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What does it mean to be a CTO for a startup? Should a startupCTO spend their time programming? Exploring new technologies? The role of a CTO varies as the company matures. That’s why the CTO’s attention is on programming for the earliest stage. A CTO can help you find the right answers.
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.
Some really great stuff in 2010 that aims to help startups around product, technology, business models, etc. 500 Hats , February 1, 2010 When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Google Friend Connect for Authentication?
Several people have recently come to me to help them source and/or hire full-time CTOs for their startup having found me through my post that looks at: StartupCTO Salary and Equity Data. There's a lot on my blog already around this topic. I have a great network of fellow CTOs, especially in the Los Angeles area.
Several people have recently come to me to help them source and/or hire full-time CTOs for their startup having found me through my post that looks at: StartupCTO Salary and Equity Data. There's a lot on my blog already around this topic. I have a great network of fellow CTOs, especially in the Los Angeles area.
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 StartupCTO or Developer or both? And do I fit as a Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO ?
Everybody has a blog these days and there is much advice to be had. 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. Improving startup productivity ?
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Saturday, February 17, 2007 About this Blog Ive been thinking about doing a blog with my thoughts on technology and whats happening in the Los Angeles area technology scene for a while, but it was Ben Kuos recent start of a blog that inspired me to actually go ahead and do it.
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. Actually, I should start by saying – I’m not a lawyer and you might want to get someone who can help you understand your position here. Was it pre or post?
I love blog conversations. Based on my posts StartupCTO or Developer and Acting CTO , Chris O’Meara wrote an interesting post StartupCTO: Could It Work? If you think that's person you need, the question becomes "what else do you expect a CTO to contribute?" It's about leading by example.
When talking to startup founders or other innovators, we always ask questions to better understand their business as a core. Start by building just enough of your product to get early CAC and CLV signals (they won’t be perfect). Conclusion Startup metrics are an invaluable tool for founders and innovators.
Some great posts from April 2010 that talk to me in terms of being a CTO at a Startup. Ben Casnocha: The Blog , April 15, 2010 Everyone I spoke with loved the idea. Redeye VC , April 13, 2010 Startup Development - SoCal CTO , April 23, 2010 Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering?
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. Actually, I should start by saying – I’m not a lawyer and you might want to get someone who can help you understand your position here. Was it pre or post?
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Thursday, March 22, 2007 Discussion Creation Among Bloggers - LinkedIn, Blogging and Discussion Groups Ive been participating in a Yahoo Group that are users of LinkedIn and who are Bloggers: [link] Its an interesting group of folks from diverse backgrounds. See Five Things Meme as an example.
Startup founders make decisions on a daily basis – significant decisions that will have lasting impact on their business. Actually, many startups need two kinds of technical advisors. CTO Founder – Do they really still need a technical advisor? We’ve talked about this before in StartupCTO or Developer.
I promised to do this post as a follow-up to the session to provide additional links and information. Purpose of an MVP and Defining the Right MVP I've really not talked as much about this in my blog even though its hugely important. The real reason to build an MVP is to do early tests of key Startup Metrics for the business.
One thing that was interesting is that I'm finally starting to run into folks in Los Angeles who run in technology circles and who have blogs. The event was a good event and I ran into a few folks that I hadn't seen in a while and meet a few new people. This is something that I've been having a hard time finding.
So I promised that I would provide a follow-up after the session. This is that follow-up and hopefully it’s useful to people outside of the session as well. Challenges I started by asking the founders in the room to tell me some of the challenges they have working with developers. Have they considered everything?
Los Angeles-based Hulu announced on its blog Friday afternoon that Jason Kilar, the firm's CEO, has decided to depart the company, along with CTO Rich Tom. Although surprising, Kilar has been a top prospect in CEO and other top positions at Facebook and Yahoo, among other high profile technology companies. READ MORE>>.
Here is the most recent version of an all too common email inquiry from a startup founder. I'm working on a startup 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.
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Sunday, February 25, 2007 Interesting Model for University President Saw a post by Paul Kedrosky pointing us to Graeme Thickins on How Stanford Does It. Its interesting to think about how universities might want to have their staff better aligned with moving ideas from the lab to start-ups.
I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. I’ll start with an obvious one – I talk with the entrepreneur about competitors. I once had a startup team pitch me for an investment where the President of the company led the first call with me on his own.
Great content again in September that meets at the intersection of startups, technology, product and being a StartupCTO. Chris Dixon , September 12, 2010 My most useful career experience was about eight years ago when I was trying to break into the world of VC-backed startups. Why You Should Write. Kanye West.
Some great content around the intersection of startups and being a StartupCTO in June this year. This continues my series of posts: Top 29 Startup Posts May 2010 StartupCTO Top 30 Posts for April 16 Great Startup Posts from March There was some really great content in June. I’ll have to relocate.
I grew up believing that human behavior was 20% nature, 80% nurture. Fred Wilson said as much on his blog also. That is true of all my blog posts. It is what I love the most about debates and one of the things I love most about blogging. of all data is made up. OK, not literally made up.
Even bigger is the desire to stick one’s middle finger up at all of the people who doubted you all along. She has never given up despite setbacks. Could you withstand the public scrutiny every day of being a young tech founder and show up every morning filled with enthusiasm? It can be one of the strongest motivators.
I met fellow hustler Brian Curliss about 2 years ago at a Startup Weekend event that I was covering. It came as no surprise whatsoever when I found out that his new company MailLift was called up to the big leagues to join the 500 Startups accelerator. So what is so special about 500 Startups you ask?
One of the topics that came up in my post Mobile Internet Apple Facebook was around open vs. closed platforms. This issue comes up at the start of almost every new startup company in a variety of forms. For something like commenting on a blog post, the ability to easily and quickly authenticate yourself is important.
Fanmix , a startup developing "social inbox" software to manage a user's social conversations on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, comment threads, and elsewhere, has spun out of Los Angeles-based Social Engine , according to Social Engine co-founder and new FanMix head Charlotte Genevier. READ MORE>>.
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Tuesday, February 27, 2007 Stanford Podcasts - eHarmony - Greg Waldorf I was just pointed to a set of great podcasts done by Stanford B-School and particularly, I just listed to the podcast by eHarmonys Greg Waldorf. He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO.
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Saturday, February 17, 2007 Finding Good Developers in Los Angeles? Im part of a CTO group that meets once a month to discuss various topics. He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO. He has been the CTO for several start-ups, most notably eHarmony.
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Monday, March 12, 2007 MyShape Article - Analyst Misses the Point The NY Times did a piece today on MyShape, a start-up in Pasadena - Log in Your Measurements, and the Clothes May Fit. He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO.
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Saturday, February 17, 2007 A Different Kind of Incubator - The Hive I recently met with The Hive a new incubator in Orange County. This company was started by Victoria Duff (who many of us know from back in the late 90s), Phillis Lane (who I have known for quite a few years) and Jon Bukosky.
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Saturday, February 17, 2007 Where LinkedIn Works for Me Ive been a long time user of LinkedIn , but only recently have started getting the benefits I always expected. He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO. He has been the CTO for several start-ups, most notably eHarmony.
To start off the year, we are publishing our first interview for the season with Jamie Siminoff , the CEO of Los Angeles-based Unsubscribe.com , an online service which helps you unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters and email lists. Tell us the story behind how the firm started? We raised $2.1M
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Friday, February 23, 2007 Events and Networking in Los Angeles One of the issues I discussed in Innovation and Geography was that the geography and traffic in Los Angeles generally makes it more difficult for networking. Startup Co-Founders: If You Cant Recruit Em, Should You Join Em?
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Sunday, February 25, 2007 Challenge of Predicting Winners I just read a bit on the payout to YouTube from the Google Acquisition ( Internet News , CNN ). He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO. He has been the CTO for several start-ups, most notably eHarmony.
That's what Los Angeles-based MergeLocal (www.mergelocal.com) is looking to find out, by offering up points which can be converted to real cash, when users check into local businesses. What's your background, and how did you decide to start the company? Michael Wong: I was previously CTO of an agency called Breakthrough Ads.
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.
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Wednesday, February 28, 2007 Google Maps Mobile I recently downloaded Google Maps Mobile for my Treo. He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO. He has been the CTO for several start-ups, most notably eHarmony. Technology Jobs in Southern California – a Rebound.
On Ben Kuo's blog, he posted about Entrepreneurs in Southern California and pointed to a post by Will Johnson, a Southern California entrepreneur and blogger. b) history of success; and c) abundance of start-up companies (so if one fails there is another to jump on). .); willing to go work for startup companies.
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Tuesday, February 20, 2007 Innovation and Geography I ran across a post in Read/Write Web - Does Location Matter in Web Innovation? Ive personally been involved in the start-up world in Los Angeles for about 15 years, and have had the opportunity to work on many early-stage companies (e.g.,
Southern California Tech Central – Brings together posts from top bloggers around Southern California including John's blog and this blog. He talks about a bunch of the different networking events that occur in Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California. Meetup – My personal experience has been mixed with these.
skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Friday, March 9, 2007 Map of VC Investments Found this Map of 2006 VC Investments post. He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO. He has been the CTO for several start-ups, most notably eHarmony. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time StartupCTO?
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