SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. And I try my best to point them to resources that can help them longer term. See Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers for more on this.

CTO Hire 259

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 259

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

For the rest of us, the following suggestions will help you survive the valley of death: Accumulate some resources before you start. The hottest new way of funding startups is to use online sites, like Kickstarter , to request donations, pre-order, get a reward, or even give equity. It always reduces risk to plan your business first.

Startup 87

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 87

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

For the rest of us, the following suggestions will help you survive the valley of death: Accumulate some resources before you start. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. The positives are that you give up no equity, and these apply to the early startup stages, but they do take time and much effort to win.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Equity 105

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

These terms refer to a class of professional investors who invest their own money, like angels, but have the larger resources and scope of venture capitalists with other people’s money. Sweat equity. Equity crowdfunding. Growth hackers are the marketing equivalent of clever software hackers and are highly respected by investors.

Startup 57

Startup Software Review Equity Invest 57

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 1, 2014

He and co-founder James Han, began their careers from deep within the investment space – from big banks (Lehman + Morgan Stanley) to private equity (working at funds with portfolios in the billions of dollars), with James founding his own startup and running into the very problem SeedInvest was made to solve.

Invest 100

Invest Startup Technical Review Software Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

For the rest of us, the following suggestions will help you survive the valley of death: Accumulate some resources before you start. The hottest new way of funding startups is to use online sites, like Kickstarter , to request donations, pre-order, get a reward, or even give equity (coming soon). Apply for contests and business grants.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Funding Startup Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

For the rest of us, the following suggestions will help you survive the valley of death: Accumulate some resources before you start. The hottest new way of funding startups is to use online sites, like Kickstarter , to request donations, pre-order, get a reward, or even give equity. It always reduces risk to plan your business first.

Develop 70

Develop Development Product Startup 70

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

For the rest of us, the following suggestions will help you survive the valley of death: Accumulate some resources before you start. The hottest new way of funding startups is to use online sites, like Kickstarter , to request donations, pre-order, get a reward, or even give equity (coming soon). Apply for contests and business grants.

Startup 123

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 123

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

For the rest of us, the following suggestions will help you survive the valley of death: Accumulate some resources before you start. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. The positives are that you give up no equity, and these apply to the early startup stages, but they do take time and much effort to win.

Startup 53

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 53

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

They had the huge financial and technical resources of a large company, and they had the right dreams, but they also had a set of challenges that most entrepreneurs don’t have to deal with: Team members are not selected based on entrepreneurial acumen. The burn rate was extremely high, with no one working for equity or deferred compensation.

IBM 85

IBM IBM Entrepreneur Technical Review 85

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

If your team has a depth of expertise in software, that won’t help you get funding for a new hardware solution. Investors all know that the startup road is long and hard, so they look for people who have put and will continue to put “skin in the game” -- time, sweat equity, and money. Focus on prior results, not titles.

Startup 60

Startup Entrepreneur Software Review Technical Review 60

socalTECH

JUNE 23, 2021

We have the data where those universities are, we have the human resources and curated marketing labor. Where are you now as a company, understanding that lots of things have changed due to this pandemic? We weren't working with main street and small businesses, but public and private equity backed companies.

Marketing 113

Marketing Los Angeles Zag Startup 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

As a rule, you need to review your burn rate every month, and manage it every day. The cost of giving up more equity early is often more than offset by the increased flexibility to recover from mistakes. Pay people with equity or future revenue. The components are simple - expenses and income. Great strategy.

Startup 92

Startup Outsource Development Development Team Review Equity 92

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. Interviewing and Hiring Process Get a resume and LinkedIn profile and review both closely: Do they know the world of startup technology?

CTO Hire 282

CTO Hire CTO Coach Technical Review Startup 282

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 28, 2011

As a rule, you need to review your burn rate every month, and manage it every day. The cost of giving up more equity early is often more than offset by the increased flexibility to recover from mistakes. Pay people with equity or future revenue. Investors assume it will only go up with more funding. Great strategy.

Startup 92

Startup Outsource Development Development Team Review Equity 92

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. Interviewing and Hiring Process Get a resume and LinkedIn profile and review both closely: Do they know the world of startup technology?

CTO Hire 225

CTO Hire CTO Coach Technical Review Startup 225

socalTECH

JANUARY 17, 2017

In emerging markets and the developing world, access to banking, capital, and financial resources is fare more difficult than here in the U.S., due to a less developed financial system, lack of credit tracking, and oftentimes and informal economy. How did you end up starting Tala?

Startup 100

Startup Santa Monica Custom Customer 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2010

As a rule, you need to review your burn rate every month, and manage it every day. The cost of giving up more equity early is often more than offset by the increased flexibility to recover from mistakes. Pay people with equity or future revenue. Investors assume it will only go up with more funding. Great strategy.

Startup 48

Startup Outsource Development Development Team Review Equity 48

socalTECH

DECEMBER 1, 2008

We're the venture capital arm of Saban Capital Group, which is Haim Saban's investment vehicle and private equity firm, which he founded in 2001. But we're also technology focused, looking primarily at consumer facing software and services firms in digital media. What's your prior experience and how'd you get into this?

Southern California 100

Southern California Media Venture Capital Invest 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 1, 2008

We're the venture capital arm of Saban Capital Group, which is Haim Saban's investment vehicle and private equity firm, which he founded in 2001. But we're also technology focused, looking primarily at consumer facing software and services firms in digital media. What's your prior experience and how'd you get into this?

Capital 100

Capital Southern California Media Venture Capital 100

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

In no expert in Seattle but when I look around I see: enterprise software (Microsoft), the market leader in cloud services (Amazon AWS), games (Xbox), some of the most innovative retailers in the country (CostCo, Starbucks, REI) and what is left of Boeing (HQ moved to Chicago). It’s great to see an initiative like Seattle 2.0

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317