Episode 14: Don't Throw Away $50K: Lessons from Startup CTO Expert | Igor Belagorudsky

Igor Belagorudsky builds, advises and scales startups. From a germ of an idea through seed, VC rounds, strategic partnerships and anything that comes next. Sometimes, he invests in them too.

He helps entrepreneurs make good decisions about product, team, processes and everything in between.

As a CTO, Igor is a confident full stack enterprise architect in several technology ecosystems. As a leader, he is a champion of smart and transparent teams, open communication across the entire organization, repeatable processes and leadership by example. As a human, he is an ardent believer in equality, equity, fair pay, science and continuous pursuit of knowledge.

During our conversation, he discusses:

* The emotional and financial impact of failed investments on bootstrapped founders

* His mission to redeem the staffing industry from exploitative practices

* The creation of FastCTO to help non-technical founders find reliable talent

* Ethical engagement and collaboration with accelerators like TechStars

* Advising founders on careful validation of ideas and efficient budget use

* The importance of user traction and code quality for investment decisions

* Understanding and managing tech debt for startup sustainability

* The role of AI in helping non-technical founders create MVPs

* His career reflections and notable missed opportunities

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

What We Cover:

* 00:00 Introduction

* 02:17 Challenges in the Staffing Industry

* 04:24 The Impact of Financial Situations on Startups

* 10:54 The Birth of FastCTO

* 21:43 The Importance of Due Diligence in Angel Investing

* 24:15 Understanding Traction and Investment Strategies

* 27:42 Assessi

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