SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

He is not a technical person, but is somewhat web savvy. I asked some of the same questions I ask in my Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions and then I get to a very common conversation: Me : Do you have specs? You likely are writing your first one of these. Go find a new technical resource. Founder : Umm.

Develop 354

Develop Development Technical Review CTO Coach 354

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2013

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. Founders who constantly give in to changes will get more until the startup breaks. Draw the line between need versus want.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Startup Software Review High Tech 110

InfoChachkie

MAY 5, 2014

Noted American architect Frank Lloyd Wright famously cautioned his design disciples that form should not compromise function. However, for many online startups, form should drive the design process. I hesitate to write about design, as I have never considered myself to be a "color or font" person.

Symantec 227

Symantec Technical Review Software Review Design 227

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

The main thrust of the post is that with YouTube taking a 45% of revenue and talent taking 70% of the remaining revenue, YouTube Networks didn’t have sustainable businesses unless they invested heavily in technology as a tool to increase margin and provide defensibility. That is the definition of Disruptive Technology.

Company 339

Company Companies Technical Review Content 339

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!” Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. What makes up revenue?

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 5, 2010

I’ve been meaning to write this post since September of last year when Brad Feld first wrote about the The Founders Visa Movement. I commented briefly on his blog and made a mental note to write a blog post. I filled up with 20 people pretty quickly and realized this schedule was masochistic. Felipe grew up in Brazil.

Technical Review 282

Technical Review Startup High Tech Software Review 282

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

When should you start a company? What company should you start? Most startups die. We can miss the round of financing, we can start a company a year or two behind someone else and lose the first-mover advantage. Start writing down predictions about people, companies, and markets. When should a VC invest?

Venture Capital 202

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Invest 202

socalTECH

JULY 22, 2016

Rufus Labs is one of a number of hardware startups which have started to proliferate in the community, due to low cost hardware, 3D printing, and crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Gabe Grifoni: At Rufus Labs, we are focused heavily on building wearables and technology in a wearable platform for the enterprise.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Startup Software Review CTO Hire 100

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

Chris Dixon is one of my favorite people in tech and writes one of the few blogs I read religiously. If you don’t read it and you care about tech & entrepreneurship, you should. If you like the quick summary notes, please check out Adam’s blog on tech, entrepreneurship & VC as a thank you.

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

million in a new round of financing from Peter Thiel, FF Angel , Siemer Ventures , 500 Startups , Andrej Henkler (former Bertelsmann executive), and Alexsis de Raadt-St. James (chairman of the Althea Foundation) and appointed Adam Sroka as Senior Vice President of Technology in a move to make business transactions simple and secure. .

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review Bertelsmann Technology 88

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2015

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more new business solutions than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. Founders who constantly give in to changes will get more until the startup breaks. Draw the line between need versus want.

Technical Review 104

Technical Review Product Software Review High Tech 104

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

Intellectual Property (IP) is an ugly thing at a startup. However, to a Big Dumb Company (BDC), a startup’s IP is a thing of beauty. How can IP be worthless to a startup yet very worthwhile to a BDC? Patents held by startups generally have a limited ability to reduce competition. Three years is a lifetime at a startup.

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 26, 2021

Then fans would be tasked with writing their own stories, submitting them to the Realms of Ruin universe by minting them as NFTs on the Solana blockchain. If the authors are inviting fans to write fan fiction about a universe they created, who owns the derivative works? The project ultimately imploded due to a combination of factors.

Writing 196

Writing Outsource Development Technical Review Examples 196

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 6, 2011

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. Founders who constantly give in to changes will get more until the startup breaks. Draw the line between need versus want.

Technical Review 96

Technical Review Startup Software Review High Tech 96

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. Founders who constantly give in to changes will get more until the startup breaks. Draw the line between need versus want.

Technical Review 75

Technical Review Startup Software Review High Tech 75

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. But today I want to give you advice on how to decrease your odds of failure in a startup.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

socalTECH

OCTOBER 28, 2010

How do you take a business you started as your own personal web site, and turn it into an online powerhouse, completely bootstrapped, from the little town of Ojai, California--not exactly known as a technology town? Tell us the story about Lynda.com, and how it all started? So, that's how I got started teaching computer skills.

Startup 242

Startup Web Design Writing Web 242

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

I tapped my friends at big tech companies (Salesforce, Google, Oracle). I think my mentality to banker pitches was best summed up in this article about Y Combinator in which Paul Graham apparently made the following quotes. start-ups are overvalued. They do this because they have amazing skills at writing business plans.

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

I tapped my friends at big tech companies (Salesforce, Google, Oracle). Before I tell you the reasons I’m concerned about investment banking intros, I should start by saying I think bankers are enormously helpful for entrepreneurs in raising money. start-ups are overvalued. I spent time on college campuses.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

socalTECH

MARCH 21, 2014

In a world with a rash of startup incubators and accelerators, super angels, crowdfunding sites, and more, what''s the relevance of organized angel investments groups? He started the group because he wanted to help companies succeed. First off, for those not familiar with the Pasadena Angels, talk about the group?

Pasadena Angels 162

Pasadena Angels Pasadena Angel Startup 162

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2013

In the past, if your startup had a website presence, the company was credible by definition. Yet most startups I know experience the same shock of disappointment when they first open up their website to offer their “million dollar idea” product, and nobody comes. Set up an award, and show winners. People buy from people.

Search Engine Optimization 105

Search Engine Optimization Startup Advertising SEO 105

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 8, 2018

Steven Johnson, author of How We Got To Now , analyzes technological breakthroughs, looking for patterns that allow entrepreneurs to identify “How We’ll Get To Tomorrow.” We all have hunches, but if we do not diligently document them, we risk losing them. Chaos By Design . This is a lead up into an executive summary.

Ideas 69

Ideas Startup Technical Review Santa Barbara 69

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 24, 2010

I’ve been loving the product even if it sucks up some of my time. I stumbled upon the Question, “ What-is-the-motivation-behind-writing-public-reviews-and-tips-as-on-Amazon-Yelp-Foursquare-StickyBits-etc &# and took the bait. Or let’s face it – writing lots of answers on Quora. Don’t.

Technical Review 294

Technical Review Writing Content Sites 294

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 23, 2010

I was an early user of Quora and like all new technologies they take a bit of playing with them for a while, discussing them with others and reflecting on them to let them sink in. Fred talks about it here – he beat me to the punch because I always wanted to write about how awesome this is. really understand it.

Blogging 301

Blogging SEO Startup Writing 301

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 11, 2013

TechZulu catches up with the founder of Assignmint, Jeff Koyen, as he talks about Assignmint, freelance, and LA startups. There are no surprises on how and when you are going to get paid and everything leading up to that point. We have a lot of writers signing up from all over the place. Where did Assignmint come from?

Journal 90

Journal Startup Writing Media 90

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 15, 2014

.” I have been weighing in slowly on the topic over the past few weeks on Twitter but have avoided writing a blog post about it until now. I started from a position of wanting a “real identity” because to me I want to know whom I’m dealing with. Contrast that with HackerNews. Cars are dehumanizing.

Technical Review 329

Technical Review Blogging Examples Startup 329

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

of all statistics are made up. I’m writing this post to make sure you’re all on that same playing field. Here’s how I learned my lesson: I started my life as a consultant. I had to read each report, synthesis it and then come up with our best estimate of the markets going forward. I say it deadpanned.

Statistics 415

Statistics Startup Report Research 415

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2010

In the past, if your startup had a website presence, the company was credible by definition. Yet most startups I know experience the same shock of disappointment when they first open up their website to offer their “million dollar idea” product, and nobody comes. Set up an award, and show winners. People buy from people.

Tips 92

Tips Search Engine Optimization Startup Advertising 92

InfoChachkie

JUNE 20, 2011

There is never enough time to perform all of the outstanding tasks at the typical startup. Due to their lack of practical experience, this delegation/efficiency tradeoff is especially acute with respect to hiring Interns. The growth rate of most startups justifies hiring an in-house talent coordinator.

Startup 244

Startup Software Review Technical Review Class 244

socalTECH

JUNE 8, 2011

We actually built that about a year and a half ago, and are bringing that back due to overwhelming demand. Jimmy Hendricks: We actually started two and a half years ago. We were crowd sourcing artists and design. So, we took that contest and crowdsourcing platform, and started ArtisticHub.

Platform 263

Platform Training Software Review Advertising 263

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2010

This insidious disease kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. The solution is to do the right job up front on requirements, document and approve specifications, and have the toughest person you know do the project management.

Technical Review 51

Technical Review Software Review High Tech Writing 51

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 1, 2011

In this interview, we catch up with an amazing TechZulu Spotlight alumnus, Joey Flores, CEO of Earbits , a hand-curated music discovery engine that allows its bands and artists to advertise and promote their own material, events, announcements, contests, whatever. When I started, I was one of the only people signing up affiliates.

Startup 80

Startup Design Advertising Search Engine Optimization 80

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 24, 2016

The Affordable Care Act, often referred to as “Obamacare,” has enacted major changes for healthcare providers since it was enacted at the start of President Obama’s first term. This is doubly true due to the potential fines that employers could face if too many employees opt for marketplace plans due to factors like cost.

Startup 49

Startup Competition Study Writing 49

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 29, 2011

Despite the fact that he can create things on Autodesk’s Maya that their own software designers may have never have dreamed up (or more accurately, that only a few people on this Earth can), being a ‘big wig’ was never May’s intention. Every film starts with a script; CG, live action, student short, the script is the bed frame.

Technical Review 90

Technical Review Technology Examples Malibu 90

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I will write more about this in the next 2 weeks. People get too worked up over the word. Responses ranged from, “hey, they’re in a HUGE market&# to “it is an amazing company and their technology rocks.&# Perhaps this will trend up massively but historical data doesn’t bode well. I believe that.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2012

In the past, if your startup had a website presence, the company was credible by definition. Yet most startups I know experience the same shock of disappointment when they first open up their website to offer their “million dollar idea” product, and nobody comes. Set up an award, and show winners. People buy from people.

Search Engine Optimization 96

Search Engine Optimization Entrepreneur Sites Advertising 96

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 27, 2009

This morning's interview is with San Diego-based Kadonk (www.kadonk.com), a startup which is creating project management tools that work with Microsoft Project. We were contemplating one of the problems we had all faced, which was when we designed a project, the issue was that it usually never got done on time.

Startup 100

Startup Software Review Technical Review Software 100