I think what your friend's startup really needs is a VP of engineering/ Chief Architect.
Once that is taken care of you can figure out what type of CTO you would like to hire. Based on a paper I read, there are 4 types of CTO's between which to choose from:
1. CTO as “Infrastructure Manager”
2. CTO as “Big Thinker”
3. CTO as “Technology Visionary and Operations Manager”
Have you searched linkedin for current VP's, Dir. & Engineering managers? Or do you know highly technical people in other companies that can introduce you to such people?
Once that is taken care of you can figure out what type of CTO you would like to hire. Based on a paper I read, there are 4 types of CTO's between which to choose from:
1. CTO as “Infrastructure Manager”
2. CTO as “Big Thinker”
3. CTO as “Technology Visionary and Operations Manager”
4. CTO as “External-facing Technologist”
Here's a link to that paper: [pdf]
http://www.brixtonspa.com/Career/The_Role_of_the_CTO_4Models...
Have you searched linkedin for current VP's, Dir. & Engineering managers? Or do you know highly technical people in other companies that can introduce you to such people?