As Payoff.com becomes more of a reality they are ever increasing their presence on the interweb. This blog should have some great content about personal finances and the financial health of our country. They are also on Twitter as well.
A good friend is putting together a company for those of us that like to drink and would like to know more about what we are drinking; it’s called Vice Advisor. He’s just getting started and would love your feedback to help shape the future product. Getting feedback from your customers early is something that all start ups should do.
One of our startups Payoff.com has an updated splash page along with a customer survey and links to their Twitter and Facebook accounts. This obviously isn’t a full product launch, but startups have to start somewhere. It’s a good practice to start collecting customer emails and information as early as possible; it will help you guide your product feature prioritization discussions. Take a look at the www.payoff.com site and let me know what you think.
We have an immediate need to develop iPhone and Android mobile applications. We are looking for either an independent contractor or small agency to design, develop and test a couple mobile applications for an exciting southern California startup. The partner must have a proven history of successful mobile product delivery and be able to show existing applications. Please submit your resume and examples to biz@tadlockenterprises.com.
We’re looking for a mid-senior level ASP.NET developer for a full-time role for a client in southern California. This is a brand new, funded start up focused on social gaming, personal finance management and personal improvement. This is a rare opportunity to be a part of a kick ass team from the very beginning. You’ll be working with the latest technology .NET 4.0, ASP.NET MVC, SQL 2008, TFS 2010, jQuery… If you’re up for it, email me your resume at biz@tadlockenterprises.com.
Requirements
The company is located in the Los Angeles / Orange County area. Compensation is competitive and includes salary and early stage equity.
Are you looking to work for an awesome brand new startup in southern California? Are you a kick ass product manager? Contact me at biz@tadlockenterprises.com if you’re interested.
Responsibilities
As Director of Product Development you will serve as the product’s evangelist and thought leader focused on delivering innovative product improvements. Working closely with the CEO and cross-functional teams you will develop and execute the product strategy in accordance with the company’s overall vision and strategy.
Specifically, your role will span these areas:
1. Develop and implement company’s overall product development strategy
2. Create detailed product development roadmap
3. Determine and drive product launch strategy and tactics
4. Establish metrics to measure product’s effectiveness and adjust product strategy, roadmap and development efforts appropriately
5. Conduct extensive market research including competitive intelligence in personal finance, small business finance, banking, risk scoring and analysis, social gaming and motivational incentive programs
6. Produce detailed product documents outlining the product’s functional requirements and features for technology team and user-interface designer
7. Work with technology team to translate product roadmap into release schedules
8. Develop detailed plans for integration with all distribution channel partners including social media outlets
9. Assist in other areas on an as-needed basis (e.g., business development, strategy, marketing)
Requirements
1. Entrepreneurial instincts and a desire to change the world
2. Enthusiastic self-starter, not afraid to manage up
3. Ability to understand the macro-level picture and how that translates into the optimal way to position products in the market
4. 2-5 years of experience in product management in consumer web or game development
5. BA/BS degree from top school – CS/EE/Engineering degree preferred but not required
6. Must be able to graphically create wire-frames and give interface direction to UI team
7. Must have proven experience in contributing to a successful project or product in the past
8. Strong passion for personal finance, entrepreneurship and games
9. Passion for creating fun, compelling and engaging user experiences
10. Passion for writing product specifications, white papers
11. Outstanding written and oral communication skills
12. Strong organizational and analytical skills & attention to detail
13. Previous start-up experience is a strong plus
14. Social networking experience is a strong plus
This position is located in Orange County, California
Competitive salary, stock options & 401k
Responsibilities:
As Director of Product Development you will serve as the product’s evangelist and thought leader focused on delivering innovative product improvements. Working closely with the CEO and cross-functional teams you will develop and execute the product strategy in accordance with the company’s overall vision and strategy.
Specifically, your role will span these areas:
1. Develop and implement company’s overall product development strategy
2. Create detailed product development roadmap
3. Determine and drive product launch strategy and tactics
4. Establish metrics to measure product’s effectiveness and adjust product strategy, roadmap and development efforts appropriately
5. Conduct extensive market research including competitive intelligence in personal finance, small business finance, banking, risk scoring and analysis, social gaming and motivational incentive programs
6. Produce detailed product documents outlining the product’s functional requirements and features for technology team and user-interface designer
7. Work with technology team to translate product roadmap into release schedules
8. Develop detailed plans for integration with all distribution channel partners including social media outlets
9. Assist in other areas on an as-needed basis (e.g., business development, strategy, marketing)
Requirements:
1. Entrepreneurial instincts and a desire to change the world
2. Enthusiastic self-starter, not afraid to manage up
3. Ability to understand the macro-level picture and how that translates into the optimal way to position products in the market
4. 2-5 years of experience in product management in consumer web or game development
5. BA/BS degree from top school – CS/EE/Engineering degree preferred but not required
6. Must be able to graphically create wire-frames and give interface direction to UI team
7. Must have proven experience in contributing to a successful project or product in the past
8. Strong passion for personal finance, entrepreneurship and games
9. Passion for creating fun, compelling and engaging user experiences
10. Passion for writing product specifications, white papers
11. Outstanding written and oral communication skills
12. Strong organizational and analytical skills & attention to detail
13. Previous start-up experience is a strong plus
14. Social networking experience is a strong plus
This position is located in Orange County, California
Competitive salary, stock options & 401k
When the “down-turn” hit, most everyone in the tech community just froze… like a deer in head lights. Some had to move jobs because their companies laid them off or failed completely, but they quickly went to the side of the road and took the 1st safest job they found. Not a bad survival strategy actually. However now that it seems like things are getting better you will start seeing a lot of changes. I expect, and this article below confirms that there will be a mass job shuffle in the coming year as people move out of jobs they really aren’t happy with to jobs that are more interesting; I’ve already seen this start to happen. Salaries on the other hand have not followed suite in their rise… yet. People are 1st going to take jobs that are interesting to them and then they will worry about the 5-10% increase in pay. I expect salaries to rise again in 6 months. Along with all of this the tech job pool is expanding so people that have been on the sidelines are starting to come back in as well. One of my recruiter friends said that for the 1st time this year she actually has to recruit developers because she has more roles than people.
So what does this mean? If you are an employer you better identify your key resource assets, sit them down, talk with them and make sure they are happy with the type of work they are doing. If you’re an employee its time to rethink if you actually are happy at your job, brush up your resume (should be already) and starting sniffing around. Let the games begin!
Studies: It’s the Fall of Our Employees’ Discontent
EDIT: I couldn’t resist…
Finally Malibu is live… Go team! I still think it’s funny they could never come up with a better name.
If you are a founder of a startup or work with startups, especially around the financing aspects then you should checkout the upcoming DEALMAKER event.
Investor Outlook 2010: Startup Funding Forecast from Angels and VCs Strategy Series and Mixer
Thursday, December 10, 2009 | 6:00PM – 9:00PM
11355 W. Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064
A good article on why a start-up should consider using a CTO consultant. I would take this a step further beyond just bringing on a CTO consultant to bringing on a small expert-level engineering team to quickly setup proper processes, practices and tools and even build an initial prototype. It’s much better to start your company off on a good foot then to hack something together and spend the next year dealing with the resultant issues. Then you can have time to properly recruit and bring on your full time resources. Focus on your business 1st!
http://rapidrollout.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/startup-advice-when-to-use-a-consulting-cto/