TechEmpower
AUGUST 7, 2023
What does it mean to be a CTO for a startup? Should a startup CTO spend their time programming? Increasing competitive advantage? The role of a CTO varies as the company matures. Getting something to market and getting funding override any other concerns. A CTO can help you find the right answers.
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.
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Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 22, 2021
This strategy is called “organic growth,” yet it alone may yield only a fraction of the potential you could achieve, unless you add the additional strategies of partnerships and M&A (mergers and acquisitions). Add basic partner contracts or alliances. Use external sourcing to fill in the non-critical gaps.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 23, 2017
Fund raising is hard for everybody. Very, very few founders have an easy time despite what you read in the press. I’ve seen many founders lose confidence in the earliest parts of the process rather than accept that it’s a numbers game where you’re just not a fit for everybody. It sounds like a lot of work, I know!
Startup Professionals Musings
SEPTEMBER 30, 2013
Every investor expects to see some business traction, both before and after a funding event. If you have neither, and choose to approach an investor, you will get no attention, and probably never again get a shot at funding with that investor. Now investors will pay attention, since scale-up funding is less risky and has a time frame.
Startup Professionals Musings
OCTOBER 8, 2013
This strategy is called “organic growth,” yet it alone may yield only a fraction of the potential you could achieve, unless you add the additional strategies of partnerships and M&A (mergers and acquisitions). Add basic partner contracts or alliances. Use external sourcing to fill in the non-critical gaps.
Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 30, 2014
As I’ve written about recently, at Upfront Ventures we started talking a couple of years ago about wanting to fund stuff with more meaning. I think this is a combination of being realists as venture capitalists that outsized returns in our funds must come from taking on bigger, more impactful projects that can move markets.
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