Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Should you start a company solo or find co-founders to help you? The downside is loss of control and financial dilution.

Founder 325

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 13, 2018

I had joined MIPS Computers, my second semiconductor company , as the VP of marketing and also took on the role of the acting VP of Sales. I worked with engineering to try to find product/market fit ( big endian or little endian ?) Think hard about whether titles need to be formal (VP of Engineering, VP of Marketing, VP of Sales, etc.)

Part-Time VPE 335

Part-Time VPE Employee Cofounder Hiring 335

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

. “We’re all equal co-founders and we don’t care about titles.&# Still, I’ll bet that functionally you divide areas of competence like sales & marketing, product, engineering, biz dev, etc. Dilute your cash, equity or both. and my favorite]. What will it do?

Operations 292

Operations CTO Hire Startup Early Stage 292

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. By tying payments to actual revenues, founders and investors remain aligned around the company’s real-time performance, good or bad.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

RBI normally requires founders to pay back their investors with a fixed percentage of revenue until they have finished providing the investor with a fixed return on capital, which they agree upon in advance. For background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A New Option for Founders who Care About Control. Alternative Capital. “

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 3, 2010

years ago and told me, “I just got offered the chance to buy this company because the founder doesn’t want to continue. How much dilution should I take for it?&# My friend’s company was pre-revenue. Me: “Zero dilution. Sometimes this involves co-CEO’s. Please don’t relearn my lesson.

Merger 276

Merger Technical Review Early Stage Dilution 276

YoungUpstarts

MAY 6, 2019

They make money by starting a product from scratch and then selling it in thousands of dollars. In most cases, they hit the jackpot when their products are sold for millions. You don’t have a product and most of your meetings will not bring any fruit. You are looking for cofounders that can help you build a product.

Startup 113

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 113

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 16, 2016

By Bryan Miles, CEO and co-founder, Miles Advisory Group, Inc. Though business evolution first starts with risk in that direction, we don’t necessarily have to put ourselves, our people, our services or our products in the path of so much of the potential collateral endangerment that can accompany growth.

Cofounder 100

Cofounder Balance Sheet Small Business Administration Technical Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2019

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Should you start a company solo or find co-founders to help you? The downside is loss of control and financial dilution.

Hockey Stick 243

Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event Startup 243

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

What is it, and how should founders think about it? note: We’d like to be extra clear that founders should not take on venture debt if they don’t have 100% visibility into repaying the loan, as banks that need to recoup their loan my force the company or you as the guarantor into liquidation or bankruptcy.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

L to R: Tiara Zolniez (Co-Founder & Sales), Dr. Roshawnna Novellus (Co-Founder & CEO), Alisha Griffey (COO) The Forrest Four-Cast: February 4, 2019 Fifty diverse startups will aim to impress a panel of judges and a live audience with their skills, creativity and innovation at SXSW Pitch Presented by Cyndx.

Startup 50

Startup Cofounder Technical Review Equity 50

JANUARY 9, 2014

No clear vision or purpose This should be the starting point for any startup founder, but it’s often overlooked. Having a clear focus means it’s easier to communicate what your product is and who it’s for. One thing we make a point of doing with each product we work on at Spook Studio is to make a list of things we won’t do.

Early Stage 102

Early Stage Startup Cofounder Design 102

The Next Web

OCTOBER 10, 2013

Two more entrepreneurial ventures later, Gleb cofounded online backup provider Backblaze to help consumers affordably, automatically, and safely back up their data. What are the pros and cons of starting a business alone versus with cofounders? How many founders are too many? One” – You have to have a cofounder.

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Cofounder Technical Cofounder Kenya Dilution 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

In reality, too many choices actually dilutes customer interest in your existing market, and makes your job of production, marketing, and support much more complex. Your focus for momentum could be sales, profitability, or number of customers, but trying to keep all possible parameters growing is simply not practical.

Technical Review 400

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Advisory Board Cofounder 400

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2014

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup Founders dilemmas in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Should you start a company solo or find co-Founders to help you? The downside is loss of control and financial dilution.

Hockey Stick 268

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 268

ReadWriteStart

JULY 18, 2011

Clavier began his presentation at the beginning of a company's lifecycle, asking how many co-founders a startup ought to have. If you like this kind of advice, check out my coverage of a talk by Paul Palmieri, Co-Founder and CEO of mobile advertising service Millennial Media, titled " Investing in Your Influencers. ".

Investment Bankers 153

Investment Bankers Technical Review Cofounder Due Diligence 153

www.avc.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

To be clear, these are hires we are talking about, not co-founders. Co-founders are an entirely different discussion and I am not talking about them in this post. The other important data point is the number of fully diluted shares. Let's say your VP Product is making $175k per year.

Equity 64

Equity Employee CTO Hire Fractional CTO 64

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2017

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders dilemmas in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Should you start a company solo or find co-founders to help you? The downside is loss of control and financial dilution.

Hockey Stick 144

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2013

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup Founders dilemmas in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Should you start a company solo or find co-Founders to help you? The downside is loss of control and financial dilution.

Founder 245

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 245

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 4, 2023

Joe Flanagan, Founder, 90s Fashion World No, Too Many Lenders While the idea of sourcing capital from multiple smaller sources is an enticing one, the reality is far less pleasant. A campaign should only be used if your product has a “viral” quality to it. The crowdfunding act itself becomes a marketing strategy.

Startup 141

Startup Campaign Cofounder Venture Capital 141

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 1, 2009

I was reading one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs, VentureHacks, this weekend and noticed that they are running a long piece on how to pick a co-founder. Once it’s set up I recommend bringing in a co-founder and giving them 10-30% of the company depending upon when you bring them in. You’ll be fine.

Hiring 289

Hiring Cofounder Dilution Startup 289

Hippoland

APRIL 10, 2016

Dear elizy : I started a company in school with two co-founders. You have to productize the research, build partnerships, sell to customers, etc – presumably none of which you have done pre-incorporation. If you treat Ada as a former co-founder / active advisor, you’re really looking at say the 2-15% range.

Cofounder 48

Cofounder Cap Table Equity Vesting 48

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 15, 2016

Ted Rheingold: In 2003 I owned and ran a web service business called OneMatchFire , and made a number of image sharing products for customers (or as side projects). By the end of 2004 I had brought on two co-founders: John Vars – who is now the Chief Product Office at TaskRabbit, and Steven Reading took over Sales and Revenue.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Startup Cofounder SMS 48

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

Because at least while the VC spigot is open and flowing for high-potential individuals that fit a pattern that some VCs seem to favor they can access cheap capital that isn’t terribly dilutive and can use the to fund development and swing for the fences with limited focus on monetization. And the dilution that goes with it.

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Burn Rate Dilution Revenue Valuation 412

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2010

The newly formed teams then work for the entire weekend, with the help of some experienced mentors from the industry, who volunteer their time to share advice on product, technology, legal, PR and other issues. Very cool concept and I want to thank the founder Adil Mohammed for inviting me to take part in it. Know your competition.

Elevator Pitch 102

Elevator Pitch Incubator Technical Review Startup 102

View from Seed

APRIL 16, 2015

Often, when I speak to very early-stage founders, the conversation around value focuses on achievements. These might include: Bring on a technical co-founder. Get a working version of the product. This is especially true for less experienced founders. can be done with an incomplete product.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Cofounder Early Stage Startup 120

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Sales & Marketing | Wednesdays. SALES & MARKETING. Back in 1997, Randy Parker was staring at a blank whiteboard, wondering where hed find the money to hire the employees and consultants he needed to build his new product. "We Chip Morse , cofounder and partner with Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton P.C., Finance | Tuesdays.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Austin Startup

JANUARY 11, 2020

Capital Factory’s Saturday Startup Spotlight series, where we chat with an exciting new startup and get to know their story, returns this week with the co-founder and CEO of TaxTaker : Ari Palmer. It’s now the #1 non-dilutive source of capital for businesses to continue to grow and scale, but it’s highly overlooked.

CPA 62

CPA Startup Non-Compete Cofounder 62

David Teten

JANUARY 21, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. This essay is part of a series on alternative VC: I: Revenue-Based Investing: a new option for founders who care about control. III: Why are Revenue-Based VCs investing in so many women and underrepresented founders?

Equity 78

Equity Revenue Cofounder Colorado 78

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

This is a guest post from Stephano Kim , former co-founder of Web 1.0 Many startup CEOs hire COOs or launch companies with a co-founder carrying the title. When should founders hire one? The needs of each founder are so different from the next, and the challenges his/her business faces are even more diverse.

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Hiring Cofounder Startup Technical Cofounder 336

Rob Go

JUNE 10, 2013

Write code, talk to users, and build the company (hire the best people you can find, get the culture right, fundraise, close sales, etc.) Most other things that founders do are a waste of time. Obsess about the quality of the product. For some reason most founders are really bad at this one. Transparency is your friend.

Startup 49

Startup Technical Cofounder Hiring Cofounder 49

blog.nahurst.com

JULY 19, 2010

The graphic below balances the risks cofounders take with their relative contributions to help answer this question. This covers one of the most common situations I encounter: For a pre-funding web startup whose team includes only a non-technical cofounder, how much equity should an incoming technical cofounder get?

Technical Cofounder 43

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Equity Salary 43

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 14, 2012

She sold $300k of product in the last 30 days, primarily through Zulily. Kevin’s offer seems to be pretty attractive given that there is no equity dilution. The other tradeoff is that Kevin’s deal comes with a contraint on what products the company can sell, only pillow case dresses and hair bows. Kevin offered $50k.

Equity 164

Equity Dilution Redemption Distribution 164

Duct Tape Marketing

MAY 23, 2024

Earn More in Your Retail Business with Re-Commerce written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Patton Gleason, the founder and CEO of Relay Goods. He's the founder of Relay Goods and serves as CEO.

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Revenue Distribution Cofounder Email 63

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

And once you have a relationship with an author, musician, or journalist, it will be quite easy for them to offer new products and services – and for you to give them feedback that helps them shape ever more interesting (and ever more profitable) offerings. There are too many products clamoring for attention. Is that a lot?

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution 113

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

Before StartEngine, Howard co-founded Activision and founded Acclaim Games. . Weaknesses inside the founder team kill startups. The truth is, sometimes you need to replace your co-founders and start over. You’re basically tinkering with everything at this stage – product, marketing, sales, partnerships, etc.

Metrics 136

Metrics Cofounder Cram Down Liquidity Event 136

Startup Company Lawyer

MAY 4, 2009

Adeo Ressi , the founding member of TheFunded , recently announced the establishment of TheFunded Founder Institute. The Founder Institute helps founders launch innovative companies by providing training, services, and company-building assignments, such as incorporating the business, filing provision patents, and setting up books and records.

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Founder Warrant San Francisco Intellectual Property 28