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. Find a lawyer and someone who does CTO searches for VC backed companies in your area. Do they recognize any Startup Founder Developer Gap ? What type of shares?

CTO 150

CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity 150

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

500 Hats , February 1, 2010 When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Google Friend Connect for Authentication? 500 Hats , February 1, 2010 When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Google Friend Connect for Authentication? First Principles.

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

TechEmpower

AUGUST 14, 2023

The Strategic Technical Advisor looks at the business and determines what makes sense from a technology perspective in the short-term and longer-terms. 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. And Maybe You Need Two!

Technical Review 260

Technical Review CTO Coach CTO Hire Software Review 260

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2012

I promised I would write this post with some thoughts and ideas on the topic. "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. Get to know the developers.

CTO Hire 211

CTO Hire CTO Coach Startup Equity 211

TechEmpower

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

Profile Blurbs and Writing Prompts Let’s look at our job matching site in more detail. This gives Mark more control over the process, without requiring him to write much, and gives the LLM more to work with. The LLM didn’t just write a blurb for Mark, it wrote the blurb that Mark would have written, if only he’d had the words.

Generative AI 295

Generative AI Artificial Inteligence TechEmpower Tips 295

SoCal CTO

APRIL 2, 2013

I'm going to be looking at aspects like: Things to consider before building your MVP Features often overlooked when documenting an MVP for developers Understanding important metrics you want to measure Risks and challenges in developing an MVP. Have you Documented Your MVP for Your Developer s? What's going to go wrong?

CTO Coach 219

CTO Coach Metrics Framework Software Development 219

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

You’ll get sales information from your VP of Sales, marketing information from your VP Marketing, tech information from your CTO and so on. But I knew that to be a good decision maker I needed first hand knowledge rather than just a summary from my CTO. But as a CEO you can’t rely solely on this information.

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

Responding to Elizabeth Warren’s call to regulate and break up some of the nation’s largest technology companies, the venture capitalists that invest in technology companies are advising the presidential hopeful to move slowly and not break anything. This too shall pass.” ” . ”

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 21, 2014

You join teams that got good write-ups on TechCrunch, have great VCs, have star CEO’s, whatever. Writing a book will be fun. We brought Ryan Lissack down from San Francisco to become Maker’s CTO and the rest is history. You hire people who look good on paper. After 6 months – you know. You REALLY know.

CTO Hire 320

CTO Hire Startup CTO Coach Venture Capital 320

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Great content again in September that meets at the intersection of startups, technology, product and being a Startup CTO. If you asked me to tell you a list of three of the best decisions in my life, I can certainly tell you that regularly writing is one of them. Why You Should Write. Why You Should Write.

Startup 191

Startup Product Technology Venture Capital 191

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

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.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

I developed a list of questions to ask you next time we speak?—?especially Frankly, it’s the life of ANY executives with whom you want to sell product, do a business development deal with, execute M&A, a journalist you want to write about your company?—?anybody. Last time we met I didn’t have my CTO with me.

Software Review 381

Software Review Startup Email Conference 381

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 15, 2010

I give a sneak peek at a blog post I’m writing on the topic next week. I spoke about the need of the CEO, CTO and head of Products to be in the same location. No problem to have some developers in remote locations. I’m going to make this a regular part of the show since it was really fun. Great exit. -

Venture Capital 210

Venture Capital Seed Funding Pricing Southern California 210

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

But the thing I am most proud of about Rob is that he has taken a company with a uniquely talented founder & CTO – Nick Halstead – and managed to build a very tight working relationship with Nick where we drive world-class product development without having the usual founder / CEO conflicts. Rob does it. On steroids.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 2, 2011

There's a lot out there around Customer Development - read Steve Blank : Entrepreneurship as a Science – The Business Model/Customer Development Stack - Steve Blank , October 25, 2010 Checklists for Chaos, The Path to Success - Steve Blank , October 28, 2010 and reading about Lean, MVPs, etc. What are they really looking for?

Startup 198

Startup Custom Development Sales Writing 198

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 13, 2018

The mistake entrepreneurs make is either writing a lengthy email (everybody has too much email so it will get skimmed / not digested) or not having a deck which means the VC can’t quickly determine his or her fit as a potential investor. The key is WHAT you send. it’s worth paying attention.”

Venture Capital 261

Venture Capital Slides Email Startup 261

SoCal CTO

MARCH 18, 2010

Today I lead a small consultancy that helps advertising supported develop and scale the revenue producing sides of their businesses. Vince: In addition to my management writing I’ve interview many CEOs and innovators. I’d love to get your thoughts at some point about writing for these publications vs. on your own blog.

Startup 225

Startup Los Angeles Twiistup Social Network 225

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 14, 2009

I moved into writing software to analyze audience data, and wrote a lot of computer graphics software. A few years ago, my CTO spotted a need that local groups and organizations have in handling RSVPs and registrations for meetings and events. Cliff, remind me about your background?

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Networking Marketing Startup 150

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

aka: An Open Letter to the Next Big Social Network) - 500 Hats , November 1, 2010 I've held off writing this post for a long time, because I couldn't quite get my head around all the issues. Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ? But I didn’t write it for you; I wrote it for myself. It may be that all the doomsayers are right.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

We have a lot of proprietary technology which we have developing with these phone numbers, including a way to identify attributes of a telephone number before our clients accept a particular user, for example, when someone is going to register with them. I've actually pulled in a lot of FrontBridge's management team to help me.

Marina Del Rey 238

Marina Del Rey Startup IP Examples 238

SoCal CTO

MARCH 11, 2013

Yesterday, I was talking to a startup founder about their MVP and they said something that finally got me to write this post: "I have a few investors interested but they want to see a product."

Metrics 264

Metrics Venture Capital News Product 264

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15 If you invest early and then pull back in the next 3 rounds your multiples on cash invested are much higher than if you keep writing checks. As I tell our LPs, “if I’m not making you slightly uncomfortable when I’m writing my first check I’m not doing my job.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

socalTECH

MARCH 22, 2012

My first job was as a page at NBC, and after that I went and did a year and a half of writing and production at MSNBC with Keith Olbermann and Chuck Scarborough. We also knew we had to develop newer inventory to keep pace with Gilette and Shick, so we also launched with a new four blade and six blade razor.

Dollar Shave Club 210

Dollar Shave Club Startup Pricing Sample 210

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 2, 2007

It will make life better if you are developing applications that you'd like to play in multiple places (write once, integrate/debug everywhere). I'm sure this is obvious to Google and it's partners, but until this happens, don't get too excited about what interoperability means.

Writing 150

Writing Platform Sites Google 150

socalTECH

MARCH 12, 2013

The Internet doesn't work right, and is broken, and without a CDN, you can't do what you need to do if you're the CTO of a large website. Software-as-a-service companies write good software, and network companies build good networks, but rarely do you find both that do that well as the same time. There's complexity in being a CDN.

CTO Hire 248

CTO Hire Content Networking Web 248

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. We had to write a CRM to keep track of them all. Develop your business plan. m the f%*kin’ boss.”. Lessons at the end.).

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 28, 2013

Dave’s industry experience includes tenures as CTO and CEO of several successful software companies, and upper-level management positions in Fortune 100 companies. He keynotes leading technology conferences on cloud computing, SOA, enterprise application integration, and enterprise architecture. CTO at SOA Software.

SaaS 92

SaaS Cloud Computing CIO Web 92

socalTECH

APRIL 29, 2014

We spoke with Mike Outmesguine , CEO and Alan DeRossett , CTO of the company, and how their roots in do-it-yourself, "Maker" projects is key to their entry into the prize competition. Photo: Left: Mike Outmesguine, Right: Alan DeRossett. It''s assemble the parts and it looks much like a DIY project. We expect to win.

Startup 262

Startup Competition Software Review UCLA 262

InfoChachkie

JULY 14, 2011

9) In Getting The Band Back Together , I write about the power of serial Founding teams. At CallWave, Colin was CTO, Jason was CFO and I was in charge of product marketing and customer acquisition. How has your history with Jason Spievak , Colin Kelley and the rest of the former CallWave team shaped and benefited the company?

Marketing 209

Marketing Advertising Paid Search Startup 209

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2010

I wasn’t going to write about it since he had just covered the topic and echoed my point of view. You’re not born into being a world-class software developer. In my bones I’m convinced that entrepreneurs are more nature than nurture although I know both are involved. Fred Wilson said as much on his blog also.

Startup 289

Startup Statistics Entrepreneur Study 289

socalTECH

JULY 23, 2012

As a hiring manager, and as the former CTO of Buy.com, Navid Nobakht , Co-Founder of Recmnd.Me ([link] had a problem--how to really figure out if someone he was hiring could actually execute. Plus, it makes it difficult from other recommendations. Or, if you don't want to give a recommendation, there's tha guilt factor.

CTO Hire 147

CTO Hire Startup Sites Technical Review 147

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 23, 2013

The fitness professional network develops business tools that make it easier for fitness professionals to run their businesses and keep their clients engaged between training sessions. I am ( Michael Piermont ) co-founder and the Chief Executive Officer amSTATZ. Sergey Belyankin is our Chief Technology Officer.

Social Network 92

Social Network Networking Training Summary 92

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 11, 2015

As a creative director at a software development company, I am always looking for ways to speed up our design and development process and to include as many people and teams working on the project. These teams are usually: business, design, frontend, development, and quality assurance. Sitemap & Wire-Framing. Pretty, cool.

Software Development 40

Software Development Develop Development Software 40

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Not only do our business clients turn to us for lawsuits, but they also ask us to create efficient processes and develop their brands. You are writing about the essentials of business. I am planning right not to write a post about how startups often get SEO wrong. Any thoughts on my recent post Startup Metrics ? That's great.

Startup 150

Startup SEO Pepperdine Blogging 150

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2010

We took the recent round, because Jake and I feel very passionately about our social missions, and, about four years ago, we started developing the software to create software. So, lots of our features have been developed from our internal team. We wanted to be able to invest in our software and our learning tools.

Software Review 178

Software Review Technical Review Education Startup 178

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 3, 2012

These new viewing habits and technology advances are giving technologists and content producers an entirely new frontier to develop when it comes to creating transmedia and second screen (tablet or smartphone) experiences for viewers. Many companies are developing second screen technology, but few have come close to what Coincident.TV

Screening 109

Screening Content CTO Hire Platform 109

socalTECH

JUNE 18, 2009

We caught up with the firm's CEO, Gregg Champion--who formerly was Vice President of Programming and Development at Mania TV--to learn more about the company, its business, as well as its fundraising plans. That was the jumping off point for OneCubicle a little over 18 months ago, when we started writing the business plan and code.

Social Network 100

Social Network Entertainment Startup CTO Coach 100