SoCal CTO

JULY 23, 2012

I seem to encounter a lot of people who want to attach a CTO label to me as I'm the only programmer on the founding team of three. While I do fill that role at the moment, I'm a little hesitant to refer to myself as a CTO as we still haven't launched a product, acquired a single user, or turned or a penny in profit.

CTO Hire 231

CTO Hire Technical Review Developer Software Review 231

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

TechEmpower

JULY 12, 2023

A Fractional CTO bridges the gap between founders and developers to help keep your tech strategy aligned with your business goals. This helps your startup stay agile and competitive in a fast-paced marketplace.

CTO Hire 650

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Agile Startup 650

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

SoCal CTO

MARCH 2, 2015

As the organizer of the LA CTO Forum , I get lots of inquiries by job seekers and people looking for CTO / VP Engineering talent. I’ve written quite a bit about aspects of this topic, especially from the perspective of startup founders looking for talent – you can find these in: Startup CTO.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Los Angeles CTO Hire Part-Time VPE 150

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. CTO Founder - Do they really still need a technical advisor? I've talked about this before in Startup CTO or Developer.

Technical Review 332

Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review 332

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers Technology Roles in Startups Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering? I'm always happy to try to help startups figure out how to go after creating their MVP.

Technical Cofounder 338

Technical Cofounder Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 338

SoCal CTO

JUNE 13, 2011

We had an interesting presentation at the LA CTO Forum by the CTO of a startup who chose Groovy / Grails as the framework for their startup. t prompted a good discussion around how CTOs go about choosing the programming language and framework for their startup. Get get help (see Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions ).

Framework 330

Framework Programming Ruby Fractional CTO 330

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 30, 2024

Even if you’re the most technical CTO out there, you have to get comfortable with this reality. As a cofounder you are *always* selling. To customers, to investors, to press, to team members, to potential hires, to partners. Being ‘ PLG ‘ doesn’t solve for this. Hiring a recruiter doesn’t solve for this.

Technical Cofounder 145

Technical Cofounder Sales CTO Hire Cofounder 145

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

You can also look at some data around this in Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data at some specific numbers at different stages Where I Come Out Again, like Fred Wilson says, early employee equity is more art than science. How To Calculate Sweat Equity Startup Equity For Employees A VC: Employee Equity: How Much?

Early Stage 391

Early Stage Equity CTO Hire Sweat Equity 391

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 31, 2024

For Kenny Shin , the chief technology officer of direct-to-consumer alternative asset management company Fundrise, some of the most exciting technological advancements in recent years have been in structured query language tools.

SQL 156

SQL CTO Database Cloud 156

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 19, 2020

by Chad Ruff, Chief Technology Officer at Swiftpage. While machine learning does fall under the larger category of artificial intelligence (AI), it’s a bit more specific and can be extremely effective technology to pair with your customer and prospect database. www.act.com ).

Artificial Inteligence 264

Artificial Inteligence Acquisition CTO Chad 264

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 16, 2020

Being relatively a new service trend in today’s tech-driven world, CTO-as-a-Service (CaaS) is notably gaining its momentum. Though CTO as a traditional full-time position exists for decades, some companies do not feel they need a technology executive. Ideal scenario assumes there’s a CTO in house. By referring to ?TO-as-a-Service

Fractional CTO 85

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Part-Time VPE 85

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 15, 2019

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Fractional CTO 238

Fractional CTO CTO Hire 238

SoCal CTO

APRIL 28, 2014

they need a developer more than they need a CTO. What happens when you have a really good developer is that a gap exists where you may not ask the right questions to specify the right system, consider appropriate 3rd party technologies, etc. Many are not interested in 3rd party technologies that can streamline development.

Technical Cofounder 280

Technical Cofounder Developer Fractional CTO CTO Hire 280

SoCal CTO

MAY 21, 2013

These are often the same things that cause a founder to reach out to me about helping their CTO, VP Engineering, tech team, off-shore development, etc. CTO Knowledge and Skill I personally believe that the best CTOs will have a technical/developer background. Some of the top symptoms are: Frequently missed deadlines.

Fractional CTO 219

Fractional CTO Developer Founder Architecture 219

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

You’ll get sales information from your VP of Sales, marketing information from your VP Marketing, tech information from your CTO and so on. But I knew that to be a good decision maker I needed first hand knowledge rather than just a summary from my CTO. But as a CEO you can’t rely solely on this information.

CTO Hire 308

CTO Hire Management Technical Review Part-Time VPE 308

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 30, 2010

Funny graphic by @shanesnow that captures the difference between web designers vs. web developers: Like the issue of Startup CTO or Developer , often startup founders who are less technical have this same question. Do I need a designer or a developer?

Web Development 278

Web Development Web Design Developer 278

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

500 Hats , February 1, 2010 When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Google Friend Connect for Authentication? 500 Hats , February 1, 2010 When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Google Friend Connect for Authentication? First Principles.

Silicon Valley 378

Silicon Valley Startup Term Sheet Venture Capital 378

SiliconHills

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

Austin-based Hypergiant Industries, which is focused on creating new products using artificial intelligence for businesses, has hired a heavy-hitter in the software industry, Mohammed Farooq, as its new Chief Technology Officer and GM Products. Farooq also joining Hypergiant Industries’ board of directors.

CTO Hire 105

CTO Hire Artificial Inteligence Hiring Product 105

TechEmpower

AUGUST 14, 2023

The Strategic Technical Advisor looks at the business and determines what makes sense from a technology perspective in the short-term and longer-terms. CTO Founder – Do they really still need a technical advisor? We’ve talked about this before in Startup CTO or Developer. Is this person a CTO or a developer?

Technical Review 260

Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review 260

SoCal CTO

MAY 13, 2014

You can’t afford and don’t want to hire a full-time CTO or architect. For me, if I can help you within a couple hours Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions , I’m happy to do that and I don’t expect compensation or equity for that. Here’s the other aspect that both Tony and I preach: get help.

Advisory Board 241

Advisory Board Fractional CTO CTO Hire Startup 241

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 17, 2014

You’re the CTO. As a CTO, you have a whole new set of responsibilities to take care of that do not involve coding. One reason why you’re the CTO, is obviously because you’re good at what you do. If you are a CTO and wondering if you’re not doing enough technically, don’t feel bad about it. Cheers to you!

Fractional CTO 229

Fractional CTO Ruby Coder Software 229

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

You’re sales person is getting blocked by the CTO who says she shouldn’t go above him but the CTO isn’t approving the deal. Yet I initially had a team full of people that seemed to either over analyze things or more likely wait for a higher source within the company to make the tough decisions for them.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Fractional CTO Technical Review CTO Hire 414

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

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 wanted to get input from me on what he's doing, and he wants to begin to ask developers what it would take to build his product. Founder : Ummm. what do you mean?

Developer 354

Developer Technical Review Fractional CTO Software Review 354

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2022

The reason is that good attributes apply equally well to “external” partners, as they do to internal partners, like a co-founder or CTO. In fact, I would broaden the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.”

Partner 385

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Cofounder 385

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2020

The CTO of many technical startups was the original founder. In all cases, roles and titles should be clear, but not necessarily tied to any given percent of equity. In other words, the CEO need not be top equity owner, but should be the one with the most business skill and experience.

Cofounder 435

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Equity Intellectual Property 435

Up and Running

OCTOBER 13, 2022

Chief financial officer (CFO): As the name implies, the CFO is responsible for major financial tasks. Chief technology officer (CTO): This executive ensures technology initiatives are running smoothly and supporting overall business goals.

CTO Hire 163

CTO Hire Fractional CTO CTO Hiring 163

TechEmpower

DECEMBER 11, 2023

cto , product , saas By following these guidelines, you'll be better equipped to select a web development company that accurately reflects your project aspirations. tew_cta text="Do you have an idea for a software project? Or do you need help evaluating software firms? Either way, we can help!"]

Software Developers 297

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Software 297

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 1, 2014

As the emeritus Chief Technology Officer of the United States, he still connects government and Silicon Valley. He’ll talk about making a profit and making a difference in a conversation with New Media Ventures’ Christie George. Todd Park convened the team that saved Obamacare.

Lean 165

Lean Fractional CTO Part-Time VPE Fractional VPE 165

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. Rather than push non-compete agreements on your superstars, it’s more productive to create incentive systems and creative ways for them to work more independently, just for you.

CTO Hire 330

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Merger Non-Compete 330

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Consider: Would you rather get hired as the CTO of a company with 1,000 daily new, unique, qualified visitors with no product, or the CTO of a company with a stable product and 10 uniques visits to the home page? If not, solving that is much harder and much more outside your control than building software.

Fractional CTO 310

Fractional CTO Coder CTO Hire Design 310

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 4, 2011

Almost every day I'm talking to early stage startup founders (see Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions ) about what they plan to do. I tend to ask a lot of questions, challenge aspects, make suggestions. But I've often been very surprised by one aspect of these conversations.

Developer 396

Developer Founder Viral Oauth 396

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 6, 2014

Isaac Cambron is co-founder and CTO of Zensight.co , whose pre-launch product enables sales reps to find and use their best content to close more deals. Below, he answers questions about developing products from scratch, as well as the difficult technology choices and tradeoffs CTOs must make.

Technology 334

Technology Ruby Startup Engineer 334

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 4, 2011

Almost every day I'm talking to early stage startup founders (see Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions ) about what they plan to do. I tend to ask a lot of questions, challenge aspects, make suggestions. But I've often been very surprised by one aspect of these conversations.

Developer 384

Developer Founder Viral Oauth 384

SoCal CTO

APRIL 2, 2013

See: [link] Additional Resources How to Hunt Programmers for Your Startup - A Field Guide Finding a Technical Cofounder for Your Startup Choosing a Programming Language and Framework for Your Startup Startup Founder Developer Gap Startup Software Developers Technology Roles in Startups Startup CTO or Developer Startup Metrics Building Your MVP as a (..)

Technical Cofounder 219

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Developers Software Development 219

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 24, 2020

by Chad Ruff, Chief Technology Officer at Swiftpage. Chad Ruff serves as chief technology officer at Swiftpage , provider of leading cloud-enabled CRM and marketing automation platform Act! Ruff also founded marketing automation platform Salesfusion where he served as both CEO and CTO. www.act.com ).

CTO 162

CTO Chad Marketing Artificial Inteligence 162