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I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. Of course, I provide part-time CTO services. But the reality is that I engage with about 5 new startups each year which means that I end up working with less than 5% of the startups where I provide these free consulting sessions.
I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. Of course, I provide part-time CTO services. But the reality is that I engage with about 5 new startups each year which means that I end up working with less than 5% of the startups where I provide these free consulting sessions.
A FractionalCTO 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.
Because more technology people probably read startup blogs I’m guessing this post will come under more scrutiny. 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. Experience.
I’ve been having discussions with several people recently about the role of the CTO (ChiefTechnologyOfficer) in very early stage companies. In December 2007, I described how I commonly take on an Acting CTO Role in a Start-up. That’s why Roger Smith puts the focus of the CTO on programming for the earliest stage.
What does it mean to be a CTO for a startup? Should a startup CTO spend their time programming? Exploring new technologies? The role of a CTO varies as the company matures. A CTO can help you find the right answers. Instead, they should consider a FractionalCTO who can help close the gap.
I generally am working as an acting CTO for about 3-4 start-ups or other companies at any one time. I also found this interesting graphic of the changing needs around the CTO role in different size/type companies that somewhat echoes my experience. During Stabilization, often the focus is transitioning to a full-time CTO.
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?
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?
It was like having a bunch of mini- Free Startup CTOConsulting 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. Would you create contracts without an attorney?
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.
Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers Technology Roles in Startups Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering? Structure development contracts appropriately or directing the in-house team appropriately. Third party products are used appropriately. Plan for past the initial MVP.
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.
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. CTO Founder – Do they really still need a technical advisor? We’ve talked about this before in Startup CTO or Developer.
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.
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. If you think that's person you need, the question becomes "what else do you expect a CTO to contribute?"
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 CTOConsulting Sessions ).
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.
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.
I've done four Free CTOConsulting Sessions in the past month with startup founders who all had run into variations of the same problem. In the fourth case, the founder was getting ready to sign a very large contract, but they didn't feel they had much visibility into what was going to be delivered.
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.” We called the Visio CFO.
The reason is that good attributes apply equally well to “external” partners, as they do to internal partners, like a co-founder or CTO. Then, as I always recommend, it’s time to establish a formal agreement or contract to cement the partnership. In fact, I would broaden the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.”
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. This person was educated at the best US schools and had worked for a top-tier strategy consulting firm – one of the big 3. Should she take a chance and potentially ruffle feathers?
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.
AI-driven document review and analysis expedite the handling of large volumes of legal documents, contracts, and case files, saving considerable time and labor costs. Contract management is streamlined as AI systems monitor contract lifecycles, ensuring compliance and mitigating risks of costly oversights.
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.
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 CTOConsulting Session with them, we discuss where they are in in the process.
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
I asked some of the same questions I ask in my Free Startup CTOConsulting 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?
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.
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 CTOConsulting 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.
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. Actually, David’s taking even broader roles than I generally do as he’s CEO for at least one startup.
Almost every day I'm talking to early stage startup founders (see Free Startup CTOConsulting 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.
You open Photoshop before you consult your to-do list because there’s something you just need to tweak. 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?
Almost every day I'm talking to early stage startup founders (see Free Startup CTOConsulting 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.
What fractional CMOs can do for small businesses written by Editor read more at Duct Tape Marketing. One of the greatest ways to do so is hiring a CMO or Chief Marketing Officer, an experienced, result-driven executive responsible for all your marketing efforts. A fractional CMO is basically a part-time version of this position.
The reason is that good attributes apply equally well to “external” partners, as they do to internal partners, like a co-founder or CTO. Then, as I suggested before, it’s time to establish a formal agreement or contract to cement the partnership. Marty Zwilling. business entrepreneur partner startup traits'
The reason is that good attributes apply equally well to “external” partners, as they do to internal partners, like a co-founder or CTO. Then, as I suggested before, it’s time to establish a formal agreement or contract to cement the partnership. The relationship has to have trust, communication, and respect in order to work.
Before I started my first company in 1999 I worked for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). Soon after he was promoted to Senior Architect, our highest role without being CTO. This is part of my Startup Advice series. Suddenly it was star treatment and all sorts of promises about the future.
Chief financial officer (CFO): As the name implies, the CFO is responsible for major financial tasks. Chieftechnologyofficer (CTO): This executive ensures technology initiatives are running smoothly and supporting overall business goals. Think about what your business needs to grow and start there.
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.
As the emeritus ChiefTechnologyOfficer 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.
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