SoCal CTO

JANUARY 18, 2011

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. Please let this be a lesson to everyone – founders and CTOs. Find a lawyer and someone who does CTO searches for VC backed companies in your area. Or was it options?

CTO 150

CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity 150

SoCal CTO

MAY 19, 2008

Andrew Warner from Mixergy posted - Before Looking for Funding, Get an Advisor. He recommends that early stage companies get input from people who know the funding process, know the vertical, etc. Of course, it's sometimes hard to find advisors. eHarmony for start-up / advisor relationships? That's great advice.

Startup 150

Startup Mixergy eHarmony Course 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I acted as the occasional mentor, advisor and coach to Ethan. We generally have a policy to only fund entrepreneurs once the first version of a product has shipped or it near to shipping. So I asked Ethan to build his product first and then we would fund. The company was called Red Beacon. He was seeking $500k.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

SoCal CTO

APRIL 2, 2012

Hiring seems to be the preferred use of seed funds (by investors and founders), whereas I'd prefer a focus on customer acquisition. In many cases, during my Free Startup CTO Consulting Session with them, we discuss where they are in in the process. The startup founder is definitely not ready to hire a CTO. Far from it.

CTO Hire 205

CTO Hire Outsource Development CTO Coach Develop 205

SoCal CTO

MARCH 4, 2010

Background This post partly really came about as a result of a great conversation yesterday with David Croslin a former CTO at HP who recently conducted an interesting experiment. I am looking for one or two startups that I can work with on their road to success as a virtual C-level officer, board member, advisor or other relationship.

Technical Review 170

Technical Review Technical Advisors CTO Coach Startup 170

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

November 23, 2010 Entrepreneurs, Using Outsourcing to Obtain Capital Efficiency Needs to be Thought Through to be Effective - Robert Ochtel , June 7, 2010 Teen Entrepreneur, Brian Wong, Youngest Founder to Receive Angel Funding - teenentrepreneurblog.com , October 28, 2010 Build Your Own Silicon Valley? First Principles.

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

socalTECH

JUNE 1, 2012

Michael Wong: I was previously CTO of an agency called Breakthrough Ads. My cofounder, Steven Elliott, was CTO of a company doing artificial intelligence and automated chat technology. Can you talk about how your company is funded? Michael Wong: We're with StartEngine, and have received a small amount of seed funding from them.

CTO Coach 223

CTO Coach Startup Mobile Artificial Inteligence 223

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2012

I've talked about that in lots of other posts, so you can visit some of these to help determine what you specifically need: Startup CTO or Developer Startup Software Development – Do Your Homework Before You Develop Anything Key ingredients in the equation are: How complex is the system? Your technical advisor can likely help.

CTO Hire 211

CTO Hire CTO Coach Startup Equity 211

socalTECH

MARCH 13, 2013

Aliso Viejo-based Arkami, one of the startups in OCTANE's Launchpad Accelerator, has just zoomed past $360,000 in funding commitments on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, according to the firm's myIDkey project page. READ MORE>>.

CTO Coach 180

CTO Coach OCTANE High Tech Mission Ventures 180

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

You and I were talking about a startup recently and where they might go for seed stage funding, what is your impression on that aspect here in Los Angeles? We are not “finders” and usually serve the role of advisor and attorney. Are you doing much of that? Los Angeles is a great place for startups.

Startup 150

Startup SEO Pepperdine Blogging 150

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 15, 2011

The program is basically to take entrepreneurs, pair them with a mentor who is also an entrepreneur themselves, either a CEO or a CTO. It's structured so that they get funding, office space, all of the Internet resources, tools they need from mentors. There might be one or two mentors, one might be a CTO, another, a CEO.

CTO Coach 194

CTO Coach Startup Mentor Activision 194

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Andy Wen was the CTO of Christianity.com, and the CTO of early online education firm VCampus, and he also ran the product and web security for eTrade, as well as started a company called Lighthound deals, like a Groupon. Tony Adam is an advisor, he was formerly at MySpace. Bong Koh: The experience there has all been positive.

Startup 271

Startup CTO Coach Activity Software Review 271

socalTECH

JANUARY 19, 2017

Callinicos has been serving as a strategic advisor to the company since October. In an interview with the WSJ, Callinicos said he is coming on board as the company gears up for another funding round. The appointment comes as HyperLoop One has been recovering from a high profile legal spat with its former CTO last year.

CTO Coach 100

CTO Coach Funding Los Angeles Technology 100

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

The funds have been used up on the existing development. You may even have as much time left to get it "done" as it took to get it "mostly done" Normally, when I get this call, it's pretty far downstream (as in this situation). And the person is trying to get it from mostly done to done with little additional cost.

Software Development 175

Software Development CTO Hire Develop Development 175

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

As I’ve written about recently, at Upfront Ventures we started talking a couple of years ago about wanting to fund stuff with more meaning. I think this is a combination of being realists as venture capitalists that outsized returns in our funds must come from taking on bigger, more impactful projects that can move markets.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2014

Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. On teams I have a framework for tech teams “ CTO vs. VP Eng ” or on sales I have “ Journeymen, Mavericks & Superstars ” 5. Fund raising ? What is a founder to do?

Startup 407

Startup Framework CTO Coach Sales 407

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. Yes, I know it’s my job as the CEO to be the coach for people and that’s fine. Should she take a chance and potentially ruffle feathers? I certainly hope so.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2016

I’ve spoken before about our desire at Upfront Ventures to fund really big ideas that solve hard problems, are science led and if successful will both have a positive effect on people’s lives as well as make great financial returns. We’re not Pollyannaish about this. In short, we’re after venture returns. They have raised $14 million to date.

Company 207

Company Companies CTO Coach Funding 207

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 21, 2014

Our founder, Yves Sisteron, was my mentor and board member at my first startup. “Getting the band back together” doesn’t stop for me with just our fund. We brought Ryan Lissack down from San Francisco to become Maker’s CTO and the rest is history. Mafias matter a lot to me, as well.

CTO Hire 320

CTO Hire Startup CTO Coach Venture Capital 320

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2014

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. And I spoke with the CTO of another great company I used to be on the board of and enlisted his support in potentially being an advisor to one company. You have to select carefully.

Networking 366

Networking Startup CTO Coach Email 366

socalTECH

APRIL 29, 2009

in a Series A funding round. The firm said the funding was led by Benchmark Capital, along with participation by BV Capital. The firm was co-founded by Woody Rollins and Rich Wolski; among the firm's advisors are former Citrix Online CEO Andreas Von Blottnitz, and former Citrix Online CTO Klaus Schauser.

Cloud Computing 100

Cloud Computing Santa Barbara CTO Coach Venture Capital 100

socalTECH

MARCH 3, 2021

El Segundo- and Austin-based Slingshot Aerospace says it has named a Board of Advisors, which will provide it with counsel, advice, and support. Slingshot is venture backed by ATX Venture Partners, Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Techstars Ventures, and Okapi Venture Capital, along with others.

El Segundo 113

El Segundo CTO Coach Artificial Inteligence Seed Funding 113

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

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. So if all I need to do is make some customer calls, interview potential employees or help with his fund-raising decks – hallelujah. And improve.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

That's funding our new product, FanMix, which is a a social media tool. We have some great mentors now. Thanks to TechStars, we've got an awesome mentor who's co-habitating with us now, and we're learning something daily from him. It's actually uncommon to have a female CTO. We have a licensing business with that.

Startup 242

Startup CTO Coach Blogging Social Media 242

socalTECH

MAY 25, 2012

By the end of my sophomore year, I decided to go after this full time, and that's when I officially brought on a CTO, Shiv Prakash, and we went at it in the summer of 2011, and the rest is kind of history. Both have been great mentors ever since. We understand this whole effort was actually backed by Sir Richard Branson?

Startup 239

Startup CTO Coach Content Web 239

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2021

Startups can’t usually afford a business development team, so that effort is just one of the measurements that should fall on every CTO and CEO. Here is also an ideal opportunity to use your external advisors and Board to help identify external resources, potential partnerships, and acquisition opportunities. Partial acquisition.

Organization 132

Organization CTO Hire Outsource Development Startup 132

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

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. They are: Fred Wilson: Lead Investors, Dipshit Companies, and Funding Every Entrepreneur. I've funded some myself.

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

Most VCs did well academically and had enough career success that a venture firm was willing to give them an investment role or they were able to raise their own fund. It’s the executives who trust you to join the early-stage startups you’ve funded. The number one advice I give is “stop trying to be too smart”.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital CTO Coach Startup 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

In practice it can be a fine line between sparring partner / coach and stepping over the line to brute-force persuasion. The way we dealt with this issue is that we took each senior exec in the company (including the CFO and the CTO) and assigned them to important accounts. ” Of course I agree with this.

Startup 150

Startup Sales CTO Coach Course 150

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 8, 2013

Entrepreneurs and mentors travel from various parts around the world to take part in the 500 Startups accelerator program. Along with work-space and mentoring from global experts in design, distribution and every aspect of launching a business, MailLift received $50,000 in funding as part of the program.

Startup 86

Startup CTO Coach Mentor Class 86

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

For me, FI was great for networking with Adeo and the other mentors, who are all world class successful entrepreneurs themselves, as well as the other founders in the program. On the development side, my top go-to person is my KlickFu co-founder and CTO, Rod Morison , as well as the other developers who are contributing to the project.

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

SoCal Delicious

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

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. So my advice to CTO / Founders? Vaultive « Are Derivatives the Real Problem?

CTO Coach 28

CTO Coach CTO Hire Outsource Development Mentor 28

socalTECH

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Photo: Barry Lieberman, President and COO; Eli Aizenstat, Founder & CEO; and Rob Patrick, CTO). Barry was a lead mentor there at Chapman University's Launch Labs, and we paired up. Barry and I worked together to create Beatshare as a business and go out for funding. That funding was geared towards development of our product.

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels CTO Coach Startup Pasadena Angels 100

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 18, 2013

The 3-6 month program had several hundred applications from all over the country and abroad vying for the chance of $21,000 in initial funding, office space, mentorship, and collaboration opportunities with other startups. Blayze CEO Ben Smith started first as a mentor and a resource to the community, believing in give before you get.

Class 100

Class Startup Tech Coast Angels CTO Coach 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2012

Startups can’t usually afford a business development team, so that effort is just one of the measurements that should fall on every CTO and CEO. Here is also an ideal opportunity to use your external advisors and Board to help identify external resources, potential partnerships, and acquisition opportunities. Partial acquisition.

CTO Hire 91

CTO Hire Startup Outsource Development Resource 91

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2013

Startups can’t usually afford a business development team, so that effort is just one of the measurements that should fall on every CTO and CEO. Here is also an ideal opportunity to use your external advisors and Board to help identify external resources, potential partnerships, and acquisition opportunities. Partial acquisition.

Acquisition 88

Acquisition CTO Hire Startup Outsource Development 88

socalTECH

JUNE 18, 2009

OneCubicle helps you build a career, through a jobs page, jobs listings, career advice, micro transactions for resume help, and an upcoming celebrity mentor feature. It was funded by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg, Paul Allen, and some other really big names. You can also use the service to network to your next job. How are you backed?

Social Network 100

Social Network Entertainment Startup CTO Coach 100