Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Why do these founders get to stay around? Because the balance of power has dramatically shifted from investors to founders. — Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm. .

Founder 281

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 281

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

George Deeb is the Managing Partner at Chicago-based Red Rocket Ventures , a startup consulting and financial advisory firm based in Chicago. There are a lot of variables to go into calculating a fair equity split a startup team. So, a fair split, would be closer to 60/40 in favor of the funding founder, when diluted for the cash.

Cofounder 136

Cofounder Equity Founder Seed Stage 136

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2016

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. Giving a co-founder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so I see no equity value in the idea alone.

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

The Startup Magazine

MAY 13, 2022

Equity distribution among co-founders may be a complex procedure while starting any business. How you split founder startup equity can be even harder for a tech startup due to different roles and contributions from the founders. What is the equity structure of a startup?

Equity 142

Equity Founder Vesting Cofounder 142

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2010

Take Jerry Yang, the co-founder of Yahoo! There’s no place for that in a startup. And in public companies we used to mockingly rename their titles to CVO … Chief Vesting Officer. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice. I never worked at Yahoo! and I only met Jerry once.

Entrepreneur 330

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley United States Technical Review 330

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I’m inspired by the enthusiasm of the young, emerging startup ecosystem that is here. And I think about the “Seattle issue&# as a metaphor for startups and business in general. I was meeting with a first-time CEO of a very promising young startup recently and offering my advice on what his priorities should be.

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Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

NZ Entrepreneur

MAY 27, 2019

Wondering how to find the right cofounder but don’t know where to start? If you are a solo founder, you may be able to do it all on your own initially but you’re making it very difficult for yourself. In my opinion, founders or early stage companies should only have a team of two or three people. This will never work.

Technical Cofounder 65

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Technical Review Software Review 65

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2011

I covered what I call “the co-founder mythology.&# Either you’re not technical and you think you need a technical co-founder or vice-versa. It is increasingly popular to have “founder dating&# or “startup weekend hackathons&# of some variety or the other. Hire your co-founder.

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Cofounder Founder Vesting Founder Vesting 393

SoCal CTO

MAY 4, 2010

Some great posts from April 2010 that talk to me in terms of being a CTO at a Startup. Ben Casnocha: The Blog , April 15, 2010 Everyone I spoke with loved the idea. Let me know.

CTO Hire 150

CTO Hire Vesting Venture Capital Startup 150

Scott Edward Walker

FEBRUARY 1, 2014

My law firm recently entered into a new partnership with This Week in Startups and sponsored their live fireside chat last month in San Francisco with authors Nick Bilton and Brad Stone. Prior to the event, I conducted a legal workshop entitled “The 5 Biggest Legal Mistakes That Startups Make,” which I have uploaded below.

Software Review 111

Software Review Delaware Accredited Investor Due Diligence 111

Scott Edward Walker

FEBRUARY 1, 2014

My law firm recently entered into a new partnership with This Week in Startups and sponsored their live fireside chat last month in San Francisco with authors Nick Bilton and Brad Stone. Prior to the event, I conducted a legal workshop entitled “The 5 Biggest Legal Mistakes That Startups Make,” which I have uploaded below.

Software Review 111

Software Review Delaware Accredited Investor Due Diligence 111

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 4, 2013

I’ve been a big supporter of Startup Weekend , locally and nationally, since the very beginning and I’m continuing to do so by both sponsoring and mentoring in the NEXT Boulder program. Below are the words of Ken Hoff, an up-and-coming leader in the Boulder startup community. for more questions.

Startup 130

Startup Vesting Cofounder Lean 130

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Question My co-founders and I are working on a cool new site, and we’ll be ready to launch in a few weeks. Vesting Restrictions. The first deadly mistake relates to vesting restrictions. Otherwise, if one of the founders quits after a few months, he would take all of his shares with him.

Vesting 89

Vesting Software Review IP Intellectual Property 89

The Startup Toolkit

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

false As a cheatsheet, the “normal” equity structure is: Founder terms: 4 year vesting, 1 year cliff, for everyone, including you. 2.0% ) : 4 year vesting, optional cliff, full acceleration on exit. When it comes to equity terms, there are only 3 things to understand: vesting, cliffs, and acceleration. Advisor terms ( 0.5–2.0%

Vesting 56

Vesting Equity Cofounder Technical Review 56

View from Seed

JANUARY 5, 2016

I realize sports analogies for startups can feel trite, but as you think about the different phases of team-building in a startup, this one is actually pretty spot on. At the beginning, a startup team is typically just a couple of co-founders. Basketball or football? Below, I take a look at each.

Founder 120

Founder Cofounder Startup Early Stage 120

Agile VC

DECEMBER 4, 2014

I like to say that “there are only co-founders” — it’s extraordinarily rare for a successful business to have just a sole founder. But not all co-founders are equal in terms of title, ownership, responsibilities, and so forth. Sometimes co-founders put off the equity split question for some time.

Cofounder 255

Cofounder Equity Founder Sweat Equity 255

thinkspace.com

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

How to Divide Equity to Startup Founders, Advisors, and Employees. The part that I’d like to zero in on is when you’ve got a high growth company what are some of the best practices out there to distribute equity to the founders, advisors, and employees? Equity for Founders. Marketing Intern. Office Space.

Equity 62

Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Should you co-found your company with a software development shop? I’ve talked with a number of software development shops who are eager to get into the business of cofounding companies, i.e., getting product revenue and equity instead of just consulting revenue. What are the terms of their relationship with the founder?

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

Mike Arsenault and his two co-founders—all with technical backgrounds—built their MVP while working full time for other SaaS companies. “We We also got lucky and qualified for some startup benefits with companies like Rackspace, who covered our infrastructure costs for the first year,” continues Arsenault. “We

Sweat Equity 78

Sweat Equity Software Review Vesting Cofounder 78

The Next Web

AUGUST 26, 2013

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Christian Reber, CEO and co-founder of Berlin-based 6Wunderkinder. Today, in steps 10-12 I want to discuss with you raising your first round of money, hiring to develop and maintain your company culture, as well as defining your role in the management of your startup.

Management 120

Management Cofounder Startup Bootstrapping 120

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

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 3, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, March 3, 2009 Employees should be masters of their own time Every startup should have a culture of learning. Without entering into that theoretical domain, in this post Id like to try and offer a specific and concrete suggestion for how to build a culture of learning into a startup.

Employee 146

Employee San Francisco Lean Software Review 146

Ben's Blog

APRIL 28, 2010

The conventional wisdom says a startup CEO should make way for a professional CEO once the company has achieved product-market fit. In this post, I describe why we prefer to fund companies whose founder will run the company as its CEO. VMware—Diane Greene. (*) While not technically cofounders, Andy Grove and Thomas Watson, Sr.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 78

Steve Blank

MAY 19, 2015

Startups focus on speed since they are burning cash every day as they search for product/market fit. While technical debt is an understood problem, it turns out startups also accrue another kind of debt – one that can kill the company even quicker – organizational debt. And let me tell you about the vision and strategy again.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2021

Every entrepreneur needs to understand the following basics, to be addressed at company formation, as they engage a qualified attorney to draw up the paperwork: Allocate founder’s stock commensurate with commitment. This is the purpose of a vesting schedule, which issues allocated stock over time.

Vesting 298

Vesting Dilution Stock Founder Vesting 298

Agile VC

DECEMBER 4, 2014

I like to say that “there are only co-founders” — it’s extraordinarily rare for a successful business to have just a sole founder. But not all co-founders are equal in terms of title, ownership, responsibilities, and so forth. Sometimes co-founders put off the equity split question for some time.

Cofounder 173

Cofounder Equity Founder Sweat Equity 173

www.metamorphblog.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Home About Contact Home About Contact The Metamorphosis Becoming an Entrepreneur, by Matt Mireles Startup Lessons for the Proto-Founder I started SpeakerText in October 2008 during the financial apocalypse. You need a Co-Founder, not an Engineering Bitch. You’ll be the only startup there. Vest, young man.

Founder 51

Founder Startup Cofounder Vesting 51

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2021

Although every startup is unique, there are certain common avoidable mistakes that can lead to legal complications which jeopardize the long-term success of the business. Here are five of the most common examples: Failure to document a Founder agreement at the beginning. Trouble with the IRS over Founders stock value.

Cost 363

Cost Non-Compete Accredited Investor Cofounder 363

View from Seed

DECEMBER 4, 2014

Editor’s note: Understanding how to divide founder equity at a startup can be tricky, even to the point of reaching emotional riffs between founders. I like to say that “there are only co-founders” — it’s extraordinarily rare for a successful business to have just a sole founder.

Equity 315

Equity Founder Sweat Equity Cofounder 315

The Next Web

JUNE 21, 2015

We have books specifically for people at startups, a few specific to certain job functions, and a bunch that anyone working in the professional world can learn from. But Product Hunt is becoming an integral part of more and more startups’ launch strategies, so it’s obviously time I get familiar with how the site can be used.

PR 60

PR Startup Software Review Technical Review 60

The Next Web

JULY 21, 2013

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Güimar Vaca Sittic , a two time Internet entrepreneur currently working at Quasar Ventures based in Buenos Aires, and a Startup Chile Judge. You have an awesome idea and a great co-founder with whom you want to work. This is why vesting is so important. Investing in vesting.

Vesting 143

Vesting Founder Chile Equity 143

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

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

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Every entrepreneur needs to understand the following basics, to be addressed at company formation, as they engage a qualified attorney to draw up the paperwork: Allocate founder’s stock commensurate with commitment. This is the purpose of a vesting schedule, which issues allocated stock over time.

Stock 240

Stock .Net Vesting Founder Vesting 240

www.startuplessonslearned.com

MAY 4, 2012

Founders Dilemmas: Equity Splits. The following is an excerpt from HBS Professor Noam Wasserman’s new book, The Founders Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup. On average, the founders who keep the most control over their company make the least amount of money. Lessons Learned.

Equity 72

Equity Founder Technical Cofounder Cofounder 72

Altgate

JUNE 25, 2012

Re-posted from post co-authored with Prof. —————– Dead equity — equity held by employees and founders no longer working at the company — is a large and growing problem. Dead equity has always been a significant issue for startups. Noam Wasserman on Inc.

Equity 44

Equity Vesting Cap Table Technical Review 44

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. Startups should be able to dramatically increase the value of their equity over the four years a stock grant vests.

Equity 64

Equity Employee CTO Hire Fractional CTO 64