepreneurs, which I can rank from least to most involvement in companies by investors: financier VCs, e.g., Correlation Ventures. The question is: how should they be compensated when cofounding a company? The cliffs?

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 16, 2018

As I mentioned at the beginning of this series/ebook, over the years I’ve noticed that I tend to frequently share certain Lucky7 posts with entrepreneurs we’ve backed , team members at data.world, or other startup investors I know. So I’m packaging the best of them up for you here in a new series called The Entrepreneur’s Essentials.

Part-Time VPE 48

Part-Time VPE CTO Hire Hiring Austin 48

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

aka: An Open Letter to the Next Big Social Network) - 500 Hats , November 1, 2010 I've held off writing this post for a long time, because I couldn't quite get my head around all the issues. And I tried to evaluate the idea and figure out: What did the founder really need here? Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

Ryan was the most talented technologist we had hired at BuildOnline. We hired Ryan at a really young age and without a tremendous amount of prior experience. We had a strategy of hiring people really young because we couldn’t afford to hire too many senior people. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Startup Advice.

San Francisco 322

San Francisco South Africa CTO Hire Fractional CTO 322