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 Assessing Tech Stacks and Development Strategies
34:13 The Role of Tech Debt in Startups
36:48 Exciting Trends in the Startup Ecosystem
40:03 Advice for Aspiring Investors and Founders
42:07 Connecting with Igor
Connect with Igor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fastcto
Instagram: @lookattheigor and @fastcto
Website: https://www.fastcto.com/
Connect with Andrew
Newsletter: https://thediligentobserver.substack.com
Website: https://pitchfact.com/
Stuff We Reference
Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com
Deloitte: https://www.deloitte.com
Accenture: https://www.accenture.com
McKinsey & Co: https://www.mckinsey.com
Sam Altman: https://blog.samaltman.com
OpenAI: https://openai.com
Toptal: https://www.toptal.com
Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC): https://cic.com
Venture Cafe Cambridge: https://venturecafecambridge.org
Adam Neumann: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/wework-adam-neumann.html
BCG: https://www.bcg.com
Slack: https://slack.com
TechStars: https://www.techstars.com
Massachusetts General Hospital: https://www.massgeneral.org
Marc Cuban: https://markcubancompanies.com
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com
Java: https://www.java.com
Beacon Angels: https://beaconangels.com
Launchpad Ventures: https://www.linkedin.com/company/launchpadventures
Walnut Ventures: https://www.walnutventures.com
TBD Angels: https://tbdangels.com
TiE Angels: https://www.tieangels.com
Lincoln Logs: https://lincoln-logs.com
Claude: https://claude.ai
ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com
Cursor AI: https://www.cursor.com
Apple: https://www.apple.com
Google: https://www.google.com
Erecruit Sale to Bullhorn: https://erecruit.com/bullhorn-acquires-erecruit-to-help-staffing-businesses-accelerate-their-digital-transformation-journey
HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com
All opinions expressed are personal and may not reflect the views of the individual’s organization or of The Diligent Observer. Not investment advice.
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