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. Accounting?

CTO Hire 231

CTO Hire Technical Review Developer Software Review 231

SoCal CTO

APRIL 2, 2012

Using my StartupRoar as a radar, I came across a great post by Gabriel Weinberg Do you really need a full-time hire for that? Hiring seems to be the preferred use of seed funds (by investors and founders), whereas I'd prefer a focus on customer acquisition. In other words, they come in asking for help with sourcing and hiring.

CTO Hire 205

CTO Hire Technical Cofounder Fractional CTO Los Angeles 205

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. Generally I can provide quite a bit of help in that brief time. Of course, I provide part-time CTO services. So, I wanted to use this post to make it official - we are offering free startup CTO consulting sessions.

Fractional CTO 264

Fractional CTO CTO Hire NDA Technical Review 264

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. Generally I can provide quite a bit of help in that brief time. Of course, I provide part-time CTO services. So, I wanted to use this post to make it official - we are offering free startup CTO consulting sessions.

Fractional CTO 259

Fractional CTO CTO Hire NDA Technical Review 259

Steve Blank

JUNE 20, 2022

How does a newly hired Chief Technology Officer (CTO) find and grow the islands of innovation inside a large company? How not to waste your first six months as a new CTO thinking you’re making progress when the status quo is working to keep you at bay? But this is the first time he was the CTO of a company this size.

CTO 368

CTO Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Incubator 368

SoCal CTO

APRIL 23, 2010

I’ve come to realize that I have lots of posts around startup software development scattered around in different posts. How to Work With a Contract Web Developer How To Bootstrap Your Startup Thought it would be good to capture them in one spot and also include links to related posts from other sources.

CTO Hire 219

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Los Angeles Developer 219

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 10, 2012

It was like having a bunch of mini- Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions all in one room. Structure development contracts appropriately or directing the in-house team appropriately. Structure development contracts appropriately or directing the in-house team appropriately. Plan for past the initial MVP.

Technical Review 332

Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review 332

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Based on my posts Startup CTO or Developer and Acting CTO , Chris O’Meara wrote an interesting post Startup CTO: Could It Work? Common sense says you'd do your best to hire or otherwise permanently engage that lead developer. Even with this almost mythical person is there a possible Founder Developer Gap ?

CTO Hire 150

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Startup Architecture 150

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

I've posted quite a few things on the topics associated with being a Startup CTO. Here are some resources that come from other sources: Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering? Lessons Learned: What does a startup CTO actually do? Lessons Learned: What does a startup CTO actually do?

CTO Hire 175

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Startup Equity 175

SoCal CTO

APRIL 28, 2014

There was a lot of passion in the room last week when I presented Working with Developers at the Stubbs Precellerator. I guess it should not be a surprise that Founders have lots of challenges working with developers. But my developers want to go into way too much detail. Time Wasters - Don''t talk too much.

Technical Cofounder 280

Technical Cofounder Developer Fractional CTO CTO Hire 280

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

I've posted quite a few things on the topics associated with being a Startup CTO. Here are some resources that come from other sources: Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering? Lessons Learned: What does a startup CTO actually do? Lessons Learned: What does a startup CTO actually do?

CTO Hire 175

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Startup Equity 175

TechEmpower

AUGUST 14, 2023

Would you create contracts without an attorney? The Tactical Technical Advisor stays on top of the development team to ensure that they’re team is building the right thing in a high-quality, efficient manner. This is especially important with outsourced development teams. Why do this without the right technical advisor?

Technical Review 260

Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review 260

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

If you are on the lower complexity end, the key is defining small chunks of work that can be done quickly by a developer. If you do not break it down into small pieces, its hard to make progress with part-time resources, freelancers, etc. Structure development contracts appropriately or directing the in-house team appropriately.

Technical Cofounder 338

Technical Cofounder Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 338

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2021

This strategy is called “organic growth,” yet it alone may yield only a fraction of the potential you could achieve, unless you add the additional strategies of partnerships and M&A (mergers and acquisitions). Add basic partner contracts or alliances. Use external sourcing to fill in the non-critical gaps. Look for new horizons.

CTO Hire 330

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Merger Non-Compete 330

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

DECEMBER 11, 2023

million software developers worldwide. Given this diversity, it's important to be selective in the development services company with whom you choose to partner. You'll discover firms that are prolific in design/interface and light on development, and vice versa. How do they verify the ongoing progress of development?

Software Development 297

Software Development Software Developers Software Review Software 297

SoCal CTO

JUNE 26, 2012

I've done four Free CTO Consulting Sessions in the past month with startup founders who all had run into variations of the same problem. They didn't feel they had visibility into timelines and costs for development of their software. The teams involved didn't seem to be exhibiting many of the Symptoms of a Weak Development Team.

Software Development 254

Software Development Software Developers Agile Fractional CTO 254

TechEmpower

JULY 24, 2023

Even when they have talked to multiple developers or development firms, we’re often the first to ask basic questions like “Who are your customers?” ” or “Are you developing for desktop, tablet, mobile, or all three?” The innovator/developer relationship needs to be a conversation.

Developer 520

Developer Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 520

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

For your first key hires, three, five, maybe as much as ten, you will probably not be able to use any kind of formula. For example, suppose you're just two founders and you want to hire an additional hacker who's so good you feel he'll increase the average outcome of the whole company by 20%. n = (1.2 - 1)/1.2 =.167. and we have 11.1%

Early Stage 391

Early Stage Equity CTO Hire Sweat Equity 391

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. As a Startup, you have one shot.

Fractional CTO 175

Fractional CTO CTO Hire Startup Social Network 175

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. A good overall example is the synergy between Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, as well as long-time Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt. Brings complementary skills and experience.

Partner 385

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Cofounder 385

SoCal CTO

MAY 27, 2010

I was just interviewed by Frank Peters - Tony Karrer and the Founder-Developer Gap. 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. What Should You Do?

CTO Hire 170

CTO Hire Developer Founder Startup 170

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 18, 2011

I received an inquiry from a reader of my blog and thought I would provide some thoughts, but would definitely welcome input: I am an unpaid CTO of a small startup. I have been working full time with two founders for about 10 months on full time basis. Do they recognize any Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

CTO 167

CTO CTO Hire Equity Vesting 167

TechEmpower

MARCH 4, 2024

TechEmpower has been instrumental in developing chatbots like these, utilizing generative AI to sift through internal documents and user manuals, enabling them to provide precise answers to customer service questions. It also facilitates rapid prototyping, allowing for quicker iterations and thus shorter development cycles.

Generative AI 297

Generative AI CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review 297

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

There's an old adage in software development that I refer to all the time: The first 90% of development takes 90% of the time. The remaining 10%, takes the other 90% of the time. I used a company in India to develop the site, and it's mostly done. The funds have been used up on the existing development.

Software Development 175

Software Development Software Developers CTO Hire Software 175

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2012

This strategy is called “organic growth,” yet it alone may yield only a fraction of the potential you could achieve, unless you add the additional strategies of partnerships and M&A (mergers and acquisitions). Add basic partner contracts or alliances. Use external sourcing to fill in the non-critical gaps. Look for new horizons.

CTO Hire 229

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Merger Non-Compete 229

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2013

This strategy is called “organic growth,” yet it alone may yield only a fraction of the potential you could achieve, unless you add the additional strategies of partnerships and M&A (mergers and acquisitions). Add basic partner contracts or alliances. Use external sourcing to fill in the non-critical gaps. Look for new horizons.

Merger 221

Merger Acquisition CTO Hire Fractional CTO 221

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 18, 2011

I received an inquiry from a reader of my blog and thought I would provide some thoughts, but would definitely welcome input: I am an unpaid CTO of a small startup. I have been working full time with two founders for about 10 months on full time basis. Do they recognize any Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

CTO 150

CTO CTO Hire Equity Vesting 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

This is not only sad but incredibly frustrating, because it is so easy to see how a great technology can be developed and commercialized if only - if only the CTO hadn't been impulsive and insecure and brought on a business partner too early in the game. … And it’s not just inexperienced CTOs. Lack of confidence? Camaraderie?

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Cofounder CTO Hire Founder 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2012

"I'm looking for a partner / cofounder who can not only head the technical aspects and build a working model of the site, but someone with the connections to put a great development team together when we need it. Make sure you go through the 32 Questions Developers May Have Forgot to Ask a Startup Founder. Find out who is good.

Technical Cofounder 211

Technical Cofounder Cofounder CTO Hire Los Angeles 211

Steve Blank

MAY 27, 2010

After some heroics from our CTO in extracting data from SAP, the Visio CFO loved our product, thought we could save them a ton of time and money and wanted it installed ASAP. Then Visio gave us their boilerplate contract. Finally, there was a class of what I call “business development contract terms.”

CTO Hire 303

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review Startup 303

SoCal CTO

MAY 19, 2010

I’m seeing and hearing that it’s becoming tough finding good developers again, at least here in Los Angeles. On Friday, at the LA CTO Forum , I heard from a couple of CTOs having trouble finding good developers. I was wondering, what methods have you found to be successful in finding developers?

Southern California 175

Southern California Los Angeles Developer Offshore 175

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

Eventually you need a VP of Product to handle your product roadmap, a CTO for engineering leadership and VPs of sales, marketing & biz dev. You hire great people. You motivate, cajole, reassign tasks, hire, fire and push the organization forward. Do you hire more sales people? More developers? What do you do?

CTO Hire 385

CTO Hire Entrepreneur Technical Review Leadership 385

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2014

The reason is that good attributes apply equally well to “external” partners, as they do to internal partners, like a co-founder or CTO. If both of you are experts at software development, even though one loves design and the other loves coding, that still won’t get the marketing done. Complementary skills. Passion for what they do.

Partner 269

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 269

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

As your organization grows and you hire senior staff where you are no longer managing every employee directly the issue of how to manage people that are not your “direct&# reports arises. 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

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

The reason is that good attributes apply equally well to “external” partners, as they do to internal partners, like a co-founder or CTO. If both of you are experts at software development, even though one loves design and the other loves coding, that still won’t get the marketing done. Complementary skills. Passion for what they do.

Partner 258

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Equity 258

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. But “he didn’t have the budget to hire a developer until he had raised money!&#. He went out and found a developer and built a product. He looked stunned.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Fractional CTO Technical Review CTO Hire 414