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. The industry veteran.

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Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 245

SoCal CTO

MARCH 2, 2015

As the organizer of the LA CTO Forum , I get lots of inquiries by job seekers and people looking for CTO / VP Engineering talent. I’ve written quite a bit about aspects of this topic, especially from the perspective of startup founders looking for talent – you can find these in: Startup CTO.

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Technical Cofounder Los Angeles CTO Hire Part-Time VPE 150

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. The startup founder is definitely not ready to hire a CTO. Far from it.

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CTO Hire Technical Cofounder Fractional CTO Los Angeles 205

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? Have you Documented Your MVP for Your Developer s? Don't be fooled by a Common Misunderstanding in Agile Software Development.

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Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Development Software Developers 219

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. The industry veteran.

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Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

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. 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.

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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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Technical Cofounder Equity Distribution Cofounder 247

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 21, 2018

I also recommend having board members and a group of advisors who can provide different perspectives and contribute to a healthier partnership. Hell, even shouting matches will happen. It’s inevitable. This is why it’s essential to have an unbiased middle man to mitigate any conflicts that pop up.

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Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Engineering Startup 217

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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Cofounder Technical Cofounder Kenya Dilution 143

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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Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 368

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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Cofounder Technical Cofounder San Diego Startup 337

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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Technical Cofounder Technology Management Entrepreneur 260

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

A startup is not just about the idea, it’s about testing and then implementing the idea. neither you nor your cofounder can code and you’re building a mobile app? This startup was broken at multiple levels. In fact, it wasn’t even a startup. There were three problems with Dave’s startup. Book of Five Rings.

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Cofounder Founder Technical Cofounder Coder 336

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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Cofounder Stock Founder Technical Cofounder 261

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2013

Another major hire was Ryan Lissack who joined as CTO. Ryan was not only a senior engineer at Salesforce.com (he ran mobile and also ran content management) but was also my cofounder at Koral and lead architect at BuildOnline. Ynon started as shareholder, board member & advisor and switches to full-time executive.

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Video Los Angeles Technical Cofounder CTO Hire 320

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

MARCH 19, 2023

Unfortunately many founders I work with as a mentor are experts on the technical side, but have no insight into leading a team. The only real alternative is to find a cofounder who can build and lead the team, while you focus on the product. Otherwise, in my experience, the startup will fail.

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Leadership Technical Review Technical Cofounder Development Team Review 318

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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Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 238

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. entrepreneur cofounder startup investor dream team business'

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Technical Cofounder Cofounder Startup Exit Strategy 219

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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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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Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Cofounder Startup 230

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. The industry veteran.

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Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 144

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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Cofounder Technical Cofounder Technical Review Software Review 155

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

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2023

In my role as an advisor to entrepreneurs, I often find founders who have such conviction and passion for their new idea, that they can’t believe anyone could challenge it. Bacharach, Cornell Professor and cofounder of the Bacharach Leadership Group. This argument is actually attacking your ability to execute, rather than the idea.

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Technical Cofounder Founder Cofounder Mobile 341

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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Technical Cofounder Technical Review Cofounder Cloud 244

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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Hiring Cofounder Startup Technical Cofounder 336

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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Cofounder Software Review Israel Technical Cofounder 147

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 9, 2013

I used to be in startups where I was dealing with engineers designing our microprocessors or selling supercomputers to research scientists solving really interesting technical problems. Founders don’t do startups because they’re searching for a huge financial windfall. My customers were 14-year old boys.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2020

In my role as an advisor to entrepreneurs, I often find founders who have such conviction and passion for their new idea, that they can’t believe anyone could challenge it. Bacharach, Cornell Professor and cofounder of the Bacharach Leadership Group. This argument is actually attacking your ability to execute, rather than the idea.

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Technical Cofounder Cofounder Mobile Differentiation 315

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. Finding a non-technical cofounder.

Technical Cofounder 67

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Technical Review Software Review 67

SoCal CTO

MAY 22, 2012

I recently posted about the Increase in Early-Stage Startup Activity in Los Angeles. In that post, I mentioned how one of the signals is the big increase in number of startup events and the number of attendees at those events. Of course, given the size of this list and having kids, I really can't attend a lot of these.

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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. You need to recruit advisors, key partners, and cofounders well before approaching investors.

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Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Silicon Valley LLC 184

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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Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Engineering Fractional CTO 42

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. The industry veteran.

Technical Cofounder 120

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 120