SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

Founders vs. Early Employees To help with this discussion, let me start with a definition of "early employee." For your first key hires, three, five, maybe as much as ten, you will probably not be able to use any kind of formula. Suppose the company wants to make a "profit" of 50% on the new hire mentioned above.

Equity 391

Equity CTO Hire Startup Examples 391

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 16, 2016

Computer Vison Startup Nanit If you follow me on Snapchat ( msuster ) you might already know that I’ve been looking at and investing in a number of companies in the computer vision space. Today I am so excited to announce our latest investment in the category —  Nanit  — which is a smart baby monitor.

Invest 150

Invest Course Startup CTO Hire 150

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 19, 2009

Los Angeles-based Global Fitness Media , which is developing a number of fitness-related online web sites, has hired on a new Chief Technical Officer, according to the firm's search agency, NeoHire. According to the firms, Daniel Auld has been appointed to the position.

CTO Hire 113

CTO Hire Media IBM IBM 113

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. Add basic partner contracts or alliances. Partial acquisition.

Acquisition 88

Acquisition CTO Hire Startup Outsource Development 88

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2012

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. Add basic partner contracts or alliances. Partial acquisition.

CTO Hire 91

CTO Hire Startup Outsource Development Resource 91

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2013

The most common ones I see and salute are CEO, CFO, and CTO. What you really need is a VP of Marketing and Customer Development, who can help with lead generation and honing the message, rather than an executive to manage a sales team and existing customers. More executives, or other more creative titles are seen as a big red flag.

Startup 97

Startup Invest CTO Hire Cloud Computing 97

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

As your organization grows and you hire senior staff where you are no longer managing every employee directly the issue of how to manage people that are not your “direct&# reports arises. You’ll get sales information from your VP of Sales, marketing information from your VP Marketing, tech information from your CTO and so on.

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

SoCal CTO

MARCH 1, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Thursday, March 1, 2007 Entreprenuer Network Great post by Ben Kuo - The Importance of the “Network&# to Entrepreneurs - the informal connections between people in the technology industry here who have a vested interest in helping entrepreneurs take their companies to the next level.

Networking 150

Networking CTO Coach Southern California CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 9, 2010

In my post, Technology Roles in Startups , I described some of the different ways I engage with startup companies such as CTO Founder , CTO , Part-Time CTO , Acting CTO , Consultant, Advisor and Advisory Board Member. Not enough time. My investment is my time. Not enough wisdom.

CTO Coach 150

CTO Coach Technical Review Technology CTO Hire 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

It’s true the some VCs have started writing so many checks that they resemble stock pickers but the majority of us still have less than 10 board seats at any time and tend to go pretty deep so the result is that we care deeply about where we commit our time. Meredith came to see me along with the CTO Marc Berte.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2013

Our industry just took one big step towards legitimacy with the hiring of renowned media exec Ynon Kreiz to run Maker Studios. This followed an investment late last year by Time Warner in the company in a round totaling $36 million , led by Rachel Lam , head of their investment group.

Media 320

Media CTO Coach CTO Hire Los Angeles 320

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 21, 2014

The truth is you really don’t know how your teammates or your bosses will perform in good times and bad. You hire people who look good on paper. So one of the surest signs you’ve hired a leader is the willingness of his or her former team to re-assemble. After 6 months – you know. You REALLY know.

CTO Hire 320

CTO Hire Startup CTO Coach Venture Capital 320

SoCal CTO

MARCH 20, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Kevin Federline Search Engine Just saw a post - Sleep with a pop star, get your own branded search engine. Disclosure: we helped build the system that is behind these.) He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO. in Computer Science.

CTO Coach 150

CTO Coach Southern California CTO Hire Social Media 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2014

But while Amazon blew away existing physical distribution channels to deliver products to you, we are blowing away existing physical infrastructure to help you store the things you want to keep – just not at your home. I wrote about that experience here without giving away the details of the business. I’m long NY.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire Startup 380

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 28, 2011

I’m in the team centric sphere so every investment decision I make first & foremost centers on this plane. It’s my belief that through exceptional leadership you attract great teams that do more than the sum of the parts. I made an investment in a company with deep domain knowledge. ON LEADERSHIP. ON SUCCESS.

CTO Hire 363

CTO Hire Technical Review Startup Demand 363

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2007

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. “They’re probably a little ahead of their time,&# she said. in Computer Science.

MyShape 150

MyShape CTO Coach Southern California CTO Hire 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I’m super excited to announce that GRP Partners led the investment in Ethan Anderson’s new company MyTime (link has LA-based merchants but will give you a good feel for the product). MyTime aims to be the first industry-wide platform to help create consistency across the SKUs in services businesses. So there you have it.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

He eventually founded and sold consumer health firm ViSalus to a public company and is now back making investments, in technology companies, as a venture capitalist here at Los Angeles-based HashtagOne (www.hashtagone.com). What's the theme of your investments? That's why we have investments in Heal, Saucey, and FragMob.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2014

I spent an hour on the phone working with Sam Rosen, the CEO of MakeSpace on a senior exec he is considering hiring. I will soon announce a few fundings (not yet closed, sorry) and I’m beginning to help them think about how to ramp up their engineering teams. Maybe 50 if you really invest time and effort.

Networking 366

Networking Startup CTO Coach Email 366

SoCal Delicious

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

Read more » Recent Press The New York Times April 22, 2009 - A Company Plans to Market Illiquid Assets CNBC.com April 8, 2008 - Social Stock Picking Reuters April 6, 2009 - Bit.ly Main February 23, 2010 Advice for CTO Founders: Dont Let Business Kill the Business Founding a technology company is an amazing thing.

CTO Coach 28

CTO Coach CTO Hire Outsource Development Mentor 28

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 17, 2007

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. What can they do for funding, where can they go for help? He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO. in Computer Science.

Incubator 150

Incubator CTO Coach Southern California CTO Hire 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

I’ve had several COOs at companies in which I’ve invested. One great solution I see is to hire an outstanding CFO who runs both. I usually encourage people to think about titles like, “Founder & CTO&# or “Founder & VP Marketing.&#. But it will not help your business grow faster.

Startup 292

Startup CTO Hire Sales Email 292

socalTECH

JANUARY 3, 2011

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. I had been doing some angel investing, and incubating several projects. READ MORE>>.

Newsletter 216

Newsletter Startup CTO Hire Blogging 216

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Understanding where your VC partner sits in their respective fund and where their fund is in the cycle of its investment lifecycle will help you understand your VCs behavior. In his spare time he raised nearly $30 million. Each of your angels or seed investors may have 20-30 investments.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

SoCal CTO

MARCH 22, 2007

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. Maybe this meme will help.

Blogging 150

Blogging CTO Coach CTO Hire Southern California 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

It’s why my investment philosophy is called, “ the entrepreneur thesis.&#. I was meeting with a first-time CEO of a very promising young startup recently and offering my advice on what his priorities should be. There’s you and your killer CTO co-founder. The business leaders need to do their parts.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

Fred Wilson also wrote on a similar topic in his usual more succinct manner , with a great quote being: “One thing I know for sure is that those who advise and invest in startups cannot and should not meddle in the day to day decision making. Allocation planning in product management in ingenious and helps a lot with CEO meddling.

Startup 150

Startup Sales CTO Coach Course 150

socalTECH

MARCH 14, 2011

For this morning's interview, we spoke with Scot Richardson , CEO of Los Angeles-based LaughStub (www.laughstub.com), which develops software which helps comedy clubs and others manage ticket sales, online marketing, and customer relationship management. So, I wrote the business plan and get investment behind it.

Ticketmaster 140

Ticketmaster CTO Hire Tech Coast Angels Social Media 140

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

LPs (the people who invest in VC funds) want to know what “hot” deals you’re in. In a pool of 25-30 investments in a VC fund the goal is to have 2-3 huge outliers. Our partners have invested in more than dozen companies that became worth more than a billion dollars and that has disproportionately drive returns.

Startup 390

Startup Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review 390

socalTECH

JUNE 30, 2016

Phil Hui-Bon-Hoa: If you have ever been in a position where people come to you to as for help, you find that you end up answering lots of the same questions, over and over again. That ends up being a waste of time, especially in larger enterprises. What is Kaleo? Gone are the days when your boss is setting next to you.

El Segundo 169

El Segundo Southern California Startup CTO Hire 169

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2017

Very, very few founders have an easy time despite what you read in the press. Knowing that now will help you greatly in your dark moments to know that you’re not the only one struggling. Also, make sure you know several partners at the VC firms who have invested in you because in tough times it helps to have very broad support.

Funding 238

Funding Venture Capital Startup Course 238

socalTECH

MARCH 26, 2014

What that means, in more simple terms, is we''re able to help doctors with scheduling, medical billing, managing health records electronically, with a patient portal, and analytics--really a one stop shop for running their entire practice. I founded that with the former CTO of my first company, Kevin Smilak, who now works at Google.

Startup 160

Startup El Segundo CTO Hire Outsource Development 160

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. Maybe it helps that I love controversy and pushing the boundaries so people felt it was OK for them to do it as well. Should she take a chance and potentially ruffle feathers? he asked.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

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. thought it would be helpful to put some of my thoughts into a blog post and hopefully spur some conversation in the comments and over email.

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Great content again in September that meets at the intersection of startups, technology, product and being a Startup CTO. And And after 30 years of Venture investing we still have a hard time articulating why. Here’s one possible explanation – Job titles in a startup mean something different than titles in a large company.

Startup 191

Startup Product Technology Venture Capital 191

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

The math works out that the investor owns 25% of the company post deal ($1 million invested / $4 million valuation) and assuming 1 million shares, each share would be valued at $3 / share ($3,000,000 pre-money / 1 million shares = $3 / share). You’ll need to hire and retain talen to grow your company. That’s normal.

Venture Capital 405

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Funding 405

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

In fact, the headline of one read, “How Putting $10m into uBeam illustrates everything that is wrong with tech investing today.” We hired outside experts. We checked charge times. Time will tell. But “what is wrong with tech investing today?” Time will tell. I was not fried.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Startup Software Review Course 417