SoCal CTO

MAY 10, 2011

A long-time friend and colleague, Steve Wexler, who is great at visualization took my Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data and produced a really need interactive visualization via Tableau. It makes sense and what I suspected, but good to see the numbers are backed up. The larger the circle, the larger the number of responses.

Equity 175

Equity Startup Examples Course 175

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2010

I recently did a post for startups on understanding sales people. A few people have asked me to try and define the perfect startup organization chart. But I do have more insight into understanding your startup team. Often I’m asked by startup CEO’s about how to best build an engineering team.

CTO Hire 400

CTO Hire Fractional VPE Startup Outsource Development 400

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.

CTO Hire 150

CTO Hire CTO Coach Los Angeles Angel 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

Todd Gitlin of Safire Partners was nice enough to compile some data on CTO Equity and Compensation at Venture Backed Companies for the LA CTO Forum and present last year. Todd is a go to resource for people looking for talent in startups. It is interesting to see the salaries of CTOs of pre-Revenue even pre-Launch companies.

CTO Hire 273

CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity Company 273

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. Of course, that doesn’t help here. Find a lawyer and someone who does CTO searches for VC backed companies in your area. Don’t put yourself in this situation.

CTO 167

CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity 167

SoCal CTO

APRIL 25, 2017

Here is the most recent version of an all too common email inquiry from a startup founder. I'm working on a start up idea in the XXX market with my partner and we are currently looking for full stack developer to join us as a technical co-founder. I've written before about having an Initial Conversation with a Potential CTO.

Email 150

Email Startup Develop Development 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Based on my posts Startup CTO or Developer and Acting CTO , Chris O’Meara wrote an interesting post Startup CTO: Could It Work? Chris starts with a description of the person that pretty much every startup is looking for: Their primary characteristics are deep technical skills and a hacker mentality.

CTO Hire 150

CTO Hire Startup Guide Examples 150

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. Of course, that doesn’t help here. Find a lawyer and someone who does CTO searches for VC backed companies in your area. Don’t put yourself in this situation.

CTO 150

CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity 150

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? And do I fit as a Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO ?

CTO Hire 241

CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity Develop 241

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Are you a non-technical startup founder who’s about to go have a conversation with a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) or Technical advisory type person? Maybe you are going for a reality check on your current situation - wondering if you have a Weak Development Team or a Startup Founder Developer Gap.

CTO Coach 211

CTO Coach Startup Web Guide 211

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2012

I've recently received several emails from people looking for a technical cofounder for their startup. Make sure you go through the 32 Questions Developers May Have Forgot to Ask a Startup Founder. Of course, you will want to figure out a bit more about the specifics of what this developer needs to know vs. can learn.

CTO Hire 211

CTO Hire CTO Coach Startup Equity 211

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. There are bootcamps, startup classes, video interviews – the sources are now endless. Because I’ve asked more than 100 VCs similar questions I start to notice patterns in thinking.

Startup 407

Startup Framework CTO Coach Sales 407

SoCal CTO

MAY 21, 2013

I''m spending more of my time recently working with non-technical startup founders who are having challenges with their software/web/mobile development teams. These are often the same things that cause a founder to reach out to me about helping their CTO, VP Engineering, tech team, off-shore development, etc. Is there a lot of rework?

CTO Coach 219

CTO Coach Develop Development Startup 219

SoCal CTO

MAY 19, 2008

Of course, it's sometimes hard to find advisors. On the flip side, as a person who regularly advises early stage start-ups, I often have a hard time finding interesting start-ups. Actually, the friction is even higher trying to find a partner for a start-up. That's great advice.

Startup 150

Startup Mixergy eHarmony Course 150

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

I was asked by a reader how much equity he should give out to early employees and to service providers in a very early stage startup. Founders vs. Early Employees To help with this discussion, let me start with a definition of "early employee." the better the startup will be. 11.1% - 4.5% = an offer of 6.6%.

Equity 391

Equity CTO Hire Startup Examples 391

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2020

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. You need to find the skills or experience you don’t have in business, technology, or money. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so I see no equity value in the idea alone.

Startup 174

Startup Equity Patents CTO Hire 174

SoCal CTO

JUNE 13, 2011

We had an interesting presentation at the LA CTO Forum by the CTO of a startup who chose Groovy / Grails as the framework for their startup. t prompted a good discussion around how CTOs go about choosing the programming language and framework for their startup. They start with lots of other things.

Framework 330

Framework Startup Java PHP 330

SoCal CTO

MAY 13, 2014

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. We both felt that most startups are not taking a very systematic approach to defining with they need in terms of advisors. Connected Advisors?

CTO Coach 241

CTO Coach Startup CTO Hire Template 241

SoCal CTO

APRIL 2, 2012

You may end up hiring these people eventually and you'll know more about them when you do. 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.

CTO Hire 205

CTO Hire Outsource Development CTO Coach Develop 205

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

Fred Wilson also wrote on a similar topic in his usual more succinct manner , with a great quote being: “One thing I know for sure is that those who advise and invest in startups cannot and should not meddle in the day to day decision making. It’s harmful and hurtful to the startup and those that lead it. Startup Lessons'

Startup 150

Startup Sales CTO Coach Course 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

I think I’ve read Paul Graham’s post on “ Startup = Growth ” three or four times now. And of course on Twitter I’ve seen the Tweets, ReTweets and superlatives on what a great post it is. Eventually a successful startup will grow into a big company. I talked about some of that here. Growth, again.

Startup 390

Startup Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review 390

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. You need to find the skills or experience you don’t have in business, technology, or money. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so I see no equity value in the idea alone.

Equity 99

Equity Patents CTO Hire Startup 99

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Even bigger is the desire to stick one’s middle finger up at all of the people who doubted you all along. Of course the naysayers are out again. Of course backbencher has also become a slang term for “someone who exaggerates their actual power, influence, or importance, usually for nefarious purposes.”

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Startup Software Review Course 417

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

One of the vivid memories I have from being a startup CEO is the feeling that most people in your company have a look in their eyes that like they can do your job as well as you. In the early days the CEO is the jack-of-all-trades, doer-of-all, famously the “chief janitor” or coffee maker. You course correct.

Entrepreneur 385

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Startup Sales 385

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 9, 2009

I just had an all-too common conversation with the founder of a startup who had spent more than a year working with a software development company who had produced a mess. The mess really comes from a developer who was willing to get started on a product that was not fully thought out. SEO for Startups )? Who are the customers?

Software Development 292

Software Development Develop Development Startup 292

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 4, 2011

Almost every day I'm talking to early stage startup founders (see Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions ) about what they plan to do. Of course, it's way more complex than just these questions. SEO for Startups )? What are your key Startup Metrics ? Do you have a merchant account already set up?

Develop 396

Develop Development Startup SEO 396

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 4, 2011

Almost every day I'm talking to early stage startup founders (see Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions ) about what they plan to do. Of course, it's way more complex than just these questions. SEO for Startups )? What are your key Startup Metrics ? Do you have a merchant account already set up?

Develop 384

Develop Development Startup SEO 384

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.

Los Angeles 198

Los Angeles Southern California Angel Enterprise Forum 198

socalTECH

JANUARY 16, 2013

Lynda.com offers up online education courses on things like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Microsoft Excel, AutoCAD, and much more. Lynda.com is unique in that it started out as a bootstrapped business operated out of the personal website (Lynda.com) of co-founder Lynda Weinman, in the not-so-technology hotbed town of Ojai.

Funding 178

Funding Santa Barbara ReachLocal Southern California 178

SoCal CTO

MARCH 11, 2010

If you’re a Web-based startup, for example, show me how many unique visitors you think you can get in the beginning, and what you’re using for an estimated conversion rate (buyers to browsers). And it’s surprising how few startup founders think in those terms. Part of those questions are around Startup Metrics.

Metrics 159

Metrics Search Engine Optimization Startup Ideas 159

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 26, 2022

The company built its own point-of-sale system and commerce APIs in-house, allowing them to deliver a “seamless” customer experience, former Glossier CTO Bryan Mahoney said in 2018. Founded in 2014, Glossier is widely touted as one of the earliest breakout successes of the DTC model, and raised its Series E last July at a $1.8

CTO Hire 197

CTO Hire Layoffs Commerce Email 197

SoCal CTO

APRIL 2, 2013

What's Going to Go Wrong A lot of founders don't really understand Lean Startup principles. They look at the following high level definition of Lean: and they interpret that as write up an executive summary with your ideas and hand it to developers to build. Do you have a Technical Advisors: Every Web/Mobile Startup Must Have One ?

CTO Coach 219

CTO Coach Metrics Framework Software Development 219

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 21, 2014

Startups are hard. You join teams that got good write-ups on TechCrunch, have great VCs, have star CEO’s, whatever. We tell startup stories. Our founder, Yves Sisteron, was my mentor and board member at my first startup. Stuart was a co-founder at my first startup company and ended up running global operations.

CTO Hire 320

CTO Hire Startup CTO Coach Venture Capital 320

SoCal CTO

JULY 12, 2007

Interesting attempt to create a start-up over the course of a weekend. It's funny how this expectation around start-ups persists that things can magically be built much, much faster. They also ignored that a large group of developers can't necessarily build something much faster than a small group.

Startup 150

Startup Course Product Develop 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2014

Much has been written about when it is time to hire a “professional CEO” to run a startup company and of course that has long been a norm in Silicon Valley when founders find that their inexperience may be a limiting factor in company growth ( know as the Peter Principle ). and Microsoft had become.

CTO Hire 309

CTO Hire Organization Google Course 309

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I had just left Salesforce.com where I was VP, Products, after they had acquired my second startup. VC is a long-term business Some businesses are overnight successes but few of them really move immediately up and to the right. We have invested in every round and as a result our ownership has actually gone up over time.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

SoCal CTO

MARCH 1, 2010

Here are some recent great posts that I’ve come across that generally fall in the intersection of startups and CTOs. Of course, one of the best ideas around this is to have Negative Customer Acquisition Costs. Of course, one of the best ideas around this is to have Negative Customer Acquisition Costs. Great stuff.

Pricing 150

Pricing Acquisition Customer Custom 150