SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. We had several emails back and forth where he provided basic details on the concept. And do I fit as a Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO ? He had a partially built product. Go to user groups.

CTO Hire 241

CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity Develop 241

InfoChachkie

MARCH 18, 2013

In order to extract value beyond your Angel investors' cash, you must first assess three important parameters: (i) the relative strength of their personal brand, (ii) their ability to add operational value, and (iii) the amount of care and feeding they will demand from you. Painfully Diligent Investors.

Angel 217

Angel Technical Review RSS Entrepreneur 217

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2019

Here are a few specifics on how to be part of the solution, without the costs, rather than part of the problem: Put a personal face and address on your site; don’t hide behind an “info” email address. Market your solution and user benefits, not the mysterious technology behind it. Don’t take shortcuts on these.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Symantec Social Network News 78

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2017

They seem shocked to learn that most professional investors and advisors, myself included, routinely decline such requests, due to costly litigation and administrative nightmares. Potential investors don’t need this data, except perhaps as part of a final due diligence after an initial signed agreement.

Technical Review 61

Technical Review Patents Ideas Social Media 61

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

Silicon Valley, in a proverbial hornet’s nest of legal intrigue has been buzzing with one of the biggest (and possibly unsettling) displays of indian giving that the tech world has seen this year. Check out a sample demo of their Google Glass product, due to arrive in 2014 (well, it was due to arrive then).

Technical Review 74

Technical Review Startup Software Review Google 74

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2018

As a long-time advisor to entrepreneurs and business owners, I rarely find someone who doesn’t proclaim that the business world is changing rapidly, with new technology, new customer expectations, and new cultures. They have to be energized and able to adapt as the market and competitors demand. Once gone, customers won’t be back.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Customer Custom Startup 84

socalTECH

MARCH 19, 2019

We started focusing on that, and at the time we were doing only phone verification, but then we started adding in data analytics because of customer demand, we added in some other things like straight messaging rather than pin codes. They forced us to do something different, they forced us to innovate, they forced us to create new products.

Marina Del Rey 113

Marina Del Rey Software Review Startup Incubator 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2014

Here are a few specifics on how to be part of the solution, without the costs, rather than part of the problem: Put a personal face and address on your site; don’t hide behind an “info” email address. Market your solution and user benefits, not the mysterious technology behind it. Don’t take shortcuts on these.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Technical Review Startup Social Network 100

socalTECH

JULY 12, 2013

Many companies would love to be able to get the benefits of cloud--easy configurability, low cost, scaling, and more--but, due to various reasons, can''t take advantage of public cloud services like Amazon. We spent lots of time with enterprises where technology was not their core product. Why do you imagine that''s the case?

CIO 207

CIO Southern California Technical Review Software Review 207

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2017

Here are a few specifics on how to be part of the solution, without the costs, rather than part of the problem: Put a personal face and address on your site; don’t hide behind an “info” email address. Market your solution and user benefits, not the mysterious technology behind it. Don’t take shortcuts on these.

Entrepreneur 54

Entrepreneur Technical Review Startup Symantec 54

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Most of the guidance you see for entrepreneurs is aimed at those who are selling a product (Apple, Tesla, Xiaomi), or selling a service (Uber, Airbnb, Snapchat). The “product” value is difficult to quantify, the costs are nebulous, and entrepreneurs have to clone themselves to scale the business.

Social Media 56

Social Media Pricing Technical Review Demand 56

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2012

Here are a few specifics on how to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem: Put a personal face and address on your site; don’t hide behind an “info” email address. Market your solution and user benefits, not the mysterious technology behind it. Don’t take shortcuts on these. That’s just good business.

Startup 85

Startup Technical Review Social Network News 85

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

According to a recent Harvard Business Review article , only 60% of companies today use social media for marketing, and only 12% of those feel that they are using it effectively. Don’t use the same message on Twitter you developed for email blasts and postcard blitzes. So print it off and deliver it to a friend who is not so high-tech.

Social Media 115

Social Media Media Startup Social Network 115

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2011

Here are a few specifics on how to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem: Put a personal face and address on your site; don’t hide behind an “info” email address. Market your solution and user benefits, not the mysterious technology behind it. Don’t take shortcuts on these. That’s just good business.

Startup 94

Startup Technical Review Social Network News 94

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 18, 2010

It’s as good as it gets in personal productivity / life reflection. I know that would be surprising to many readers since keeping a blog somehow convinces people that I’m a time management or productivity ninja. That’s why productivity wasn’t tough for me as a CEO. I’m not. I couldn’t.

Slides 374

Slides Email Entrepreneur Startup 374

socalTECH

AUGUST 8, 2018

Dave Fink: Postie is a building a technology platform with a mission of making direct mail marketing behave as easily and dynamically as your favorite, programmatic channels. However, there just hasn't been the underlying technology to make it possible to pull all of that together. What is Postie? Both of us are purely digital.

CTO Hire 100

CTO Hire Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Marketing 100

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. Trying outrageous new things or even trying mundane things but in new ways but with extreme quality & innovation is what fuels the tech startup industry. Yet I can’t help thinking there are many predictable failures that come from a lack of basic planning.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

socalTECH

JUNE 8, 2011

Jimmy Hendricks: Our lead product is a white label, daily deal product. We actually built that about a year and a half ago, and are bringing that back due to overwhelming demand. We see those three products working together, as features of one platform which both can be used independently, as well as together.

Platform 263

Platform Training Software Review Advertising 263

socalTECH

JUNE 25, 2013

We send you reminders by email, and deliver as many times a year as you prefer. round changes things for us, and will let us invest in infrastructure, build our team, invest in media, and also invest in technology to better leverage our spend on media. It''s premium, fresh cut product. Closing this $1.1M

Services 215

Services Technical Review Startup Pricing 215

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

StartupDemo is an opportunity for early stage startups to showcase their new products and/or services. Stewart Roberts , President of Orange County of Tech Coast Angels. We facilitate the most productive business-to-consumer relationship with a pioneering solution that finally makes proactive information updates useful.

Social Media 71

Social Media Technical Review Mixergy Tech Coast Angels 71

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2010

Here are a few specifics on how to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem: Put a personal face and address on your site; don’t hide behind an “info” email address. Market your solution and user benefits, not the mysterious technology behind it. Don’t take shortcuts on these. That’s just good business. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 85

Entrepreneur Technical Review Social Network News 85

Eric Greenspan

MAY 29, 2010

There are many signs to look for when receiving candid feedback from your customers, here’s a few examples of things Make It Work customers say and what we are doing about it: Customer (from a Delight Survey email): Why don’t you offer billing as an option, rather than require payment on demand at the end of the appointment?

Social Media 214

Social Media Customer Custom Media 214

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

Stewart Roberts , President of Orange County of Tech Coast Angels. We facilitate the most productive business-to-consumer relationship with a pioneering solution that finally makes proactive information updates useful. Most people facing this problem resort to mass text messages, and long, frustrating email chains.

Social Media 60

Social Media Technical Review Tech Coast Angels Venture Capital 60

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 26, 2016

The controversial CISA bill passed in late December, despite outcry from the tech world, now means large corporations will be able to share personal online data with government agencies. For the VPN industry specifically, we will see a lot of new providers as the barrier to entry is extremely low, and demand is high. The large U.S.

Commerce 40

Commerce Mobile Technical Review Google 40

SoCal Delicious

OCTOBER 8, 2012

Loading… Tech. SIGNIFICANCE PASSING-MENTION. --> Tech Titans Hit the Beach As Silicon Valley moguls go on a home-buying spree in Los Angeles, theyre reshaping the real-estate landscape. The tech industry is going south. Prices are soaring in the beachfront communities tech types favor, and rents in these.

Los Angeles 44

Los Angeles Software Review Technical Review Journal 44

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

Language Weaver is backed by Palisades Ventures, the Tech Coast Angels, and The Athenaeum Fund. That evolved to that guy has a PC, and has emailed a file. There's so much to review in the intelligence and defense area, the single most valuable thing one can deliver is elimination. What's new with Language Weaver?

Software Review 145

Software Review USC Content Tech Coast Angels 145

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 17, 2012

We have a great variety of skills in the team from Media, Marketing, Operations, Retail – all very focus on customer service, highlighting a product or brand in the best way for the least amount of money. We also plan to introduce a premium profile – with onsite advertising for the subscriber – due to demand from our users.

Advertising 79

Advertising Services Social Network Startup 79

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2022

It started with an email survey on your last stay at their hotel, but now includes requests for online product reviews, to social media input on the design of future products. Some say it’s happening today because it’s new, and technology makes it possible. Welcome to the “Participation Age” of marketing.

Customer 107

Customer Custom Technical Review Social Media 107

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 11, 2013

No matter where I worked, I never found any sort of product that managed the workflow between editors and writers and it is the number one problem in the publishing world. I built the product I wanted, as a writer, editor, and as a publisher. only for the foreseeable future and that is due to banking laws. Digital media?

Journal 90

Journal Startup Writing Media 90

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2019

It started with an email survey on your last stay at their hotel, but now includes requests for online product reviews, to social media input on the design of future products. Some say it’s happening today because it’s new, and technology makes it possible. Welcome to the “Participation Age” of marketing.

Startup 98

Startup Technical Review Social Media Marketing 98

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Seattle should be the envy of any non Silicon Valley tech community in the country. It really wouldn’t take much to turn a great technology ecosystem into a truly electric one. He listed all of the product releases that were up coming, the customers that were in the pipeline and where he saw his competition moving.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

As with any sales campaign you need to: Qualify your buyers early so you focus your scarce resources on people likely to buy your product. ” These are people with whom there is a likely match for your product or service. I get approached about clean tech or biotech periodically – I don’t focus on these.

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

We had email, instant messaging, group calendars, discussion boards, etc. They had a proprietary browser, their own search engine, their own content, chat rooms, email system, etc. But AOL brought online services, email, chat and discussion boards to the masses and thus educated a generation that paved the way for others.

Social Network 318

Social Network Networking Web 2.0 Startup 318

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2017

It started with an email survey on your last stay at their hotel, but now includes requests for online product reviews, to social media input on the design of future products. Some say it’s happening today because it’s new, and technology makes it possible. Welcome to the “Participation Age” of marketing.

Marketing 59

Marketing Technical Review Social Media Activision 59

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 24, 2014

It started with an email survey on your last stay at their hotel, but now includes requests for online product reviews, to social media input on the design of future products. Some say it’s happening today because it’s new, and technology makes it possible. Welcome to the “Participation Age” of marketing.

Marketing 95

Marketing Technical Review Social Media Startup 95

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 17, 2011

The need for creativity extends well beyond product design. I want to know how many people, their level of tech sophistication, their age and their interests. Yet most startups seem to constrain creativity to product design. Many people are visual thinkers. Therefore to drive creativity people need to do visual brainstorming.

Writing 356

Writing Startup Ideas Summary 356

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 21, 2012

It started with an email survey on your last stay at their hotel, but now includes requests for online product reviews, to social media input on the design of future products. Some say it’s happening today because it’s new, and technology makes it possible. Welcome to the “Participation Age” of marketing.

Customer 95

Customer Custom Marketing Technical Review 95