SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

I've posted quite a few things on the topics associated with being a Startup CTO. I've tried to collect them together here as a starting point for this topic. Here are some resources that come from other sources: Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering?

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CTO Hire CTO Coach Resource Startup 175

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. Of course, I have an advantage because I organize the LA CTO Forum.

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Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach 225

Startup San Diego

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

When 2020 hit, the Startup San Diego team had to make a pivotal decision to completely adapt San Diego Startup Week to a month-long virtual program while still delivering the same workshops, panels, and pitch competitions for the startup community, that year, San Diego Startup Month was born.

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SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

Todd Gitlin of Safire Partners was nice enough to compile some data on Start CTO Salary and Equity at Venture Backed Companies for the LA CTO Forum and present last year. Todd is a go to resource for people looking for talent in startups. CTO Founders in India, have a very low equity stake.

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CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity Startup 301

SoCal CTO

APRIL 27, 2011

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: Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data. I'd suggest: Startup CTO or Developer , Startup Founder Developer Gap , Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO.

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CTO Hire CTO Coach Technical Review Startup 282

SoCal CTO

MAY 21, 2012

" I realized that I've never captured topics that I've covered (I'm always willing to look at other topics), nor have I put up my speaker bio. So, here goes: Dr. Tony Karrer Over the past 15 years, Tony has been a part-time CTO for more than 30 startups. Tony has a Ph.D.

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SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2007

I generally am working as an acting CTO for about 3-4 start-ups or other companies at any one time. I also found this interesting graphic of the changing needs around the CTO role in different size/type companies that somewhat echoes my experience. During Stabilization, often the focus is transitioning to a full-time CTO.

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CTO Hire Startup Technical Advisors Technical Review 231

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 14, 2012

I was just asked about a particular startup situation (seed stage, CMO hire, non-founder) and particularly what compensation and equity is appropriate. Seed Stage Compensation What are typical compensation numbers?

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SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. Of course, I provide part-time CTO services. But the reality is that I engage with about 5 new startups each year which means that I end up working with less than 5% of the startups where I provide these free consulting sessions.

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CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 264

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. Of course, I provide part-time CTO services. But the reality is that I engage with about 5 new startups each year which means that I end up working with less than 5% of the startups where I provide these free consulting sessions.

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CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 259

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

Southern California startup founder Isaac Saldana --who co-founded SendGrid --is hoping to help other entrepreneurs create companies , after the $3 billion, all-stock acquisition of SendGrid by Twilio in October. He's also the founder and CEO of Joy Labs, a startup that he says will "push the boundaries of computer science and happiness."

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Help Chief Technology Officer Entrepreneur Southern California 133

SoCal CTO

APRIL 27, 2011

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: Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data. I'd suggest: Startup CTO or Developer , Startup Founder Developer Gap , Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO.

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CTO Hire CTO Coach Technical Review Startup 225

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Los Angeles-based gaming startup Midnight announced this morning that it has raised $7.5M in its seed funding round.

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Chief Technology Officer Seed Funding Platform Entertainment 113

TechEmpower

JULY 24, 2023

At TechEmpower, we frequently talk to startup founders, CEOs, product leaders, and other innovators about their next big tech initiative. Still, if you’re a business leader and your developers haven’t asked you these questions, look for a Fractional CTO to help navigate the critical early stage of development. Wireframes?

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Develop Development Technical Review SEO 520

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2010

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.

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CTO Hire Fractional VPE Startup Outsource Development 400

SoCal CTO

APRIL 18, 2012

Todd Gitlin of Safire Partners - a go to resource here in LA for recruiting C-level positions at startups - was nice enough to compile some data again this year (see last year's Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data ). Or they are looking at Hiring a CTO and want to see what salary and equity ranges look like.

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CTO Hire Equity Demand Resource 294

SoCal CTO

MAY 10, 2011

A long-time friend and colleague, Steve Wexler, who is great at visualization took my Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data and produced a really need interactive visualization via Tableau. It makes sense and what I suspected, but good to see the numbers are backed up. The larger the circle, the larger the number of responses.

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Equity Startup Examples Course 198

SoCal CTO

MARCH 2, 2015

As the organizer of the LA CTO Forum , I get lots of inquiries by job seekers and people looking for CTO / VP Engineering talent. I’ve written quite a bit about aspects of this topic, especially from the perspective of startup founders looking for talent – you can find these in: Startup CTO.

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SoCal CTO

JANUARY 18, 2011

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?

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CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity 167

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Based on my posts Startup CTO or Developer and Acting CTO , Chris O’Meara wrote an interesting post Startup CTO: Could It Work? Chris starts with a description of the person that pretty much every startup is looking for: Their primary characteristics are deep technical skills and a hacker mentality.

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CTO Hire Startup Guide Examples 150

SoCal CTO

MAY 10, 2011

A long-time friend and colleague, Steve Wexler, who is great at visualization took my Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data and produced a really need interactive visualization via Tableau. It makes sense and what I suspected, but good to see the numbers are backed up. The larger the circle, the larger the number of responses.

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Equity Startup Examples Course 175

SoCal CTO

APRIL 23, 2010

I’ve come to realize that I have lots of posts around startup software development scattered around in different posts. How to Work With a Contract Web Developer How To Bootstrap Your Startup Thought it would be good to capture them in one spot and also include links to related posts from other sources.

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Outsource Development CTO Hire Startup CTO Coach 219

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 18, 2011

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?

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CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity 150

TechCrunch LA

MAY 20, 2019

We’re excited to announce that Ford CTO Ken Washington will participate in TechCrunch’s inaugural TC Sessions: Mobility , a one-day event on July 10, 2019 in San Jose, Calif., TC Sessions: Mobility has a jam-packed agenda, overflowing with some of the biggest names and most exciting startups in the transportation industry.

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Mobile Research Los Angeles Conference 170

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 ? Did they really need a Startup CTO or Developer or both? And do I fit as a Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO ?

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CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity Develop 241

socalTECH

JANUARY 31, 2013

For our Insights and Opinions section today, we share an article by John Shiple , who provides technology consulting to CEOs, helps outline some of the key things startup (and other) CEOs ought to know in dealing with their CTO. Start at the top  with the CEO and CTO. Learn how you can best support your CTO.

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Help Startup Technology Company 214

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

Todd Gitlin of Safire Partners was nice enough to compile some data on CTO Equity and Compensation at Venture Backed Companies for the LA CTO Forum and present last year. Todd is a go to resource for people looking for talent in startups. It is interesting to see the salaries of CTOs of pre-Revenue even pre-Launch companies.

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CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity Company 273

socalTECH

DECEMBER 13, 2022

Santa Barbara-based Beni, a startup which lets users find and buy secondhand apparel and accessories, said this morning that it has raised $5M in funding. The new seed funding was led by Bouyant Ventures, and also included Better Ventures,XYZ Venture Capital, Chingona Ventures, and Starting Line Ventures.

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Software Santa Barbara Seed Funding Startup 113

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

Manhattan Beach-based cloud computing software developer Morphlabs said today that it has appointed Lee Thompson as its new Chief Technology Officer. Thompson has previously served at DTO Solutions, as well as E*Trade Financial, where he served in roles such as Vice President and Chief Technology and Operations Manager.

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Manhattan Beach Cloud Computing Chief Technology Officer Software Development 157

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 8, 2013

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?

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Startup CTO Coach Mentor Class 86

SoCal Tech Calendar

JANUARY 31, 2018

Wednesday, January 31, 2018 -- An Evening of AR/VR with CTO Mixers and ARwall. CTO Mixers. On January 31st, LA CTO Mixers will meet with a panel of experts. CTO Mixers is a highly curated, invite only event. Geared at C-Level and SVPs in Enterprise and high quality Startup Execs and entrepreneurs.

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Entrepreneur Startup 100

SoCal CTO

APRIL 25, 2017

Here is the most recent version of an all too common email inquiry from a startup founder. I'm working on a start up 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.

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SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

This is not only sad but incredibly frustrating, because it is so easy to see how a great technology can be developed and commercialized if only - if only the CTO hadn't been impulsive and insecure and brought on a business partner too early in the game. … Mark Suster has similar advice in Hiring at a Startup? Camaraderie?

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CTO Hire Startup Equity Sales 150

socalTECH

JULY 1, 2016

Brogan BamBrogan , co-founder and CTO of high flying, Los Angeles transportation startup Hyperloop One , has apparently left the company, in what looks to be a major shakeout at the company. Josh Giegel, the senior Vice President of Engineering at Hyperloop One, is taking over the CTO role.

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Company Companies Los Angeles Report 113

SoCal Tech Calendar

AUGUST 17, 2017

Wednesday, August 23, 2017 -- An evening with CTO Mixers on a Yacht with Blockchain Luminaries. CTO Mixers. CTO Mixers is a highly curated, invite only event. Geared at C-Level and SVPs in Enterprise and high quality Startup Execs and entrepreneurs. See [link] (more)

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Entrepreneur Startup 100

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Are you a non-technical startup founder who’s about to go have a conversation with a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) or Technical advisory type person? Maybe you are going for a reality check on your current situation - wondering if you have a Weak Development Team or a Startup Founder Developer Gap.

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CTO Coach Startup Web Guide 211

SoCal CTO

MAY 21, 2013

I''m spending more of my time recently working with non-technical startup founders who are having challenges with their software/web/mobile development teams. These are often the same things that cause a founder to reach out to me about helping their CTO, VP Engineering, tech team, off-shore development, etc. Is there a lot of rework?

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