SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2007

My role is to work as part of the team to (1) understand related technologies and technical opportunities, (2) understand and help drive alignment around a vision of where the business should go, and (3) mesh those together to help make disciplined, proactive technical decisions. Then, we come to an agreement on terms.

CTO Hire 231

CTO Hire Startup Technical Advisors Technical Review 231

socalTECH

APRIL 16, 2013

The Tech Coast Angels , Southern California''s largest angel investment group, is ranked number two in the nation this year in terms of the number of deals the group did, according to the latest 2012 Halo Report. cbinsights ranking report capital venture investment angel angels coast tech' READ MORE>>.

Tech Coast Angels 213

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Report 213

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2023

Leading edge technology software and manufacturing require constant course corrections and iterative restarts. In any case, before you select a specific outsourcing or contract alternative, there is no substitute for doing thorough due diligence. Don’t count on contracts and non-disclosure agreements to save you.

Software Review 114

Software Review Technical Review Outsource Development Outsource 114

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. It depends on the business, people, technologies, etc. Each situation is just a bit different.

Technical Review 170

Technical Review Technical Advisors CTO Coach Startup 170

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

It is often the fortuitous mixture of new technologies, customer awareness and then acceptance of the technology and then the slow adoption into our daily lives that leads to markets exploding. Facebook, Google) to a large market opportunity then you had better have enough resources to compete. And let’s be clear.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

socalTECH

JUNE 18, 2014

Thousand Oaks-based Teledyne Technologies said Tuesday that it has named Anna Segobia Masters as its new Vice President of Human Resources, and Deputy General Counsel. Masters replaces current VP Administration and Human Resources Robyn E. McGowan, who is stepping down due to health reasons. READ MORE>>.

Technical Review 138

Technical Review Thousand Oaks Technology Resource 138

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. What are the biggest areas of technical risk? What technology research is required? What technologies will we use? What specific technical innovations might make sense?

Fractional CTO 225

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach 225

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Periodically we do portfolio reviews to evaluate whether we have enough diversified risk across the fund. One such theme was “water conservation” and we morphed it into a broader theme of agriculture technology or “ag tech” for short. We look at stage, geography and of course sector. 6SensorLabs.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

SoCal CTO

APRIL 27, 2011

I'd suggest: Startup CTO or Developer , Startup Founder Developer Gap , Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO. Interviewing them is also tough, especially if you are not yourself technical. Get a Technology Advisor that can help. This happens A LOT among technical people. This is a must.

CTO Hire 282

CTO Hire CTO Coach Technical Review Startup 282

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2013

It got me thinking about the tech industry. It’s taking company resources – usually funded by angels or VCs – for personal gain. Because often these Conference Hos bring back their latest idea from the hot tub cocktail session with their favorite tech superstar. They want to be ballers. ” We laughed.

Conference 398

Conference Technical Review Truecar Software Review 398

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

The “span of control” for a growing tech startup is probably 6-9 people. You help them prioritize their objectives and review the results. If you hire truly talented people you end up definitionally with a lot of competitive peers who will inevitably jockey for resources and control. You set direction.

Entrepreneur 385

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Startup Sales 385

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 3, 2023

Screenshots posted by the cybercriminals suggest the data includes the personal details of people who sought housing assistance from the city, as well as data from the city agency’s payroll, human resources, and accountancy files. “We remain committed to providing quality work as we continue to resolve this issue.”

Los Angeles 282

Los Angeles Angel Technical Review Social Media 282

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Because of the rapid pace with which Venture Capitalists review investment opportunities, they must employ pattern matching techniques which include identifying common fundraising deal breakers. A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Such deal breakers come in a variety of colors and styles.

Technical Review 264

Technical Review Entrepreneur IP RSS 264

TechCrunch LA

MAY 20, 2021

Construction tech startups are poised to shake up a $1.3-trillion-dollar As more people spent time at home last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the startup saw its contract revenue spike by 5x, Wu says. Eano also works on projects like building ADUs (accessory dwelling units). trillion-dollar industry.

Technical Review 185

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Software Review 185

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 27, 2012

David encourages entrepreneurs to stay away from the big tech firms (such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple) because they are hard to compete with. I believe entrepreneurs should, in David’s words, “build big businesses on the outskirts” but I don’t believe that Silicon Valley tech giants will outmaneuver startups.

Technical Review 299

Technical Review Venture Capital Yammer Google 299

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2021

Some pundits argue that the E-Myth principle is now outdated, due to the instant access to information via the Internet, pervasive networking via social media, and courses on entrepreneurship at all levels of education. The Technician’s Perspective envisions the business in parts, constructed from the bottom up, based on technical tasks.

Technical Review 136

Technical Review Startup Social Media Satisfaction 136

SoCal Tech Calendar

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

Tuesday, October 2, 2012 -- Clean Technology Council Workshop. Can new water recycling technology prevent a water crisis?Carlos Reyes, PE, Director of Resource Conservation, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District reviews new technology that can create a reliable water supply to arid regions.

Technology Council 113

Technology Council Technical Review Technology Resource 113

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. What's you believe is your biggest technology risk, if any?

CTO Hire 264

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 264

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. What's you believe is your biggest technology risk, if any?

CTO Hire 259

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 259

SoCal CTO

APRIL 27, 2011

I'd suggest: Startup CTO or Developer , Startup Founder Developer Gap , Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO. Interviewing them is also tough, especially if you are not yourself technical. Get a Technology Advisor that can help. This happens A LOT among technical people. This is a must.

CTO Hire 225

CTO Hire CTO Coach Technical Review Startup 225

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

Industry reviews. Smart founders use this extra resource to their advantage. So the “VC associate” is largely a launching pad job for exceedingly bright and hard-working young tech professionals. Deal screening. Deal support / analysis / quant / legal for deals a partner is seriously considering. VC firm admin.

Help 365

Help Invest Venture Capital Technical Review 365

socalTECH

DECEMBER 3, 2012

NEOGOV , which has quietly built an enterprise software company supplying human resources software to the government and public sector. Damir Davidovic: NEOGOV is a cloud-based, human resources suite. Once those states were signed up, and did lots of due diligence, it went easier. What is Neogov?

Software Review 243

Software Review SaaS Startup Technical Review 243

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

According to a recent Forbes article , UC Santa Barbara''s Technology Management Program offers students a superior startup education over the University of Pennsylvania (home of Wharton), as well Harvard, Northwestern and even its acclaimed southern neighbor, the University of Southern California. Want to be an entrepreneur? Techpreneurs.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2016

Some analysis and due diligence along the following lines should be performed on every idea, as a reality check, before committing your efforts and other people’s money to building a business: Look for places where competitors are few. Choose projects with financial resources within your reach.

Technical Review 58

Technical Review Ideas Patents Startup 58

TechEmpower

MARCH 4, 2024

Focusing on generative AI applications in a select few corporate functions can contribute to a significant portion of the technology's overall impact. This shift allows business to reallocate human resources to more complex and strategic roles, or eliminate those positions entirely.

Generative AI 297

Generative AI TechEmpower CTO Hire Outsource Development 297

TechEmpower

JULY 31, 2023

Proving your Business Model Works - Build, Define, and Review But how do you prove your numbers? Finally, review the numbers with your partners. If you know of more resources on this topic, or want to talk about anything startup or tech related, we’d love to hear from you. Don’t worry about scaling just yet.

Metrics 260

Metrics Startup Slides Technical Review 260

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 17, 2012

Dynamic, growing startups consistently identify more ideas and opportunities than they have the time or resources to pursue, including: entering into potential partnerships, developing new products and accessing emerging markets. Resources : 2 - relatively small. This article previously appeared in Forbes.

Tool 255

Tool Startup Ideas Resource 255

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 28, 2019

Tech Coast Angels. This year will also include a segment focused on the TCA due diligence and funding process and TCA's new $2M+ Annual Fund. This workshop is designed to prepare new investors with background information, strategies, tools, and resources to succeed in angel investing. How do we know? See [link] (more)

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Invest Angel Tech Coast Angels 100

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 19, 2013

And of course the most successful technology companies: Google, Facebook, Salesforce.com [duh], Oracle, Microsoft all have loads of sales people. As in, “Well, as a tech firm we put tons of effort into APIs so that you can do your own integrations. But they’re technology people not sales people!

Startup 403

Startup Sales Software Review Technical Review 403

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2023

In my own experience with technical startup founders, I still find it hard to name one who was also good, or even interested in financials or business operations. A mistake often made by new business owners due to the unfamiliar new workload is to ignore and lose existing relationships with outside advisors as well as team members.

Technical Review 149

Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur Software Review 149

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

Put simply – you need enough users in a segment who care about what you’re doing to dictate investing further in the product or in sales & marketing resources. And finally there is the most modern spin on these concepts by two individuals who have built tech startups and have done an excellent job at describing the process.

Startup 401

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 401

socalTECH

MAY 3, 2012

Forbes Magazine has just published its annual Midas List , its annual ranking of the top 100 venture capitalists, and -- despite a record number of IPOs and exits last year from southern California technology companies -- Southern California's venture capital community was shut out of the list entirely.

Southern California 157

Southern California Cornerstone OnDemand SoCal Monrovia 157

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

Unfortunately, with limited resources, this isn’t possible, and it frustrates customers and the team. New entrepreneurs, especially technical ones, are excited by early adopters, and tend to focus on their feedback, which will always suggest more product features and options. Focus first on finding more of the right customers.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

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. This world of local meets retail meets digital advertising portends to technology disruption and with it VC opportunities.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 347

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2014

You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. Marketing is everything these days. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Tips Marketing Entrepreneur 103

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

I think as a tech industry we have bred a culture that places more emphasis on product excellence than managing human behavior. Yet talk with people at Twitter these days and many seem to feel like they are part of a movement – and that doesn’t just come due to product success. Those are the easy cases.

Startup 340

Startup Technical Review Course Press 340

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. You need to have passionate tech entrepreneurs who want to build businesses locally. The ingredients are all here.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317