SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ? Did they really need a Startup CTO or Developer or both? Did they have a Weak Development Team ? Did they have a Weak Development Team ? Was it a case of needing Homework?

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SoCal CTO

APRIL 23, 2010

I’ve come to realize that I have lots of posts around startup software development scattered around in different posts. How to Work With a Contract Web Developer How To Bootstrap Your Startup Thought it would be good to capture them in one spot and also include links to related posts from other sources.

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SoCal CTO

JULY 23, 2012

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. Accounting?

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2010

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. I hope many will read this and have an answer for the question, “what’s the different between a CTO and a VP of Engineering?&#.

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SoCal CTO

APRIL 18, 2012

Todd Gitlin of Safire Partners - a go to resource here in LA for recruiting C-level positions at startups - was nice enough to compile some data again this year (see last year's Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data ). Or they are looking at Hiring a CTO and want to see what salary and equity ranges look like.

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SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. Generally I can provide quite a bit of help in that brief time. Of course, I provide part-time CTO services. So, I wanted to use this post to make it official - we are offering free startup CTO consulting sessions.

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SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. Generally I can provide quite a bit of help in that brief time. Of course, I provide part-time CTO services. So, I wanted to use this post to make it official - we are offering free startup CTO consulting sessions.

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SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

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?

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SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

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?

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SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 10, 2012

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. Structure development contracts appropriately or directing the in-house team appropriately. Plan for past the initial MVP.

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SoCal CTO

APRIL 28, 2014

There was a lot of passion in the room last week when I presented Working with Developers at the Stubbs Precellerator. I guess it should not be a surprise that Founders have lots of challenges working with developers. But my developers want to go into way too much detail. Time Wasters - Don''t talk too much.

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TechEmpower

AUGUST 14, 2023

Would you create contracts without an attorney? The Tactical Technical Advisor stays on top of the development team to ensure that they’re team is building the right thing in a high-quality, efficient manner. This is especially important with outsourced development teams. Why do this without the right technical advisor?

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SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

If you are on the lower complexity end, the key is defining small chunks of work that can be done quickly by a developer. If you do not break it down into small pieces, its hard to make progress with part-time resources, freelancers, etc. Structure development contracts appropriately or directing the in-house team appropriately.

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socalTECH

AUGUST 1, 2011

Los Angeles-based Gamzee , the HTML5 game development firm headed by Activision co-founder Howard Marks, has made a high profile hire, saying Monday night that it has hired on Michael Scholz as its CTO. Scholz was most recently at Los Angeles-based GameSalad, where he created the HTML5 game engine for the firm.

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TechEmpower

DECEMBER 11, 2023

million software developers worldwide. Given this diversity, it's important to be selective in the development services company with whom you choose to partner. You'll discover firms that are prolific in design/interface and light on development, and vice versa. How do they verify the ongoing progress of development?

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SoCal CTO

JUNE 26, 2012

I've done four Free CTO Consulting Sessions in the past month with startup founders who all had run into variations of the same problem. They didn't feel they had visibility into timelines and costs for development of their software. The teams involved didn't seem to be exhibiting many of the Symptoms of a Weak Development Team.

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SoCal CTO

MAY 27, 2010

I was just interviewed by Frank Peters - Tony Karrer and the Founder-Developer Gap. I received a follow-up question from an early-stage startup about the Founder Developer Gap that I’ve described before and that was part of the interview with Frank. This is somewhat the heart of what a CTO does. What Should You Do?

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SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

For your first key hires, three, five, maybe as much as ten, you will probably not be able to use any kind of formula. For example, suppose you're just two founders and you want to hire an additional hacker who's so good you feel he'll increase the average outcome of the whole company by 20%. n = (1.2 - 1)/1.2 =.167. and we have 11.1%

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 9, 2009

Redondo Beach-based iCONECT Development , a developer of litigation support software, said this morning that it has hired on former X1 Technologies Vice President Howard G. iCONECT will open a Los Angeles office with Silver's hire. Silver as its Chief Technology Officer.

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TechEmpower

JULY 24, 2023

Even when they have talked to multiple developers or development firms, we’re often the first to ask basic questions like “Who are your customers?” ” or “Are you developing for desktop, tablet, mobile, or all three?” The innovator/developer relationship needs to be a conversation.

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SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

There's an old adage in software development that I refer to all the time: The first 90% of development takes 90% of the time. The remaining 10%, takes the other 90% of the time. I used a company in India to develop the site, and it's mostly done. The funds have been used up on the existing development.

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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

MAY 21, 2012

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. As a Startup, you have one shot.

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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. I have been working full time with two founders for about 10 months on full time basis. Do they recognize any Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

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socalTECH

AUGUST 9, 2012

Cloud-based email delivery startup SendGrid , one of the companies out of the TechStars accelerator, said this week that it is accelerating hiring at the firm, including at the firm's Anaheim location. SendGrid is based in Boulder, Colorado.

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SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2012

"I'm looking for a partner / cofounder who can not only head the technical aspects and build a working model of the site, but someone with the connections to put a great development team together when we need it. Make sure you go through the 32 Questions Developers May Have Forgot to Ask a Startup Founder. Find out who is good.

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SoCal CTO

MAY 4, 2010

Some great posts from April 2010 that talk to me in terms of being a CTO at a Startup. Redeye VC , April 13, 2010 Startup Development - SoCal CTO , April 23, 2010 Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering? Ben Casnocha: The Blog , April 15, 2010 Everyone I spoke with loved the idea.

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socalTECH

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

BlackLine Systems , the developer of financial close software headed by Therese Tucker, is planning a big hiring boost this, expecting to hire more than 50 more employees this year on top of an existing 75 people working at the company. Therese Tucker is the former CTO of SunGard Treasury Systems. READ MORE>>.

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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. I have been working full time with two founders for about 10 months on full time basis. Do they recognize any Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

CTO 150

CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity 150

socalTECH

JULY 23, 2014

Los Angeles-based financial software developer BlackLine Systems said today that it has hired a new, Chief Technology Officer. According to the enterprise software company, it has named Alain Avakian as its CTO.

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TechEmpower

MARCH 4, 2024

TechEmpower has been instrumental in developing chatbots like these, utilizing generative AI to sift through internal documents and user manuals, enabling them to provide precise answers to customer service questions. It also facilitates rapid prototyping, allowing for quicker iterations and thus shorter development cycles.

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SoCal CTO

MAY 19, 2010

I’m seeing and hearing that it’s becoming tough finding good developers again, at least here in Los Angeles. On Friday, at the LA CTO Forum , I heard from a couple of CTOs having trouble finding good developers. I was wondering, what methods have you found to be successful in finding developers?

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socalTECH

JULY 30, 2019

Goleta-based Transphorm , which develops high voltage, Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductors, has received $18.5M in a contract from the U.S. According to Transphorm, the Office of Naval Resaerch--part of the U.S. base contract with the company, which will go to establish a domestic source of Gallium Nitride epiwafers.

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socalTECH

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

Gradient X , the online mobile marketing and advertising technology developer backed by GRP Partners, Rincon Venture Partners, Crosscut Ventures, Founder Collective, Double M Capital, Baroda Ventures, Siemer Ventures, and others, has snapped up some talent from OpenX with its latest hire. READ MORE>>.

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socalTECH

NOVEMBER 7, 2011

BlackLine has been busy growing its executive ranks in recent months, having also recently hired Charles Best as its CFO earlier this year. BlackLine said Newton will be responsible for technology direction on its software. READ MORE>>.

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SoCal CTO

APRIL 9, 2013

I''ve written before about finding Web Development Firms in Los Angeles. I just got an email asking about exactly this: I''m with a new company that needs some software built, but doesn''t need (or have the resources for) a large staff of software developers. You will find firms that are design/interface heavy and light on development.

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socalTECH

JUNE 5, 2019

San Diego-based eSUB Construction Software --fresh off a $12M funding round --says it has hired on a new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), to help it development its platform. Henricks was most recently Senior Vice President of Engineering at Verimatrix, and also had been Vice President of Engineering at TriTech Software Systems.

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