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. However, I’ve now begun questioning how and what an early-stage / startup CTO should be.

Fractional CTO 225

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach 225

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

If we’ve seen a company present where we feel that the CEO is shady. A few months ago we saw a CEO present who had personally made hundreds of millions of dollars in a financial services business and had a plan to capitalize on the current market conditions. I also know him to not be a very happy man.

Technical Review 284

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Funding 284

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2012

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 98

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Training 98

TechEmpower

JULY 31, 2023

When talking to startup founders or other innovators, we always ask questions to better understand their business as a core. Proving your Business Model Works - Build, Define, and Review But how do you prove your numbers? Start by building just enough of your product to get early CAC and CLV signals (they won’t be perfect).

Metrics 260

Metrics Startup Slides Technical Review 260

InfoChachkie

APRIL 21, 2011

Part I of this series describes the 360-review that I conducted at a growing, dynamic SaaS business which has recently graduated from the startup stage and entered the early-growth phase. One of the most compelling conclusions I drew from the reviews is that both Founders need delegate more of their day-to-day tasks.

Technical Review 182

Technical Review Software Review Startup Outsource 182

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 21, 2009

On the third Wednesday of every month I co-chair a meeting called the SoCal VCA (venture capital alliance), which represents participants from all of the top venture capital firms in Southern California as well as prominent members of the Tech Coast Angels (TCA). We feature a prominent speaker at every event.

Venture Capital 241

Venture Capital Technical Review Southern California Company 241

socalTECH

MAY 21, 2013

One of the largest concentrations of technical talent in Los Angeles is in Glendale, at YP -- staffed with a surprising number of Los Angeles startup vets. What''s your background and how did you end up at YP? Our whole product and technology team is about 500 people. Talk about the technology behind your operations here?

Technical Review 223

Technical Review Glendale Advertising Google 223

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

The Tech Coast Angels , the largest angel investment group in Southern California, as well as the United States, said today that it has launched a new network which will syndicate deals between the firm and other angels. The groups said the network will reduce the need for due diligence when presenting startups to the respective groups.

Tech Coast Angels 157

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Networking 157

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

Social Networks: Past, Present & Future. I recently spoke at Caltech at the Caltech / MIT Enterprise Forum on “the future of social networking,&# the 30-minute video is here and the PowerPoint presentation is here on DocStoc ). Murdoch seethed at these “startups&# getting rich off the back of MySpace.

Social Network 297

Social Network Networking Web 2.0 Web 297

socalTECH

MAY 21, 2013

One of the largest concentrations of technical talent in Los Angeles is in Glendale, at YP (www.yp.com) -- staffed with a surprising number of Los Angeles startup vets. What''s your background and how did you end up at YP.com? Our whole product and technology team is about 500 people. Louis and Atlanta.

Technical Review 211

Technical Review Glendale Advertising Google 211

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2021

The E-Myth (“Entrepreneurial Myth”) is the mistaken belief that most businesses are started by people with tangible business skills, when in fact most are started by “technicians” who know nothing about running a business. Perhaps an innate business savvy is no longer a requirement for starting a successful business.

Technical Review 136

Technical Review Startup Social Media Satisfaction 136

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2010

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 91

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 91

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2010

Get your product/market fit working before you ramp up your costs (or raise too much money). Let me start by saying two things: Events like this are invaluable to startups because the significant value comes from building the network across portfolio companies and the discussion one can have with your peer group.

Startup 279

Startup Venture Capital Tips Custom Development 279

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2010

On every project in which we worked it was clear that there was corporate knowledge built up around the organization. I started telling them, “I’m a tourist in your company. until the technology matures?&#. Find ways to get friendly people to do peer reviews on parts of your business and offer the same in return.

Help 288

Help Startup Venture Capital Framework 288

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. Innovate In the early years of a startup there is a lot of kinetic energy of enthusiastic innovators looking to launch a product that changes how an industry works.

Startup 287

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 287

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 28, 2013

The Tech Coast Angels , Southern California's most active , organized angel investment group, has a goal: cut down the time it takes to fund a startup presenting to the organization. READ MORE>>.

Tech Coast Angels 168

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Funding 168

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2013

I’ve written a lot about recruiting and hiring at startups including my controversial post on whom not to hire and my rapid response to the flame war. We will have to build (or buy) technology in this area.” She might gladly tell you who gets decisions made, who is a pain in the arse, who is super technical, etc.

Sales 375

Sales Technical Review Organization Case Study 375

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

We thought today for our interview, that we'd get an update on the angel investment environment here in Southern California from Scott Sangster , the incoming President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Tech Coast Angels , the biggest angel investment group in Southern California.

Tech Coast Angels 182

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 182

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

Huge thank you to Steve De Long for the write up. How did you start blogging? “My In 2004 / 2005 I was starting to get intrigued with user-generated content. was starting. The value of Pitch Decks; Brad’s personal preferences on deal presentation; and Brad’s practice of accepting cold approaches via email.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 289

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

This is part of my Startup Advice series. So I was surprised at the sheer volumes of decisions that had to be made when I became a startup CEO. The technology team disagrees on direction and wants resolutions. Somebody asks whether you plan to set up 401k’s and do contribution matching. This was such a guy.

Entrepreneur 415

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 415

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 1, 2013

The final episode of Bravo’s Start-ups: Silicon Valley aired recently, wrapping up an 8-episode run of what could be considered the most bizarre depiction of entrepreneurs and start-ups to date. They sound serious about start-ups, however actions speak louder than words. What was that ?

Startup 90

Startup Technical Review Software Review Outsource Development 90

TechEmpower

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

We’ve heard this from startup founders, product managers, development team leads, CTOs, and others who see their product gaining traction, but simultaneously see performance falling off a cliff. Often this situation is characterized as a “good problem to have” until you’re the technical person who needs to solve the problem—and quickly.

Web 330

Web Technical Advisors Framework Technical Review 330

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

2023 hasn't been an easy year to be a startup. In fact, according to Crunchbase more than 212 startups closed their shutters in the third fiscal quarter alone – the highest number recorded in the firm's history. Yet, while many early-stage startups crumbled under the pressure, diamonds also emerged.

Startup 194

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 194

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

of all statistics are made up. Here’s how I learned my lesson: I started my life as a consultant. Fortunately I was mostly a technology consultant, which meant that I coded computers, designed databases and planned system integration projects. I know it sounds like I’m making this sh*t up but I’m not.

Statistics 415

Statistics Startup Report Research 415

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2013

LaunchpadLA Opens Up Spring Applications. How to find a startup mentor. Southern California's Most Popular Tech Stories. Broadcom Powering New Mac Wireless. In our features section: Interview with Blair Harrison of Frequency. 9 Ways socalTECH Can Help You With Your New Year's Resolutions.

Southern California 168

Southern California Technical Review SoCal San Diego 168

socalTECH

MARCH 24, 2020

Irvine-based technology distributor Ingram Micro says it is looking to help the many U.S. and Canadian small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) it serves, who are facing a cash crunch due to the ongoing COVID-19 disease outbreak. of the total purchase price.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Startup Pricing Technology 124

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2019

During the holiday season, our tradition over the last few years has been to post reflections on the past year and some predictions for 2019 from Southern California's technology industry. My biggest takeaway this year was truly understanding the strength and cohesion of the Los Angeles startup community.

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Software Review Startup Coach 157

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

I always start my answer to this question with, “you’d have to be a pretty big baby to complain about being a VC.&# When I was running startups I felt like a horse with blinders on because I was super focused on the content management market and ignored many other markets. Then I spent many years as a startup CEO.

Venture Capital 312

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur 312

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 25, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series Startup Advice. In these many exchanges similar questions crop up. Either you’re not a good leader and he shouldn’t be investing at all, or he has no clue what it takes to build a startup.&#. They speak up on every topic. I guarantee this is a bad VC.

Venture Capital 297

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur 297

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

Responding to Elizabeth Warren’s call to regulate and break up some of the nation’s largest technology companies, the venture capitalists that invest in technology companies are advising the presidential hopeful to move slowly and not break anything. — Balaji S. Srinivasan (@balajis) March 8, 2019. ”

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

I have been close to the tech & startup sectors for more than 20 years and I can’t think of a period in which I felt more optimistic about the innovation and value creation I see in front of us. The number of startups being created has increased by an order of magnitude. Thank you, Aaron Sorkin! Today’s Normalization.

Venture Capital 348

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 348

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 6, 2013

She started watching dogs in her spare time through DogVacay and was able make ends meet during a tough period. ” I wrote about this movement in the link to the left and also published this widely read presentation on the topic. They can read reviews, see pictures and even talk to the family before confirming. She told me.

Venture Capital 344

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review San Diego 344

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 17, 2011

It’s why I always work hard to find images for my blog posts & why all of my keynote presentations are visual rather than bullet points with words. This applies equally to VCs, startups & big company executives. I want to know how many people, their level of tech sophistication, their age and their interests.

Writing 356

Writing Startup Ideas Summary 356

InfoChachkie

JULY 9, 2013

In addition to being a classic children''s tale of good versus evil, the film also contains some surprising 2013 job hunting tips for joining a startup. Though you seldom encounter orcs or dragons in the startup world, the inevitable perils and risks of a startup are more akin to joining an adVenture than simply accepting a job.

Startup 230

Startup Technical Review Tips RSS 230

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2013

The biggest complaint I hear from investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. If you start by pitching your extended life story, that’s the wrong point.

Angel 102

Angel Funding Slides Technical Review 102

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

I started showing my partners more deals that I found interesting and doing loads of analysis on the future of markets I thought were ripe for disruption. Let’s review all of our existing investments. Come 2009 we felt really bullish about the future for startups because the froth was gone and so, too, were wantrapreneurs.

Marketing 305

Marketing Venture Capital Funding Technical Review 305