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. There’s a guy in Los Angeles that I met at several tech networking events. But “he didn’t have the budget to hire a developer until he had raised money!&#.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2023

So, the first question I usually get is what percent of the company or equity is that person worth? Just because it was your idea doesn’t mean you “deserve” 90% of the equity. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so I see no equity value in the idea alone. Amount of venture funding provided.

Equity 99

Equity Patents CTO Hire Startup 99

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2020

So the first question I usually get is what percent of the company or equity is that person worth? Just because it was your idea doesn’t mean you “deserve” 90% of the equity. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so I see no equity value in the idea alone. Level of responsibility and time allocated.

Startup 174

Startup Equity Patents CTO Hire 174

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

So the first question I usually get is what percent of the company or equity is that person worth? Just because it was your idea doesn’t mean you “deserve” 90% of the equity. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so I see no equity value in the idea alone. Level of responsibility and time allocated.

Equity 95

Equity Patents CTO Hire Startup 95

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

In his spare time he raised nearly $30 million. In addition to helping manage the board Chris also helps represent the interests of the angel investors / common stock holders. Oh, and did I mention: Roger – NYC, Rob/Rory – NorCal, Nick/Chris – London & me – Los Angeles. Always seek input.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 14, 2009

Just saw a great post by Mark Geller - Developers wanted… in Los Angeles, U.S.A. First, early in the post, Mark mentions: The idea behind the meetup is to connect technology startups with prospective hires who may be interested to work for “alternative compensation”–e.g., reduced salary, partial equity, good experience, etc.

Software Development 150

Software Development Software Development Develop 150

socalTECH

MARCH 31, 2014

Bitvore is based in Irvine, and is backed by serial entrepreneur Yuri Pikover, as well as other angels. I was hired to head up strategy, marketing development, and product management. One of the folks was the CTO of an investment bank in New York, who immediately saw what we did, and said he had a problem he wanted us to approach.

Orange County 245

Orange County Startup News IBM 245

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Great content again in September that meets at the intersection of startups, technology, product and being a Startup CTO. How-to get that guy as your mentor - Gabriel Weinberg , September 20, 2010 Forming a couple of good mentor relationships can help bridge the gap between startup failure and success, especially for first-time entrepreneurs.

Startup 191

Startup Product Technology Venture Capital 191

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2016

So the first question I usually get is what percent of the company or equity is that person worth? Just because it was your idea doesn’t mean you “deserve” 90% of the equity. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so I see no equity value in the idea alone. Level of responsibility and time allocated.

Equity 62

Equity Startup Patents CTO Hire 62

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Your highest priority right now is hiring the 1 or 2 people that are going to join your company and make a difference. There’s you and your killer CTO co-founder. In Los Angeles we don’t have “patron technology companies&# that are big enough to matter – we’re still hoping to see them emerge.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2014

The first question I usually get is what percent of the company or equity is that person worth? Just because it was your idea doesn’t mean you “deserve” 90 percent of the equity. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so there is no equity value in the idea alone. Level of responsibility and time allocated.

Equity 104

Equity Patents CTO Hire Startup 104

socalTECH

MARCH 26, 2014

We''ve raised around $72 million now in equity capital. I founded that with the former CTO of my first company, Kevin Smilak, who now works at Google. We were hired by a company that did outsourced medical billing and consulting for physicial medicine and rehab doctors.

Startup 160

Startup El Segundo CTO Hire Outsource Development 160

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

It provides tools like the Equity Calculator and curates and vets vendors that service startups. They took the “Match.com for entrepreneurs” model literally and hired the former CTO of Match.com to create the algorithms to help predict and recommend matches.

Entrepreneur 87

Entrepreneur Santa Monica Startup CTO Hire 87

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO). Funding for pre-revenue startups used to be the domain of angel investors, but they have moved up-stage. Of course, a real contract or purchase order from a big customer is even better.

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO). Funding for pre-revenue startups used to be the domain of angel investors, but they have moved up-stage. Of course, a real contract or purchase order from a big customer is even better.

Startup 104

Startup CTO Hire Press Customer 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO). Funding for pre-revenue startups used to be the domain of angel investors, but they have moved up-stage. Of course, a real contract or purchase order from a big customer is even better.

Startup 101

Startup CTO Hire Press Customer 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2010

A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CIO) and a product lead (CTO). Funding for pre-revenue startups used to be the domain of angel investors, but they have moved up-stage. Of course, a real contract or purchase order from a big customer is even better.

Tips 88

Tips Startup CTO Hire Press 88

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. equity debate. Every time I see my graduate students try to teach for the first time, it’s usually so painful I bite my lip.

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191

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. Call it facts for hire. It would be a bit like the hired gun in the old west, but more suited for today’s times. You got it.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

socalTECH

MARCH 10, 2010

We spoke to Robin about the new startup, his executive team, as well as his angel investing activity here. We've also hired a tremendous set of experience career counselors, who have had colorful or substantial careers, to supply services and products to our students. As an aside, I see you've been active as an angel here in LA?

Startup 223

Startup Content Sites CTO Coach 223

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

One of the first tough decisions that startup founders have to make is how to allocate or split the equity among co-founders. Another common “failure to start” situation I see is one where the “idea person” insists that the idea is 90% of the value (and 90% of the equity). Sacrifice and time commitment.

Equity 91

Equity Startup CTO Hire CTO Coach 91

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2012

One of the first tough decisions that startup founders have to make is how to allocate or split the equity among co-founders. Another common “failure to start” situation I see is one where the “idea person” insists that the idea is 90% of the value (and 90% of the equity). Sacrifice and time commitment.

Startup 101

Startup Entrepreneur Equity CTO Hire 101