SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. Of course, I provide part-time CTO services.

Fractional CTO 259

Fractional CTO CTO Hire NDA Technical Review 259

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

The real reason to build an MVP is to do early tests of key Startup Metrics for the business. 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

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? And do I fit as a Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO ?

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Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Equity Sweat Equity 241

Steve Blank

MAY 27, 2010

Startups need to have a great lawyer, accountant, patent attorney, etc. After being in business for all of seven months, one of our first deals at Epiphany was with a software company called Visio , (now owned by Microsoft.) Then Visio gave us their boilerplate contract. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. You Can’t Sign This Deal.

CTO Hire 303

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review Startup 303

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 ”. The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. Partner decisions are more important than hiring decisions.

Partner 240

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 240

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 ”. The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. Partner decisions are more important than hiring decisions.

Partner 269

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 269

TechEmpower

DECEMBER 11, 2023

million software developers worldwide. Although noteworthy, working with large corporations differs remarkably from working with startups. While the appearance matters, remember you are hiring the development firm primarily for its development skills, not its graphic design skills. Or do you need help evaluating software firms?

Software Developers 297

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Software 297

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

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.” The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. Partner decisions are more important than hiring decisions.

Partner 258

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Equity 258

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2014

It’s the company that evokes fear into more startups and venture capitalists looking to fund eCommerce businesses than any other potential competitor. He spent a few months building out the software because just taking stuff from people isn’t that difficult. And could we then compete?” ” type questions.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Software Review Cofounder CTO Hire 380

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2019

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.

Cofounder 221

Cofounder Software Review CTO Hire Founder 221

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

I told her that I believed America’s best asset – driven initially from software innovation mindset in the San Francisco Bay Area and media innovation driven from Los Angeles – was our willingness to accept failure. We hired outside experts. We checked charge times. Time will tell. Time will tell.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review South Korea San Francisco Software Review 417

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 ”. The reason is that good attributes apply equally well to “external” partners, as they do to internal partners, like a co-founder or CTO. Partner decisions are more important than hiring decisions. Complementary skills.

Partner 230

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 230

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

This is part of my Startup Advice series. I spent nearly a decade building software for large companies and then advising companies on the same. So I was surprised at the sheer volumes of decisions that had to be made when I became a startup CEO. So we discussed his ideas several times. He looked stunned.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Fractional CTO Technical Review CTO Hire 414

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 ”. The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. Partner decisions are more important than hiring decisions.

Partner 179

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 179

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 14, 2012

So many tech startups begin the same way: One founder, one dream and a plan to make it happen. But to succeed, most startups need a much broader set of skills and experience. So what does it actually take to build a kickass startup team? She sold her first tech startup econfidant.com to a larger technology company.

Technical Review 159

Technical Review CTO Hire Software Review Startup 159

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 10, 2008

I am convinced one of Joel Spolskys lasting contributions to the field of managing software teams will turn out to be the Joel Test , a checklist of 12 essential practices that you could use to rate the effectiveness of a software product development team. Do you fix bugs before writing code? Please leave feedback!)

Software Review 144

Software Review Technical Review San Francisco Continuous Deployment 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2017

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. Brings complementary skills and experience.

Partner 140

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Cofounder 140

Up and Running

OCTOBER 13, 2022

As you find your footing and begin to scale, you might feel ready to hire a formal executive team. What’s right for one company may not make sense for another, but the goal is always the same — to hire talent that will ultimately help the business thrive. When is the right time to hire an executive team?

CTO Hire 163

CTO Hire Fractional CTO CTO Hiring 163

mashable.com

MAY 9, 2011

Hiring the wrong person for key company positions can cost a business thousands — or tens of thousands — of dollars and man hours. This is especially true when it comes to tech companies hiring the wrong chief technology officer. Leadership Abilities Are A Must It’s natural to want a tech savvy and competent CTO.

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CTO Hire Fractional CTO CTO Technical Review 73

TechEmpower

JULY 24, 2023

At TechEmpower, we frequently talk to startup founders, CEOs, product leaders, and other innovators about their next big tech initiative. It’s part of our job to ask questions about their plans, challenge their assumptions, and suggest paths to success. What are your key Startup Metrics ? What channels will you use (e.g.,

Developer 520

Developer Technical Review Fractional CTO CTO Hire 520

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

A version of this article is in the Harvard Business Review. — Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm. The startup process has become demystified – information is everywhere.

Founder 281

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 281

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

As a CTO, I can definitely say without a doubt that few people understand what a CTO does. When I tell someone I’m a CTO, I’m often met with a blank stare. Even when someone is aware of what a CTO does, they often have limited context due to the wide variety of CTO roles.

Fractional CTO 54

Fractional CTO CTO Hire CTO Technical Review 54

SoCal CTO

MARCH 22, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Thursday, March 22, 2007 Discussion Creation Among Bloggers - LinkedIn, Blogging and Discussion Groups Ive been participating in a Yahoo Group that are users of LinkedIn and who are Bloggers: [link] Its an interesting group of folks from diverse backgrounds.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I’m looking to turn dots into lines over time. I’m inspired by the enthusiasm of the young, emerging startup ecosystem that is here. And I think about the “Seattle issue&# as a metaphor for startups and business in general. There’s you and your killer CTO co-founder. Seattle has its patrons.

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Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 8, 2019

When International Technological University’s CTO Kranthi Lammatha was a boy in the Indian farming village of Kasipuram, he would walk nine miles to get to school every day and another nine miles to get back home in the evening. The software generates instant dynamic reports, such as financial revenue, gender ratio, and more.

Technical Review 137

Technical Review CTO Hire Silicon Valley Software Engineering 137

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 7, 2008

When I want to know about some concurrency issues between services in his cluster, he doesnt blink an eye when I suggest we get the source code and take a look. Those who have the endurance are the ones that tend to lead teams and join startups, because you just cant be successful in a startup situation without empathy.

Software Review 94

Software Review Technical Review San Francisco Part-Time VPE 94

blog.alinelerner.com

JUNE 21, 2013

Lessons from a year’s worth of hiring data. Because I used to be an engineer, one part of my job was conducting first-round technical interviews, and between January 2012 and January 2013, I interviewed roughly 300 people for our back-end/full-stack engineer position. Aline Lerner's Blog. Jun 21, 2013.

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CTO Hire Hiring Software Review Technical Review 98

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 5, 2015

by Marcus Turner, President and CTO of Enola Labs. We were not any different, we had corporate bylaws, which my partner and I both reviewed and signed. Our company was essentially going to be 50/50, but since my partner at the time was Indian, we decided that we would apply for HUB status as a business.

CTO Hire 100

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Advisory Board Software Review 100

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 10, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Smarticus — 10 things you could be doing to your code right now Smarticus — 10 things you could be doing to your code right now A great checklist of techniques and tools for making your development more agile, written from a Rail perspective. Expo SF (May. .

Software Review 68

Software Review San Francisco Technical Review Continuous Deployment 68

SoCal CTO

APRIL 9, 2013

I just got an email asking about exactly this: I''m with a new company that needs some software built, but doesn''t need (or have the resources for) a large staff of software developers. But it''s quite different working for large firms than it is with startups. What are the review periods? That says something.

Web Development 204

Web Development Web Developer Los Angeles 204

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Since AI and ML startups cut across verticals (analytics, fintech, health, adtech, security, etc), it’s easier to group them under the “machine intelligence” umbrella, coined by Shivon Zillis , a partner at Bloomberg Beta. In 2016 alone, 300+ “machine intelligence” (AI + ML) startups in Europe raised over €1.4

Artificial Inteligence 122

Artificial Inteligence Israel Technical Review Startup 122

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 27, 2010

Business plan competitions are the air guitar championships of the startup world. Not only that, there’s a hugely disproportionate amount of time spent on pitching for money for these paper ideas. It’s as if the plan for creating a startup is: Step #1: Come up with an idea. Step #2: Pitch investors.

New York 121

New York CTO Hire Technical Review New York City 121

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 7, 2009

Getting features and fixes into hands of users was the greatest priority - a test environment would just get in the way and slow down the validation coming from having code running in production. For people we hired from larger companies especially, this was challenging. I wont pretend that this worked smoothly every time.

San Francisco 131

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Software Review Lean 131

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. Do they really need a CTO?

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CTO Hire CTO Hiring Technical Review 40

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, September 15, 2008 The one line split-test, or how to A/B all the time Split-testing is a core lean startup discipline, and its one of those rare topics that comes up just as often in a technical context as in a business-oriented one when Im talking to startups. Great post Eric!

San Francisco 166

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Continuous Deployment 166

ConversionXL

JUNE 16, 2022

Consistency is equally critical for startups. Here’s an example of how Nightwatch uses Asana to organize distribution: The color-coded initials in the right-hand column correspond to different members of the marketing team, so everyone knows their role. Marketing software. Consistency is the cornerstone of good marketing.

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