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? You set direction. You course correct.

CTO Hire 385

CTO Hire Entrepreneur Technical Review Leadership 385

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?

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Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review Marketing 88

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2023

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a cofounder or two. Level of responsibility and time allocated. The CTO of many technical startups was the original founder. Giving a cofounder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want.

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Technical Cofounder Equity Distribution Cofounder 247

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.

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Metrics Founder CTO Hire Technical Review 120

mashable.com

MAY 9, 2011

a New York-based sizzle reel production company specializing in promotional videos for PR and marketing professionals, and the Young Entrepreneur Council. Hiring the wrong person for key company positions can cost a business thousands — or tens of thousands — of dollars and man hours. Zach Cutler , The Cutler Group.

CTO Hire 73

CTO Hire Fractional CTO CTO Technical Review 73

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

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

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).

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CTO Hire Fractional CTO Architecture Cofounder 55

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

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. Each co-founder should get equity for value, based on these key variables: Lived a key role in a previous startup.

Equity 238

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 238

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?

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CTO Hire Framework Cofounder Seed Stage 120

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

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.

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Founder Cofounder CTO Hire Early Stage 159

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

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.

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CTO Hire eCommerce Engineer Software 264

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.

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CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review Startup 303

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2014

The most common ones I see and salute are CEO, CFO, and CTO. This is a fancy title for a personnel manager in a large corporation who keeps track of all the hiring and firing, and has a staff to build job descriptions and personnel policy documents. In a startup, that’s your job as founder, and it’s a job you can’t afford to delegate.

CTO Hire 252

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Angel Investor Public Relations 252

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.

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CTO Hire Cofounder San Francisco Silicon Valley 320

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

And for some strange reason entrepreneurs didn’t share this information. Other founders, “as a privately held company we don’t disclose our valuation.&# Me, “dude, I’m not a journalist. I’ve started from day one trying to build total transparency into my process with entrepreneurs.

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Valuation Liquidation Preference Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet 405

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."

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CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review 168

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

www.bothsidesofthetable.com

MAY 13, 2012

Entrepreneur DNA. Entrepreneur turned VC. Want to Know Difference Between a CTO and a VP of Engineering? The terms “CTO” and “VP Engineering” have such stigmas associated with what they are that I’m sure some people will feel uncomfortable with the definitions I’ve put forward.

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Fractional VPE Part-Time VPE Fractional CTO CTO Hire 89

konamoxt.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

January 18, 2009 Why Your Startup Can’t Afford To Hire a CTO Before Founding Konamoxt, my last gig was the Chief Technology Officer for a local Seattle Startup. Mr. Startup CEO, I’m here to tell you, you can’t afford to hire a CTO. Can you help us make sure this candidate would make a good CTO?&#

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire CTO Hiring Technical Review 40

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 5, 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. Entrepreneurs are inherently risk takers.

Entrepreneur 293

Entrepreneur CTO Hire South America Salary 293

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.” Marty Zwilling.

Partner 230

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 230

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 14, 2017

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. LESSON #3: Avoid these three hiring mistakes.

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Lean Startup CTO Hire Cofounder 245

www.informationarbitrage.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

Home About Press IA Capital Partners Archives After 17 years in M&A, Derivatives and Trading, Im spending my time with young entrepreneurs in and around financial technology and digital media. Main February 23, 2010 Advice for CTO Founders: Dont Let Business Kill the Business Founding a technology company is an amazing thing.

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CTO Hire Founder Cap Table Vesting 40

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. Most likely, this is a person who is a serial entrepreneur and was the chief technology officer for two or more web startups. .&#

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Fractional VPE 40

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. This applies to both founders and to VC’s that work with them. I see two common mistakes in companies (not just in startups, in fact).

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CTO Hire Management Technical Review Part-Time VPE 308

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

But this also produces a natural weakness , and when I look at what made me a successful entrepreneur — not just a great coder — it’s that I acknowledged and overcame that weakness. The weakness is your love of creation. You love to write clean, tested, scalable, extensible, beautiful code.

Fractional CTO 310

Fractional CTO Coder CTO Hire Design 310

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2013

The most common ones I see and salute are CEO, CFO, and CTO. This is a fancy title for a personnel manager in a large corporation who keeps track of all the hiring and firing, and has a staff to build job descriptions and personnel policy documents. In a startup, that’s your job as founder, and it’s a job you can’t afford to delegate.

CTO Hire 244

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Startup Angel Investor 244

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

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

Gust

APRIL 20, 2014

The most common ones I see and salute are CEO, CFO, and CTO. This is a fancy title for a personnel manager in a large corporation who keeps track of all the hiring and firing, and has a staff to build job descriptions and personnel policy documents. In a startup, that’s your job as founder, and it’s a job you can’t afford to delegate.

CTO Hire 171

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Angel Investor Public Relations 171

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

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. Each co-founder should get equity for value, based on these key variables: Lived a key role in a previous startup.

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2017

When you run a startup you’re always on borrowed time. I’ve never met a founder who wasn’t acutely aware of his or her ticking time bomb and the sense that failure and humiliation is a real possibility. Very, very few founders have an easy time despite what you read in the press. Fund raising is hard for everybody.

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Burn Rate Term Sheet CTO Hire Fractional CTO 238

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.

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Naming Fractional CTO Entrepreneur CTO Hire 115