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.

Startup 231

Startup CTO Hire Technical Advisors Technical Review 231

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2021

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). M&A is “buying” resources for growth. Overreliance on acquisitions drains resources and de-motivates internal teams.

Organization 132

Organization CTO Hire Outsource Development Startup 132

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 10, 2012

It was like having a bunch of mini- Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions all in one room. This is exactly the kind of thing I'm doing as a Part-Time CTO or Technical Advisor for startups. CTO Founder - Do they really still need a technical advisor? I've talked about this before in Startup CTO or Developer.

Technical Advisors 332

Technical Advisors CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 332

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

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? In fact, let me provide an important warning: If you create these documents, don't have input from a technical resource, take it to a development shop and they provide you a price.

Develop 354

Develop Development Technical Review CTO Coach 354

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). M&A is “buying” resources for growth. Overreliance on acquisitions drains resources and de-motivates internal teams.

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). M&A is “buying” resources for growth. Overreliance on acquisitions drains resources and de-motivates internal teams.

CTO Hire 91

CTO Hire Startup Outsource Development Resource 91

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

Ask a few CTO type people. Or ask me Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions. If you need more help on really getting inside the mind of programmers, two great resources are Dilbert and Foxtrot (the little kid is a budding rock star developer). They often can help a lot in navigating to expertise and to possible resources.

Guide 349

Guide Startup Mobile Framework 349

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

Ask a few CTO type people. Or ask me Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions. If you need more help on really getting inside the mind of programmers, two great resources are Dilbert and Foxtrot (the little kid is a budding rock star developer). They often can help a lot in navigating to expertise and to possible resources.

Guide 296

Guide Startup Mobile Framework 296

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

Before I started my first company in 1999 I worked for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). Soon after he was promoted to Senior Architect, our highest role without being CTO. Ryan was a very trusted resource so we knew he’d work hard and be responsible in spite of location. This is part of my Startup Advice series.

CTO Hire 322

CTO Hire Startup Resource Entrepreneur 322

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

Gregg was a graduate of Stanford and a Wharton MBA and had worked at the consulting firm BCG so I knew he was smart and capable. The rest of our team included the founding CTO of Maker Studios (Ryan Lissack) and the CEO of DataSift (Tim Barker) so we seemed to all be in good company of ex Salesforce execs looking to make a difference.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital CTO Coach Startup 150

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Continuing my series of posts that I’ve been collecting that live at the intersection of Startups and being a Startup CTO : Startup CTO Top 30 Posts for April 16 Great Startup Posts from March here are the top posts from May 2010. This is a great configuration for a starting team. Here’s why. Your Process Doesn’t Work.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 2, 2013

I've had several Startup CTO Consulting sessions recently where it became apparent that the Founder needed help with the business and product as much or more than the technology. I suggested that they should look for someone like me, but on the business end. They will push you to do your homework the first time.

CTO Coach 259

CTO Coach Mentor Startup Technical Advisors 259

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2010

On the SAT/ACT side, in classroom tutoring, we have used our technology to automate the back office. That has really improved our consistency, our delivery, our service offerings, and online resources for our students. It might not be problems in geometry, it might be because students can't add fractions in algebra.

Software Review 178

Software Review Technical Review Education Startup 178

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

Startups that come to me and ask me to sign an NDA in order to get Free Startup CTO Consulting really are missing it. Some resources on this: Intellectual Property is More Than Patents Does My Startup Have Intellectual Property? Since I fall into the expert category, my belief is that you should be pretty open with me.

Startup 211

Startup IP Ideas Patents 211

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

Startups that come to me and ask me to sign an NDA in order to get Free Startup CTO Consulting really are missing it. Some resources on this: Intellectual Property is More Than Patents Does My Startup Have Intellectual Property? Since I fall into the expert category, my belief is that you should be pretty open with me.

Startup 198

Startup IP Ideas Patents 198

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

This is a novel user interaction that embeds casual entertainment directly into the operating system experience, based on some fairly interesting underlying technology. In addition, I do a few consulting projects on the side, in the areas of product strategy, search engine optimization, and intellectual property. Details coming soon!)

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Ways to Make Your MVP More Minimum We spent quite a bit of time talking about a complexity scale and the kinds of resources you can viably use at different levels of complexity. If you do not break it down into small pieces, its hard to make progress with part-time resources, freelancers, etc.

Technical Review 338

Technical Review CTO Hire CTO Coach Software Review 338

SoCal CTO

APRIL 9, 2013

I just got an email asking about exactly this: I''m with a new company that needs some software built, but doesn''t need (or have the resources for) a large staff of software developers. So here are some thoughts on selecting the right firm.

Web Development 204

Web Development Web Develop Development 204

SoCal CTO

MARCH 4, 2010

I’ve worked with 30+ early-stage companies in all sorts of capacities (and spoken to many, many more), so I thought it might be worthwhile trying to classify the various ways that I’ve engaged in different technology roles in startups. Actually, David’s taking even broader roles than I generally do as he’s CEO for at least one startup.

Technical Review 170

Technical Review Technical Advisors CTO Coach Startup 170

SoCal CTO

APRIL 28, 2014

they need a developer more than they need a CTO. What happens when you have a really good developer is that a gap exists where you may not ask the right questions to specify the right system, consider appropriate 3rd party technologies, etc. Many are not interested in 3rd party technologies that can streamline development.

Develop 280

Develop Development CTO Coach CTO Hire 280

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 11, 2009

I'm married to Mike Freehling , M&A and financial management consultant. Besides Tony Karrer for technology, who are some of your go to people in Los Angeles? More general resources are: Tracy Williams at Olmstead Williams for PR. I speak Japanese, Portuguese, Hausa, French, some Spanish. Wow, that's an interesting question!

Marketing 150

Marketing Social Media Blogging Media 150

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 12, 2010

He previously co-founded and served as Chief Technology Officer of IMVU. Leila first developed the idea behind Samasource while working as a management consultant at Katzenbach Partners (now Booz & Co.), BrianSolis.com is ranked among the top of world's leading business and marketing online resources. .

Twiistup 40

Twiistup Riot Games UCLA Media 40

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 1, 2012

Or riding a crazy party bus and sitting next to Aaron Batalion the co-founder & CTO of Living Social. Office Space. I always love visiting companies because you can tell so much about the character of the company by spending time in their offices. Nom nom nom. You get a feel for the company “vibe.” The Subway.

Startup 319

Startup Organization Entrepreneur Blogging 319

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I did a presentation about the use of Social Media to a great group of people who mostly are different kinds of service professionals (attorneys, accountants, consultants, etc.). I'm hoping that others will help point me to other resources around this topic. This is that post. A few things we discussed: Focus.

Social Media 222

Social Media Services Media Blogging 222

SoCal Delicious

MAY 6, 2012

After the acquisition, MyMiniLife became the common technology platform at Zynga and powers 150M monthly users including games like Cityville, Farmville, and Frontierville. He is a founder of Strengths Doctors, a consulting firm which helps leaders design energizing work environments. Emily Scherberth – Founder of Symphony PR.

Los Angeles 78

Los Angeles Entrepreneur Angel Fractional CTO 78

Frank Addante

MAY 15, 2006

. – Premium Online Advertising Company Age: 21 - 25 Time Period: 1997 - 2001 My Role: Chief Technology Officer, Technology Founder and Chairman, Advisory Board High Point: $500 million market cap; 3,000+ customers; 8 billion transactions per month; 65% Internet reach Warning, this will be a long posting.

Advertising 40

Advertising Startup Chief Technology Officer Technical Review 40