Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2022

Time is money, and may be your primary competitive advantage. Don’t spend your whole development budget, before finding that you need another iteration. A three-dimensional prototype is always better than just a documented specification when negotiating contracts for manufacturing, support, and marketing.

Outsource Development 110

Outsource Development Ideas Tool Outsource 110

SoCal CTO

JULY 23, 2012

I've previously addressed the role of a CTO in early-stages in my post Startup CTO or Developer. It specifically answers the first questions about role and how it changes as the company matures. for a Lead Developer: How much will it cost to build what we need to build? What do we build in-house or outsource?

CTO Coach 231

CTO Coach CTO Hire Outsource Development Develop 231

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Let me start by saying that Clayton is one of the most influential people on my thoughts about markets that led to both the concept behind my first startup and my main theses in investing. I have written about Deflationary Economics (one of my most read posts ever) & The Innovator’s Dilemma before. Disruption of Education.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2021

Of course, this path involves some risk, but you never get anywhere unless you take a chance. It provided an industry-leading graphic development interface, but was not so strong on modeling and simulation. As a result, we shared in capturing a new high-end market, without major new marketing or development.

Startup 173

Startup Outsource Development Examples Custom 173

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 2, 2020

Time is money, and may be your primary competitive advantage. Don’t spend your whole development budget, before finding that you need another iteration. A three-dimensional prototype is always better than just a documented specification when negotiating contracts for manufacturing, support, and marketing.

Outsource Development 124

Outsource Development Ideas Tool Outsource 124

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2015

I must admit I discuss this very frequently with portfolio companies but hadn’t thought to write about it. The initial Apple/AT&T deal was of course limited to the geography in which AT&T operated and thus after its initial success Apple had a template for exclusivity agreements in other countries.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Startup Custom Customer 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2015

Many of you will know that Twitter unexpectedly cancelled it’s contract to allow DataSift to resell Twitter data to 3rd parties. But of course customers will have to do some technical work to migrate products and will lose DataSift functionality that Twitter / Gnip does not possess directly. Again, no big surprise.

Platform 150

Platform Course Custom Customer 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2018

It’s like the entire industry wants to outsource its brain to the smartest person they know and then follow that person. But if there is nothing wrong with you then please don’t let early rejections alter your course.” When you read about the funding in the press it sounds like it was a walk in the park. Happy raising.

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Press Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 232

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2010

Often I’m asked by startup CEO’s about how to best build an engineering team. I know this will fall like a lead balloon to the many people who believe it is possible to have a [insert: startup incubator or technology accelerator or technology consultant or outsource firm] build your technology. I don’t believe it.

CTO Hire 400

CTO Hire Fractional VPE Startup Outsource Development 400

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2015

Time is money, and may be your primary competitive advantage. Don’t spend your whole development budget, before finding that you need another iteration. A three-dimensional prototype is always better than just a documented specification when negotiating contracts for manufacturing, support, and marketing.

Ideas 107

Ideas Outsource Development Startup Tool 107

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2014

Time is money, and may be your primary competitive advantage. Don’t spend your whole development budget, before finding that you need another iteration. A three-dimensional prototype is always better than just a documented specification when negotiating contracts for manufacturing, support, and marketing.

Outsource Development 105

Outsource Development Startup Ideas Tool 105

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2018

Time is money, and may be your primary competitive advantage. Don’t spend your whole development budget, before finding that you need another iteration. A three-dimensional prototype is always better than just a documented specification when negotiating contracts for manufacturing, support, and marketing.

Ideas 53

Ideas Outsource Development Tool Outsource 53

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

The bad news is that many are already doing it, with competition growing, so the longer you wait, the less chance you have of getting there first. In a new startup, there is tremendous competitive value in registering intellectual property early, but you don’t need to contract these tasks to expensive experts any longer.

Startup 108

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Outsource Development 108

InfoChachkie

JULY 23, 2012

I recently spoke with Brad about his approach to guerilla marketing and how he instills eclectic marketing tactics in Foundry Group’s portfolio companies. We’re very focused on the users of our product, which are entrepreneurs and… we translate into being very obsessed about our entrepreneurs’ products. Just be you.

Marketing 233

Marketing Blogging Startup Venture Capital 233

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2011

Today I’m announcing that GRP Partners is doubling down on the Twitter ecosystem by investing in DataSift , a company who provides a real-time data platform and tools to third-party developers and corporations. Real time – Much has been written about the real-time nature of Twitter’s news. Real-time information drives commerce.

Platform 307

Platform News Startup Invest 307

socalTECH

APRIL 21, 2017

This business is all about big companies, CPGs and specialty manufacturers, who are hoping to conquer direct selling through subscriptions. If you think about it today, everyone is selling through Amazon, but Amazon keeps all of that customer information. It's all about the customer relationship, experience, and psychology.

Startup 145

Startup Product Custom Customer 145

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

In the initial phases of any new market you’re developing a product (hopefully with a minimal set of features), getting feedback from customers, refining your product based on user feedback and then re-launching your product. Markets develop for a complex set of factors that are often beyond all of our control.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2014

Of course, this path involves some risk, but you never get anywhere unless you take a chance. It provided an industry-leading graphic development interface, but was not so strong on modeling and simulation. As a result, we shared in capturing a new high-end market, without major new marketing or development.

Startup 103

Startup Outsource Development Examples Custom 103

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” I know this seems obvious but I promise you that even smart people forget this when talking about profitability. Understanding Profits.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2014

Sure, you need to be competitive on price. Of course that’s not true. We have 12 developers and they have 3. Sales people will often sell future development work. If your sales teams think that they can throw in some extra features that you’ll build to win the big contract they will. And finally.

Sales 382

Sales Help Startup Pricing 382

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” I’ve written about this before, but it’s a mysterious subject, and I’m always learning more. Early customers and contracts in progress add value.

Startup 108

Startup Invest Patents Outsource Development 108

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Make no mistake, the other big streamers are hard at work developing their own award-winning, original content (and we’ll talk about some it), but Netflix remains miles ahead with an excellent collection of original movies and shows, many into their second or third seasons. A big draw for Netflix is the original shows.

Netflix 40

Netflix Hulu Content Outsource Development 40

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 8, 2014

.” It’s a compelling thought – especially when you consider the alternative: 2 year contracts, overage charges, hours of dealing with customer service reps. We talk about the telecom industry, the growing need for consumer choices, and his thoughts on what makes the perfect team. But I digress. But I digress.

Mobile 86

Mobile Startup Custom Customer 86

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” I’ve written about this before, but it’s a mysterious subject, and I’m always learning more. Early customers and contracts in progress add value.

Funding 98

Funding Startup Patents Outsource Development 98

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2011

Venture capital is in the process of its own creative destruction with new market entrants and new models of innovation at the precise moment that our industry itself is contracting. Of course there were variants – we preferred PostGres to MySQL and many people used other programming languages than PHP. I find this strange.

Venture Capital 334

Venture Capital Software Capital Startup 334

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

I’ve talked many times on my blog about how they’re the lifeblood of most businesses – even those that pretend like they’re above it all. Sure, you need to be competitive on price. Of course that’s not true. We have 12 developers and they have 3. They buy on perceived value. And finally.

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Custom 316

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2010

When I get funded,” the entrepreneur thinks, “I can build a prototype, hire a development team, go to market, scale more quickly, and beat my competition.” Strange course corrections. Much of this depends on how “smart” the money is about what you are doing. Remember “ The Social Network ” movie about Facebook?

Outsource Development 93

Outsource Development High Tech Outsource Startup 93

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

The United States is now a debtor nation to China and that the bill is about to come due. Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers - 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 ? But I don’t think so.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 1, 2009

A number of international versions were developed soon after its initial release, but America has consistently remained the bastion of Monopoly’s popularity. In contrast, the USSR and other communist nations foolishly banned Monopoly, thereby denying their citizens an inexpensive yet effective hands-on course in entrepreneurship.

Outsource Development 154

Outsource Development Entrepreneur Training Startup 154

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” I’ve written about this before, but it’s a mysterious subject, and I’m always learning more. Early customers and contracts in progress add value.

Startup 93

Startup Patents Outsource Development Web 93

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 22, 2013

TechZulu catches up with the three to talk about WESAWIT, startups, and the LA scene. The cool thing is we were not only taught about film and TV, but also about new media. He’s the most talented developer we have ever seen. MR: It was all about knocking on doors. TB: Also, it’s all about the visuals.

Social Media 94

Social Media Startup UCLA Media 94

Frank Addante

JULY 30, 2007

About Frank Addante > (from the Silicon Valley Business Journal) Twitter Updates follow me on Twitter Blog Archive ► 2010 (2) ► June (1) Part II: Optimized for Profitability ► February (1) Get Out of the Office! Outsourcing ► April (1) GoogleClick - Who owns your cash register? ► October (1) New Video!

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Outsource Development Advertising 40

Frank Addante

JUNE 4, 2006

About Frank Addante > (from the Silicon Valley Business Journal) Twitter Updates follow me on Twitter Blog Archive ► 2010 (2) ► June (1) Part II: Optimized for Profitability ► February (1) Get Out of the Office! Outsourcing ► April (1) GoogleClick - Who owns your cash register? ► October (1) New Video!

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Email CTO Hire 40

Frank Addante

MAY 15, 2006

About Frank Addante > (from the Silicon Valley Business Journal) Twitter Updates follow me on Twitter Blog Archive ► 2010 (2) ► June (1) Part II: Optimized for Profitability ► February (1) Get Out of the Office! Outsourcing ► April (1) GoogleClick - Who owns your cash register? ► October (1) New Video!

Advertising 40

Advertising Startup Chief Technology Officer Technical Review 40