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?

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SoCal CTO

APRIL 28, 2014

It may give non-technical founders a bit more insight into working styles when it comes to developers. If you’ve ever seen an athlete use a big word in a slightly wrong way, that’s how you sound when you use technical language and you don’t quite know what it means. I.e., they need a developer more than they need a CTO.

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Technical Cofounder Developer Fractional CTO CTO Hire 280

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. The trusted leader.

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SoCal CTO

APRIL 2, 2013

What's Going to Go Wrong A lot of founders don't really understand Lean Startup principles. Do you have a Technical Advisors: Every Web/Mobile Startup Must Have One ? What's going to go wrong? See Investors, MVPs and Evidence of Traction. Have you conducted Problem, Solution and Feature Interviews with customers?

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

In reality, too many choices actually dilutes customer interest in your existing market, and makes your job of production, marketing, and support much more complex. New entrepreneurs, especially technical ones, are excited by early adopters, and tend to focus on their feedback, which will always suggest more product features and options.

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Technical Review Technical Cofounder Advisory Board Cofounder 400

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. Giving a cofounder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so I see no equity value in the idea alone.

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Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

Three types of organizations – Incubators, Accelerators and Venture Studios – have emerged to reduce the risk of early-stage startup failure by helping teams find product/market fit and raise initial capital. They do the most to de-risk the early stages of a startup. Reducing Startup Risk.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. The trusted leader.

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YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 21, 2018

For example, Artem is an expert in software engineering, product development and all things tech. I also recommend having board members and a group of advisors who can provide different perspectives and contribute to a healthier partnership. Meanwhile, my talents lie within business management and networking. It’s inevitable.

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The Next Web

OCTOBER 10, 2013

Two more entrepreneurial ventures later, Gleb cofounded online backup provider Backblaze to help consumers affordably, automatically, and safely back up their data. What are the pros and cons of starting a business alone versus with cofounders? The required number of cofounders for success is: “Zero” – You don’t need a cofounder.

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Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

A startup is not just about the idea, it’s about testing and then implementing the idea. And when he’d get a positive response he’d show them his first minimal viable product – the mockup he had created of the User Interface in PowerPoint. But I’m having a hard time getting to my next minimal viable product. The Problem.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 19, 2023

Entrepreneurs need to be effective team leaders, since no one can transform an idea into a product and a business without some help. Unfortunately many founders I work with as a mentor are experts on the technical side, but have no insight into leading a team. Otherwise, in my experience, the startup will fail.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2013

Production costs have fallen more than 90%. Ynon immediately began working with the founding team: Danny Zappin, Lisa Donovan and Ben Donovan and he established a really strong rapport as somebody who had the media chops and executive relationships but was grounded in the economics of low-cost video production & distribution.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

One of my favorite events last year was attending Startup Grind where I got to interview Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma. And of course we talked about many of my views of building startups. You didn’t join startups then. You joined a startup if you couldn’t get a real job.

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Steve Blank

MAY 29, 2011

He set up Blackbox.vc, a seed accelerator for technology startups (and one of the tour stops for entrepreneurs from around the world.) They went to work gathering deep knowledege of what makes successful Internet startups. Max and his partners interviewed and analyzed over 650 early-stage Internet startups. better user growth.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2014

Two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. The default answer, to keep peace in the family, is to split everything equally, but that’s a terrible answer, since now no one is in control, and startups need a clear leader. The CTO of many technical startups was the original founder.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2023

Even if they realize that they need real technical strength at the top, they are not sure how to attract and select the talent and expertise they really need. Startups succeed most often when the founding partners know how to build and run a business, rather than how to build and run technology.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2022

Startup investors tell me they invest in a new venture with a higher caliber of people, rather than the product or service, and I agree. In my role as a business advisor, I see successful businesses most often emerging from great teams rather than great products.

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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. The default answer, to keep peace in the family, is to split everything equally, but that’s a terrible answer, since now no one is in control, and startups need a clear leader. Now comes the reality check.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2013

If you are a young startup founder, how do you find that CEO or other executive for your “dream team” to close on funding or complement your skills to kick start your company? Also, trusted advisors and experienced investors should be polled for good candidates. Most founders are product guys. Everybody wins. Marty Zwilling.

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YoungUpstarts

MAY 29, 2011

This week Blackbox , founded by entrepreneurs Bjoern Lasse Herrmann and Max Marmer, released its first Startup Genome Report — a 67-page in depth analysis on what makes Silicon Valley startups successful based on profiling over 650 startups. Startups that pivot once or twice times raise 2.5x better user growth.

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SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

Some great content around the intersection of startups and being a Startup CTO in June this year. This continues my series of posts: Top 29 Startup Posts May 2010 Startup CTO Top 30 Posts for April 16 Great Startup Posts from March There was some really great content in June. I’ll have to relocate.

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Cofounder Technical Cofounder Term Sheet Startup 175

The Next Web

OCTOBER 3, 2012

Andrew is the co-founder and CTO of Parse.ly , a technology startup that provides big data insights to the web’s best publishers. Startups die due to a variety of causes. In 2007, Paul Graham gave a variety of causes for startup death in How Not To Die. Distraction is fatal to startups.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. The trusted leader.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2019

In my experience as a business advisor, that’s probably the biggest hurdle to success encountered by every new business owner. I often recommend to technical entrepreneurs (logical) that they team with a cofounder who has a business perspective (emotional customer appeal). One of these without the other is a recipe for disaster.

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YoungUpstarts

JUNE 18, 2012

I previously touched upon the Passion/Product Fit of an aspiring entrepreneur. Product/Market Fit. People say the important part of a Startup is its Team. There are three market categories that startups from Singapore are likely to address: 1. Startups in this category start off in their home markets (i.e.

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View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

success story Blackboard and veteran entrepreneur who’s held several COO and president roles at various startups. Many startup CEOs hire COOs or launch companies with a co-founder carrying the title. But what do COOs actually do for startups? So … What’s the Role of a Startup COO, Exactly?

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YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 29, 2020

Israeli startups have gained international recognition as cutting-edge enterprises with game-changing potential. Intezer.com is headed by Itai Tevet, the CEO, Roy Halevi the CTO, and Alon Cohen Executive Chairman and Founding Investor. The post 5 Promising Israeli Startups In 2020 appeared first on Young Upstarts. Namogoo.com.

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NZ Entrepreneur

MAY 27, 2019

Wondering how to find the right cofounder but don’t know where to start? Some time ago I came across a startup with six founders. Finding a technical cofounder. Hence you need what they call in startup world a “technical” cofounder. This will never work. I’ve had this problem myself.

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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. The default answer, to keep peace in the family, is to split everything equally, but that’s a terrible answer, since now no one is in control, and startups need a clear leader. Now comes the reality check.

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

I suggest the following sequence of startup preparation steps: Create a business entity early to isolate business efforts. Advisors and investors need to see your whole story in as few as ten slides. Most investors expect a minimum viable product (MVP) sold to at least one customer. This is the time for pivots as required.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. The trusted leader.

Technical Cofounder 120

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 120

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 4, 2008

(Maybe youd like to start with The lean startup , How to listen to customers , or What does a startup CTO actually do? ) He serves on the advisory board of a number of technology startups, and has worked as a consultant to a number of startups, companies, and venture capital firms.

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Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 13, 2020

It doesn’t matter what industry, what product, what revenue model, what stage of development. Can your lack of interest or skill in “selling” be counter-balanced by a cofounder or team that’s great at it? And a non-CEO cofounder who can sell the heck out of your company is just about the next best thing to being skilled yourself.

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rob.by

MARCH 8, 2012

Finding Technical Cofounders Is Hard. Yesterday, Michael Pope posted an article titled Technical Cofounders Are a Myth. He argued that software engineers don’t finish what they start, and that you’re better off paying a technical person than partnering with one. Tuesday, August 17, 2010.

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SoCal CTO

MARCH 1, 2010

Here are some recent great posts that I’ve come across that generally fall in the intersection of startups and CTOs. They have a related post: Designing startup metrics to drive successful behavior | For Entrepreneurs , but I think that looking at my Startup Metrics post provides a bit broader set of metrics to consider.

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bizthoughts.mikelee.org

MARCH 8, 2012

BizThoughts Thoughts about business, technology, the web & entrepreneurship About Booklist Contact Nov 15 2011 Finding a Technical Cofounder By Mike Lee Categories: Entrepreneurship , Leadership Since I have a technical background, I get about one offer a month to join some engineering team, or to be a technical cofounder.

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