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. In fact, they often don’t really understand the business.

Technical Cofounder 280

Technical Cofounder Developer Fractional CTO CTO Hire 280

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

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

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

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. Many of these founders have talked with several developers or development firms about their plans. Team – is there or will there be multiple segments in the development team?

Developer 396

Developer Founder Viral Oauth 396

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

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

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. Many of these founders have talked with several developers or development firms about their plans. Team – is there or will there be multiple segments in the development team?

Developer 384

Developer Founder Viral Oauth 384

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. Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers Technology Roles in Startups Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering? Third party products are used appropriately.

Technical Cofounder 338

Technical Cofounder Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 338

TechEmpower

AUGUST 14, 2023

Would you create contracts without an attorney? The Strategic Technical Advisor looks at the business and determines what makes sense from a technology perspective in the short-term and longer-terms. 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

MAY 21, 2013

I''m spending more of my time recently working with non-technical startup founders who are having challenges with their software/web/mobile development teams. Common Signals I''ve written previously about Symptoms of a Weak Development Team. Rogue developers with their own agenda. One of your better developers leaves.

Fractional CTO 219

Fractional CTO Developer Founder Architecture 219

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 going for a reality check on your current situation - wondering if you have a Weak Development Team or a Startup Founder Developer Gap.

Fractional CTO 211

Fractional CTO Conversion NDA Early Stage 211

SoCal CTO

APRIL 2, 2012

When I talk with early-stage companies, often the discussion starts with them asking me about Hiring a CTO for Your Startup , or Finding a Technical Cofounder for Your Startup or How to Find Programmers for Your Startup. In many cases, during my Free Startup CTO Consulting Session with them, we discuss where they are in in the process.

CTO Hire 205

CTO Hire Technical Cofounder Fractional CTO Los Angeles 205

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

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. He is a frequent speaker at trade and industry events.

Fractional CTO 175

Fractional CTO CTO Hire Startup Social Network 175

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

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? They tend to know where to find good help in terms of employees and consultants. Common sense says you'd do your best to hire or otherwise permanently engage that lead developer.

CTO Hire 150

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Startup Architecture 150

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

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. 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 385

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Cofounder 385

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.” It says what?!”).

CTO Hire 303

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review Startup 303

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

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

SoCal CTO

APRIL 9, 2013

I''ve written before about finding Web Development Firms in Los Angeles. 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. You will find firms that are design/interface heavy and light on development.

Web Development 204

Web Development Web Developer Los Angeles 204

SoCal CTO

MAY 13, 2014

You can’t afford and don’t want to hire a full-time CTO or architect. While Bob’s post focuses on Technology Advisors and the Startup Founder Developer Gap , we also discussed advisors more broadly. In Bob’s post, he tells startup founders to get smart on product design, software architecture and development process.

Advisory Board 241

Advisory Board Fractional CTO CTO Hire Startup 241

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 17, 2014

by Jinesh Parekh, CEO of Ruby on Rails consulting shop, Idyllic Software. 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. You’re doing everything.

Fractional CTO 229

Fractional CTO Ruby Coder Software 229

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. Early-stage startups.

Fractional CTO 85

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Part-Time VPE 85

SoCal CTO

MARCH 4, 2010

I’ve worked with 30+ early-stage companies in all sorts of capacities (and spoken to many, many more), so I thought it might be worthwhile trying to classify the various ways that I’ve engaged in different technology roles in startups. And a big factor is how big is the Founder Developer Gap.

Technical Review 170

Technical Review Fractional CTO Technology CTO Hire 170

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

You love developing an entire app in the browser against a scalable back-end. You open Photoshop before you consult your to-do list because there’s something you just need to tweak. You love converting marketing requirements into 960-wide artwork, replete with whitespace, custom fonts.

Fractional CTO 310

Fractional CTO Coder CTO Hire Design 310

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

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

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 24, 2014

by Adam Root, founder and CTO of Hiplogiq. The same rule applies to product and app development. Particularly in app development, it’s better to specialize your products and develop a handful of simple apps that are very good at small, individual tasks, rather than create a behemoth that tries to do everything.

Fractional CTO 228

Fractional CTO Product CTO Hire Merger 228

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2011

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 240

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 240

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

Before I started my first company in 1999 I worked for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). You develop a cynicism that the future will be better. Soon after he was promoted to Senior Architect, our highest role without being CTO. This is part of my Startup Advice series. I knew that meant he wouldn’t come back.

San Francisco 322

San Francisco South Africa CTO Hire Fractional CTO 322

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 1, 2014

As the emeritus Chief Technology Officer of the United States, he still connects government and Silicon Valley. And the whole site was developed in just 9 weeks. Cory Nelson will talk with Eric about how GE has applied the MVP method to its development of very large diesel engines.

Lean 165

Lean Fractional CTO Part-Time VPE Fractional VPE 165

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 6, 2011

" Today I had two conversations with early stage startups (see Free CTO Consulting ). Vision Synching in a Lean Startup The Fallacy of Customer Development Entrepreneurs, Lower Investors’ Risk by Validating your Start-up Company’s Business Proposition Lessons Learned: What is customer development?

Customer 227

Customer Fractional CTO Viral Lean 227