Technical Director / CTO of various digital agencies over last 15 years. Previously also helped build startup from scratch to market, and consulted startups on technical strategies.
Upwork (formerly oDesk) is a great place to find "certified" and reviewed remote-working contractors. Results are generally good, as it is backed by a review system.
However, there needs to be a clear scope-of-work and you need a coordinator / project manager for best results.
Let me know if you need hep.
Hi — the lay of the land (as you put it) in China is very different to the rest of the world. For example, many services we are used to (e.g. Google Analytics) don't work (or doesn't work reliably) within China. This is due to the great firewall the government operates to censor internet content. This also means that things like Alexa, SEO, etc. takes a different form.
The best way is to partner with a local Chinese digital agency. There are several boutique agencies who have existing branches in Europe/US for this reason.
Let me know if you want some intros.
Hi — you will need to work out what your potential equity split is for current and future hires/partners/investors are, and then try and work backwards from there. From experience, it is better to have a simple, clear and transparent structure so that everyone involved knows where they stand.
You also need to find out what your Tech Co-Founder is looking for, to keep him/her motivated.
Basically, keep it as simple as possible, and ensure you have sufficient elbow room for whatever comes in the future.
Is your situation already resolved?
Hi — the question needs more context, to see what environment you are trying to have this run on. "Ping" will need some sort of transport network; although it doesn't have to use the Internet or wifi.
Let me know if you want to discuss it further.
Social media is probably the best channel available, with reasonable returns. However, "free" may be a false economy, as it takes a lot of time/effort to do it effectively. Pick 1 or 2 relevant social media platforms (Twitter & Facebook?) and put your effort there.
A lot depends on who your target market is, and what level of reach you need. E.g., if you need to a very specific set of users/customers, then make a list of your targets and try and reach out to the individuals on social media. If you have a wider set of users/customers, reach out to specific hashtags/keywords.
Alternatively, put some money towards Google AdWords, LinkedIn ads or Facebook ads. Go for the "long tail" of keywords, which should be fairly cheap.
Let me know if you need more detail around this.
Hi — there are 2 angles to consider, here.
1. From the customers' point-of-view, it may be confusing to jump from one domain to another. Gives the impression that you have been redirected to another company's website. Better to have one website, with all your services (like many digital agencies do). Especially when the services are all related somewhat.
2. From an SEO point-of-view, the keywords in each of the services you have listed are very competitive. So, it is probably more efficient to put all your SEO efforts on a single combined entity.