A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 11, 2014

Listen to this episode if you want to hear about a founder who has a product and users and paying customers … and is trying to figure out how to take his company to the next level and grow faster. How many employees would a medium-sized business have in your definition? You can’t have 5,000 employees. Jason: Yeah.

Technical Cofounder 220

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Review Management 220

The Next Web

AUGUST 12, 2013

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Christian Reber, CEO and co-founder of Berlin-based 6Wunderkinder. Define how you want to motivate your employees every day to produce high-quality and industry-leading results. Many founders don’t deal well with people leaving, but I am probably one of the worst.

Cofounder 119

Cofounder CTO Hire Startup Europe 119

Up and Running

MARCH 7, 2018

In my time, I learned a thing or two about the importance of preventing employee turnover. Aside from the time-consuming tasks of screening potential employees, interviewing, and re-hiring , losing and replacing employees is expensive. On average, it costs nearly three times an employee’s salary to replace them.

Employee 91

Employee Startup Salary Hiring 91

Ben's Blog

APRIL 28, 2010

In this post, I describe why we prefer to fund companies whose founder will run the company as its CEO. As we looked at the history of great technology companies, we discovered that founders ran an overwhelming majority of them for a very long time, including: Acer—Stan Shih. Siebel—Tom Siebel. Sony—Akio Morita. Sun—Scott McNeely.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 78

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 22, 2010

It’s still important advice for startup founders and something that I’m passionate about. They make terrible employees. Why do job hoppers make such bad employees at startups? -. You’re a startup founder. You start fighting with your co-founder whom you thought you understood.

Hiring 392

Hiring Employee Vesting Silicon Valley 392

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 co-founder relationship dilemma.

Founder 325

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

www.quora.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Type to Add and Search Questions; Search Topics and People Startups Startup Compensation Entrepreneurship Compensation Stock Options Major Internet Companies Silicon Valley Why is there such a large founder to early employee equity drop-off? This answer. Please specify the necessary improvements.

Equity 40

Equity Employee Founder Cofounder 40

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

For starters let me use “CEO” as a proxy to include her “inner circle” which might mean co-founders or might just mean senior execs of the business. The Mind of the Founder. The mind of a founder is wired differently than most people. The startup CEO was not the original founder.

Startup 417

Startup Dilution San Diego Stock Options 417

www.joelonsoftware.com

MARCH 24, 2010

Our biannual reviews are done internally by management; they are not intended as a way to give employees grades or gold stars. This amount will be prorated according to salaries and percentage of the year that people worked, so every employee will receive a part of the profits amounting to an equal percentage of their salary.

Software Review 48

Software Review Stock Options Salary Technical Review 48

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 co-Founder relationship dilemma.

Hockey Stick 268

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 268

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 2, 2014

Many startups these days are started by young, technical or product founders who are in the idealistic phase of their lives and careers. It’s why I wrote a post outlining why the job of a CEO is often “chief psychologist” – especially if the company grows beyond 20 employees. Then Evan Williams. Reggie Brown.

Startup 385

Startup Stock Options Cofounder Campaign 385

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 co-Founder relationship dilemma.

Founder 245

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 245

YoungUpstarts

JULY 17, 2020

by Juan Pablo Segura, President and Co-Founder of Babyscripts. Are you paying money for SaaS services that are no longer relevant or can be taken on by employees? Support Your Employees. Often you are asking your employees to do more for less, and it’s imperative that they feel valued and supported.

Startup 287

Startup Wisconsin Stock Options Dividend 287

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 co-founder relationship dilemma.

Hockey Stick 243

Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event Startup 243

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Employee Benefits. 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 a 50-employee provider of e-marketing solutions to small and midsize businesses, based in Needham, Mass. "We Business Taxes.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

venturehacks.com

MARCH 21, 2008

Super advisors The super advisor can get as much stock as a board member: 1%-2% of a company’s post-Series A stock. Or they bring you a handful of great employees. Advisor compensation Whether you’re hiring a normal advisor or super advisor: Advisory shares are usually issued as common stock options.

Advisory Board 44

Advisory Board Cap Table Vesting Equity 44

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Tim O’Reilly, Founder at O’Reilly Media and promoter of open source and Web 2.0 Let’s have a look at what early stage founders can expect in terms of oxygen. For the time being, you’ll spend 40–50% less on renting a home or office and 20–30% less on employee salaries, while not giving up that much in terms of the startup ecosystem.

Early Stage 48

Early Stage Austin Silicon Valley Texas 48

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Before you even get the business off the ground, it’s important to ensure that you and the co-founders (if any) agree on everything. Every startup should have a written founder agreement, which should include the following points: The roles and responsibilities of each member. Stock Option documentation.

LLC 168

LLC Startup Stock Options Cofounder 168

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2015

I often speak about co-founder fighting and how this ends in lawsuits but this has become much more prevalent. I’d encourage you to watch this quick 3-minute video with some views on what I call “ The Co-Founder Mythology ” that is perpetuated in Silicon Valley. Lawsuits are on the rise.

Vesting 150

Vesting Cofounder IP Stock Options 150

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 1, 2023

By Daniel Sokolovksy, Co-Founder and CEO, WARP and Troy Lester, Co-Founder and CRO, WARP The dissolution of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was more than just a bank collapse, it was a reality check for both startups and the VCs that fund them. As a founder, ask yourself – does your business actually warrant VC funding?

Early Stage 146

Early Stage Los Angeles Silicon Valley Cofounder 146

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 co-founder relationship dilemma.

Hockey Stick 144

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 144

Gust

OCTOBER 11, 2012

While you will definitely need to be a corporate entity before you can accept funding from any investor (or issue stock options to any employees), the specific corporate status of the venture at this stage is much less important to investors than its functional status.

Delaware 122

Delaware Stock Options Cofounder Stock 122

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

Do you get along with the employees? What about company stock options? Making those large sums of money only happens if you join the next billion dollar startup (only a handful every few years) or if you are a founder. Some companies grant stock options, while others grant restricted stock units.

Stock Options 141

Stock Options Startup Stock Salary 141

Gust

DECEMBER 8, 2011

Likewise, founders can benefit from understanding basic characteristics of the overall legal structure, formation and governance documents, rights and responsibilities of team members, etc. Determine who will serve on the Board of Directors and in executive officer positions (usually founders). Offer letters for employees.

Intellectual Property 139

Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Delaware Stock 139

infochachkie.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Unlike employee training costs, which can typically be spread over years of service, the relative return from training a consultant is modest and pricey. The final straw came when I asked the latest 25-year old a simple ‘yes / no’ question related to stock options. Interview: Jason Lehmbeck, Co-Founder and CEO of DataPop. |.

Equity 40

Equity Silicon Valley Cofounder PR 40

Scalable Startup

AUGUST 9, 2018

In their quest for sustainable growth, the elusive dream for most first time founders is that first funding. This can either come from the founder(s) own bank account or from outside investors. At this stage you’re essentially selling yourself and your cofounders. One of the easiest mistake to fix is timing.

Technical Cofounder 20

Technical Cofounder Silicon Valley Early Stage Cofounder 20

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 6, 2021

You can search for co-founders who will contribute with capital, or skills, and share profits and equity with them. If your vision is powerful enough, you can make up for this by offering recruits stock options. Many startups recruit employees in this way.

Limited Liability Company 167

Limited Liability Company Silicon Valley Business Model Stock Options 167

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JULY 7, 2016

When investors interrogate founders, these interrogatives arise, but with a twist: Adding the word “why” in front of each. But also you de-risk by aligning the solution to the founder’s existing abilities, for example in using whatever language/framework the founders are already adept in. When → Why now?

San Francisco 170

San Francisco Startup Framework Azure 170

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

This discussion expands on my Quora answer to a specific question: “ Why were the stock options of MySpace employees worthless even though the company was sold to News Corporation for hundreds of millions? ” The complete story includes a startup-within-a-startup, investments and exits by two VC firms, and some genuine corporate drama.

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

ReadWriteStart

JULY 14, 2011

Paul Palmieri, Co-Founder and CEO of mobile advertising service Millennial Media just gave a really valuable talk at the International Startup Festival in Montreal titled "Investing in Your Influencers." These are people with whom you can share some type of value, but not tangible value like stock options or payment.

Advisory Board 135

Advisory Board Balance Sheet Silicon Valley Cofounder 135

Up and Running

JUNE 19, 2015

Here’s our first one with Sabrina Parsons and Alex Blumberg (13 minutes): Listen to Episode 5: Show notes: Alex Blumberg Talks About His Life as Founder of Gimlet Media (feat. with Levi King, Founder and CEO of Creditera) – (12:56). Sabrina Parsons) – (:31). Learn more about Gimlet Media. He knew who I am, right?

Cloud 60

Cloud Silicon Valley Small Business Media 60

Berkonomics

JANUARY 7, 2021

Two: Co-management. So, co-management is the second group to share in the bounty upon a liquidity event. Those who receive options but leave the company before a liquidity event may either purchase those shares represented by the options upon exit from the company, or lose the right to those shares, often 60 days after their exit.

Liquidity Event 96

Liquidity Event Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder Initial Public Offering 96

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 15, 2012

While our startup founders disagreed on many details - particularly the proper role of equity - a common theme did emerge: Developer rock stars know what they’re looking for and what they want - so the onus is on the founder to communicate why his or her tech startup is special: 1. a paycheck plus bonuses or stock options).

Developer 130

Developer Equity Ruby Cofounder 130

Berkonomics

JUNE 12, 2014

So co-management is the second group to share in the bounty upon a liquidity event. Often, if not co-founders, this group is rewarded through issuance of stock options from a pool of available options that usually totals 15-20% of the total company’s equity divided among all employees.

Liquidity Event 85

Liquidity Event Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder Initial Public Offering 85

Growthink Blog

JULY 2, 2010

Which is particularly surprising since Vringo’s CEO and co-founder, Jon Medved, was formerly a venture capitalist himself. It helps with recruiting top management talent, particularly since the value of/likelihood of exercising employee stock options appears greater. So what did Vringo do instead?

Venture Capital 85

Venture Capital Stock Options New York Angel Investor 85

VC Cafe

OCTOBER 26, 2010

This could mean big bucks for Israeli entrepreneurs, as they will be able to sell stock and options to interested investors before exiting the company. Demand permitting, SecondMarket’s platform in Israel will allow these employees to sell shares in a company-controlled environment prior to an IPO or M&A transaction.

Israel 83

Israel Bankruptcy Private Equity Stock 83

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 28, 2022

Also, equity is utilized to incentivize employees to work together toward a similar goal, whether that objective is to become the next unicorn or to be acquired by a major corporation. Therefore, CEOs have strong reasons to issue stock options. Equity for Co-founders. Equity for Employees.

Valuation 108

Valuation Equity Warrant Common Stock 108