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Several people have recently come to me to help them source and/or hire full-timeCTOs for their startup having found me through my post that looks at: Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data. You now have two issues: sourcing and hiring. I have a great network of fellow CTOs, especially in the Los Angeles area.
Several people have recently come to me to help them source and/or hire full-timeCTOs for their startup having found me through my post that looks at: Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data. You now have two issues: sourcing and hiring. I have a great network of fellow CTOs, especially in the Los Angeles area.
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. This is exactly the kind of thing I'm doing as a Part-TimeCTO or Technical Advisor for startups. Strategic Technical Advisor.
Why do this without the right technical advisor? Would you create contracts without an attorney? Just like attorneys, technical advisors can help navigate waters that many find murky. Actually, many startups need two kinds of technical advisors. CTO Founder – Do they really still need a technical advisor?
I’ve been having discussions with several people recently about the role of the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) in very early stage companies. In December 2007, I described how I commonly take on an Acting CTO Role in a Start-up. I used an image from Roger Smith that describes the varying roles of a CTO as the company matures.
I seem to encounter a lot of people who want to attach a CTO label to me as I'm the only programmer on the founding team of three. While I do fill that role at the moment, I'm a little hesitant to refer to myself as a CTO as we still haven't launched a product, acquired a single user, or turned or a penny in profit. Who will do that?
A large part of this conversation is what kinds of advisors startups should be looking for. A little while ago, I suggested that Every Web/Mobile Startup Should Have a Technical Advisor. The conversation with Bob was about what the composition of advisors should look like.
Using my StartupRoar as a radar, I came across a great post by Gabriel Weinberg Do you really need a full-timehire for that? Hiring seems to be the preferred use of seed funds (by investors and founders), whereas I'd prefer a focus on customer acquisition. In other words, they come in asking for help with sourcing and hiring.
If you do not break it down into small pieces, its hard to make progress with part-time resources, freelancers, etc. 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.
I received an inquiry from a reader of my blog and thought I would provide some thoughts, but would definitely welcome input: I am an unpaid CTO of a small startup. I have been working full time with two founders for about 10 months on full time basis. Of course, that doesn’t help here. What type of shares?
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. My general answer is “no.”
Are you a startup founder wishing you could find someone more experience to help meet other entrepeneurs, get some advice, and help you figure out the issues you face? According to Diep, the group is now holding one event a month to connect mentors and mentees. READ MORE>>.
I received an inquiry from a reader of my blog and thought I would provide some thoughts, but would definitely welcome input: I am an unpaid CTO of a small startup. I have been working full time with two founders for about 10 months on full time basis. Of course, that doesn’t help here. What type of shares?
In my post, Technology Roles in Startups , I described some of the different ways I engage with startup companies such as CTO Founder , CTO , Part-TimeCTO , Acting CTO , Consultant, Advisor and Advisory Board Member. Now, most often technical advisors are part of a broader advisory board.
" Typically, this requires quite a bit more information for me to be able to respond and provide real help. Your technical advisor can likely help. They often can help a lot in navigating to expertise and to possible resources. Do you have dollars to pay for development? Ask around for ideas on where they hang out.
I just need you for a few hours to help me move this weekend.” I.e., they need a developer more than they need a CTO. Ideally, you would have had a technical advisor, had better up-front definition, had more iteration, then you would not be in this situation. You also should never say something like, “We just need to add X.”
As your organization grows and you hire senior staff where you are no longer managing every employee directly the issue of how to manage people that are not your “direct&# reports arises. You’ll get sales information from your VP of Sales, marketing information from your VP Marketing, tech information from your CTO and so on.
And there are all sorts of different kinds of technical people who might help with getting that product to happen. There are a bunch of questions in Startup Software Development – Do Your Homework Before You Develop Anything and in Startup CTO or Developer. This is somewhat the heart of what a CTO does. It’s a painful situation.
Because I am true to the hiring practices I preach, I wanted a strong exec who would “ punch above their weightclass ” by taking a job they hadn’t yet done but would hugely aspire to and thus work harder to out perform. I acted as the occasional mentor, advisor and coach to Ethan. So there you have it.
But I thought I at least needed to do a post that made a few suggestions on how to avoid this situation: Keep your Eyes Open for the Symptoms of a Weak Development Team Hire a Part-TimeCTO , Technology Advisor , or Acting CTO to help you keep an eye on what's going and increase your chances.
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Thursday, March 1, 2007 Entreprenuer Network Great post by Ben Kuo - The Importance of the “Network&# to Entrepreneurs - the informal connections between people in the technology industry here who have a vested interest in helping entrepreneurs take their companies to the next level.
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Kevin Federline Search Engine Just saw a post - Sleep with a pop star, get your own branded search engine. Disclosure: we helped build the system that is behind these.) He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO.
Marina Del Rey-based startup Guardian Circle , the developer of a social-based system and app that helps people summon help from their friends, said last week that it has added futurist Peter Diamandis as an advisor as part of a "token sale" the company is running. International Space University, and Planetary Resources.
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Monday, March 12, 2007 MyShape Article - Analyst Misses the Point The NY Times did a piece today on MyShape, a start-up in Pasadena - Log in Your Measurements, and the Clothes May Fit. “They’re probably a little ahead of their time,&# she said.
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. Yes, I know it’s my job as the CEO to be the coach for people and that’s fine. but there are some people you just take an (extra) liking to and want to help. he asked.
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Saturday, February 17, 2007 A Different Kind of Incubator - The Hive I recently met with The Hive a new incubator in Orange County. What can they do for funding, where can they go for help? He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO.
It’s true the some VCs have started writing so many checks that they resemble stock pickers but the majority of us still have less than 10 board seats at any time and tend to go pretty deep so the result is that we care deeply about where we commit our time. Meredith came to see me along with the CTO Marc Berte.
The truth is you really don’t know how your teammates or your bosses will perform in good times and bad. You hire people who look good on paper. So one of the surest signs you’ve hired a leader is the willingness of his or her former team to re-assemble. After 6 months – you know. You REALLY know.
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. Maybe this meme will help.
I spent an hour on the phone working with Sam Rosen, the CEO of MakeSpace on a senior exec he is considering hiring. I will soon announce a few fundings (not yet closed, sorry) and I’m beginning to help them think about how to ramp up their engineering teams. Finally, I think it’s worth meeting “mentors.”
Our industry just took one big step towards legitimacy with the hiring of renowned media exec Ynon Kreiz to run Maker Studios. This followed an investment late last year by Time Warner in the company in a round totaling $36 million , led by Rachel Lam , head of their investment group. And he has truly been a pleasure to work with.
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. Add basic partner contracts or alliances. Partial acquisition.
Understanding where your VC partner sits in their respective fund and where their fund is in the cycle of its investment lifecycle will help you understand your VCs behavior. In his spare time he raised nearly $30 million. VCs crave the ability to help portfolio companies. What Rob wrote in his post is right.
Great content again in September that meets at the intersection of startups, technology, product and being a Startup CTO. The Right Way to Lay People Off - Ben's Blog , September 21, 2010 “I’m tryin’ to right my wrongs, But it’s funny them same wrongs helped me write this song”. Kanye West. It’s great advice.
We then help push those videos through social media channels, and help them go viral. That''s relevant, because of our third piece, where we have been hired by traditional media companies, to basically provide them a turnkey, outsources content acquisition team. Those two pieces helped feed each other. more) READ MORE>>.
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. Add basic partner contracts or alliances. Partial acquisition.
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. Add basic partner contracts or alliances. Partial acquisition.
August was a slow month in terms of traffic and I was away for a lot of the month, but there were some really great posts at the intersection of startups, technology, product and being a Startup CTO. thought it would be helpful to put some of my thoughts into a blog post and hopefully spur some conversation in the comments and over email.
So operating at a higher level, helping to set the framework for decision making and then sitting down and watching the game be played, is certainly the way to go.” In practice it can be a fine line between sparring partner / coach and stepping over the line to brute-force persuasion. ” Of course I agree with this.
There's a large number of on-demand services which have been appearing recently, to help people deal with almost every aspect of their life. One of the latest is Los Angeles-based Helpr (www.helpr-app.com), which recently launched to help parents find babysitters for their children. Are your sitters W2 or contract employees?
Main February 23, 2010 Advice for CTO Founders: Dont Let Business Kill the Business Founding a technology company is an amazing thing. I have met dozens of brilliant technologists with fantastic ideas, ideas requiring nurturing, mentoring and support. Vaultive « Are Derivatives the Real Problem?
We just recently brought in a CFO, a CTO, and also brought our technology team in house, so we are positioned to move our product forward, and grow and hire sales people in all of these different cities. One of them is serving as an advisor, and the other will be joining our board. READ MORE>>.
We hired the ex-CTO of Sears, and other senior executives out of Disney in software. So, I've been hiring people and creating an organization around that. I'm now looking at hiring some traditional analysts and infrastructure employees, to facilitate a much bigger fund than the $20M we have in the near term.
Can you explain in greater detail how the platform’s algorithm works to make it easier for entrepreneurs to find the right partner/advisor and to extend assistance to one another? Unless people feel a certain level of appeal towards what you are doing, they are less likely to want to help you. Actually, I would say relevant visibility.
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