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.

CTO Hire 294

CTO Hire Equity Demand Resource 294

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 26, 2010

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.

Fractional CTO 225

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach 225

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

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. And I try my best to point them to resources that can help them longer term. And I try my best to point them to resources that can help them longer term. What Is This?

CTO Hire 264

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 264

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. And I try my best to point them to resources that can help them longer term. And I try my best to point them to resources that can help them longer term. What Is This?

CTO Hire 259

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 259

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. Would you create contracts without an attorney?

Technical Advisors 332

Technical Advisors CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 332

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? Do you have dollars to pay for development?

CTO Hire 211

CTO Hire CTO Coach Startup Equity 211

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2007

I generally am working as an acting CTO for about 3-4 start-ups or other companies at any one time. I also found this interesting graphic of the changing needs around the CTO role in different size/type companies that somewhat echoes my experience. During Stabilization, often the focus is transitioning to a full-time CTO.

Startup 231

Startup CTO Hire Technical Advisors Technical Review 231

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%. So subtract a third from 16.7%

Equity 391

Equity CTO Hire Startup Examples 391

SoCal CTO

MAY 19, 2010

On Friday, at the LA CTO Forum , I heard from a couple of CTOs having trouble finding good developers. And it’s not just me, Ben Kuo just posted - Good news for developers (and jobs) We’ve been talking with a lot (and I mean a LOT) of people who are looking for developers in Southern California (Los Angeles and beyond).

Develop 175

Develop Development TechEmpower Southern California 175

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. The problem we're trying to solve, is one I found from in my experience as a hiring manager in the IT industry.

CTO Hire 147

CTO Hire Startup Sites Technical Review 147

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2011

This site aggregates and filters content from thought leaders who talk about topics such as Marketing , Sales , Design , Revenue , Hiring , Social Media , Business Models , Metrics , PR , Venture Capital , Angel Investors , Bootstrapping , Incubators , Agile and many others. Click around on the various topics to find some amazing resources.

Content 175

Content Startup Social Media IP 175

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Ways to Make Your MVP More Minimum We spent quite a bit of time talking about a complexity scale and the kinds of resources you can viably use at different levels of complexity. Simple MVPs get built with less the 3 Programmer Months worth of effort (that's 3 months a single programmer working full-time).

Technical Review 338

Technical Review CTO Hire CTO Coach Software Review 338

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

Startups that come to me and ask me to sign an NDA in order to get Free Startup CTO Consulting really are missing it. Some resources on this: Intellectual Property is More Than Patents Does My Startup Have Intellectual Property? But generally I'm going to favor being open. "We are doing something in mobile advertising.

Startup 211

Startup IP Ideas Patents 211

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

Startups that come to me and ask me to sign an NDA in order to get Free Startup CTO Consulting really are missing it. Some resources on this: Intellectual Property is More Than Patents Does My Startup Have Intellectual Property? But generally I'm going to favor being open. "We are doing something in mobile advertising.

Startup 198

Startup IP Ideas Patents 198

socalTECH

MARCH 10, 2010

One of the more successful serial entrepreneurs here in Southern California has been Robin D. Robin's latest startup is Internships.com (www.internships.com), an online site focused on aggregating internship opportunities and providing resources to potential interns. com, and managing director at Tickets.com.

Startup 223

Startup Content Sites CTO Coach 223

SoCal CTO

APRIL 9, 2013

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 are looking for someone who cares about the look, but you are hiring the development firm for it''s development skills not its graphic design skills.

Web Development 204

Web Development Web Develop Development 204

SoCal CTO

APRIL 28, 2014

they need a developer more than they need a CTO. I just had a fellow CTO ask me about a particular technical design problem and several directions they could go and ask for my thoughts on the tradeoffs for those different choices. Many are not interested in 3rd party technologies that can streamline development.

Develop 280

Develop Development CTO Coach CTO Hire 280

SoCal CTO

MARCH 4, 2010

I’ve worked with 30+ early-stage companies in all sorts of capacities (and spoken to many, many more), so I thought it might be worthwhile trying to classify the various ways that I’ve engaged in different technology roles in startups. However, I’m always doing this part-time.

Technical Review 170

Technical Review Technical Advisors CTO Coach Startup 170

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Great content again in September that meets at the intersection of startups, technology, product and being a Startup CTO. 8220; His three things (worth reading his whole post anyway) are set vision/strategy and communicate broadly, recruit/hire/retain top talent, and make sure there’s enough cash in the bank. It’s great advice.

Startup 191

Startup Product Technology Venture Capital 191