The Next Web

OCTOBER 7, 2013

They were referring to non-founder engineers, most commonly the first hire for technology businesses. From the perspective of my outside friends, why are employees that so clearly impact the growth trajectory of a company look like they’re getting screwed? These common shares are granted to founders from the beginning, not employees.

Engineer 129

Engineer Dilution Option Pool Vesting 129

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2023

One more key employee or one more investor will probably not turn the situation around. Every startup should have at least a couple of outside advisors who are not major investors or family members, anxious to talk to new investors and key new hires. Calculate employee stock option values and vesting times, as well as salary.

Sweat Equity 207

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 207

SoCal CTO

MAY 4, 2010

- A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , April 19, 2010 5 Tips On VC Alignment: Discuss The Exit Before You Enter - OnStartups , April 29, 2010 Founder Agreements – Vesting, Vesting and more Vesting - High Contrast , April 25, 2010 Web Sites and Books for Novice Programmers - Feld Thoughts , April 25, 2010 Adding a Co-Founder In 140 Characters (..)

CTO Hire 150

CTO Hire Vesting Venture Capital Startup 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Your highest priority right now is hiring the 1 or 2 people that are going to join your company and make a difference. A key deal not only helps you raise venture capital but it can help attract employees, garner press attention, help with product focus & importantly drive customer adoption and/or revenue. Seattle has its patrons.

Seattle 317

Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 22, 2010

I never hire job hoppers. They make terrible employees. Why do job hoppers make such bad employees at startups? -. You have tough choices to make about whom you hire on your team. Now is the time that you need “all hands on deck.&# That awesome gal you hired in engineering has job options and she knows it.

Hiring 392

Hiring Employee Vesting Silicon Valley 392

The Next Web

JUNE 15, 2012

From Silicon Valley to Peoria, Illinois, cash-strapped startups look for inventive way to finance their business – often handing out equity to employees, consultants, vendors, and other service providers. However, if you are thinking about compensating non-employees with equity, make sure to consider the following points: 1.

Equity 116

Equity Stock Options Vesting Stock 116

VC Adventure

AUGUST 16, 2020

Despite how much time companies talk about the importance of their employees and, in many cases, how every employee is also an “owner” of their business through their option program, most companies are pretty ad hoc (or down right sloppy) about how they plan for and execute their option program.

Programming 148

Programming Vesting Equity Software Review 148

www.avc.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Employee Equity: How Much? The most common comment in this long and complicated MBA Mondays series on Employee Equity is the question of how much equity should you grant when you make a hire. For your first key hires, three, five, maybe as much as ten, you will probably not be able to use any kind of formula.

Equity 64

Equity Employee CTO Hire Fractional CTO 64

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 Employees. Office Space. Virtual Office. CEO 5 - 10.

Equity 62

Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

Up and Running

JUNE 7, 2021

Today, however, we are witnessing a shift toward a more intrinsic motivation for both companies and their employees. The shift toward business models that embrace social responsibility raises questions about how financially sustainable it is to dedicate resources and employee energy to doing good in the world.

Framework 191

Framework United States Vesting Employee 191

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 11, 2024

Hire Qualified Drivers Just as hiring skilled and productive employees is vital for a startup, bringing on board qualified drivers with clean driving records and appropriate licenses reduces road risks substantially. Create a Driving Policy Each startup should create a meticulous driving policy tailored to its specific needs.

Technical Review 147

Technical Review Houston Dividend Startup 147

Steve Blank

MAY 19, 2015

While he kept bringing the conversation back to their big valuation I tried to steer the conversation back to how they were going to deal with: training the influx of new hires – in both culture and job specific tasks. retaining their existing hires who were working for intern-like salaries with little equity. the company had.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

ReadWriteStart

MAY 3, 2012

With a four-year vesting schedule and a six-month “cliff” or trial period, you can get others to join in on the fun of startup, and make progress without expending cash. Outsource: Don’t hire people, use independent consultants who come highly recommended from your peers when you need to bring in expertise. Bootstrap 1. Bootstrap 5.

Bootstrapping 137

Bootstrapping Software Review Startup Equity 137

Up and Running

DECEMBER 1, 2015

If you’re thinking about extending equity to an employee or a vendor (as in the example above), you should know that the topic is multi-faceted. If however you are giving a “normal employee” an incentive stock option plan (more on that later), that’s entirely different. Finding great employees first. What is equity compensation?

Equity 60

Equity Employee Stock Options Vesting 60

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2015

One more key employee or one more investor will probably not turn the situation around. Every startup should have at least a couple of outside advisors who are not major investors or family members, anxious to talk to new investors and key new hires. Calculate employee stock option values and vesting times, as well as salary.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 120

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

(And please don’t tell us to hire a lawyer.) Vesting Restrictions. The first deadly mistake relates to vesting restrictions. and the employee handbook to determine if there are any provisions that may give the prior employer rights to your startup’s IP. IP Ownership.

Vesting 89

Vesting Software Review IP Intellectual Property 89

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

Of course your friend’s company raised $50 million and offers it’s employees free kombucha and desk massages. And even this can’t stop their employees from fleeing after two years of vesting to move on to the next hot startup. For investors life is no different. You don’t need to be hot.

Software Review 150

Software Review Turkey Portfolio Syndication 150

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2016

One more key employee or one more investor will probably not turn the situation around. Every startup should have at least a couple of outside advisors who are not major investors or family members, anxious to talk to new investors and key new hires. Calculate employee stock option values and vesting times, as well as salary.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 120

View from Seed

JANUARY 5, 2016

Even experienced startup execs who have hired and built teams sometimes find there are nuances to learn between building a team within a larger company versus hiring the first dozen folks in a startup. What did we like/not like about past companies’ approach to hiring and team development? It’s a moving target.

Founder 120

Founder Cofounder Startup Early Stage 120

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

Gadea leveraged his connections in Silicon Valley to seed viral distribution of the product, which, in turn, generated the revenue to hire engineers and scale the company. is a SaaS tool that companies can use to assess engineers before they hire them. Vested Technology spent $17k on their MVP. spent $1k on their MVP.

Sweat Equity 78

Sweat Equity Software Review Vesting Cofounder 78

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2016

My internal compass says that “country-club” entrepreneurs struggle to make as big of an impact because it’s really hard to totally change a system that you’re part of and have a vested interest in. So positive chips are a great signal for me. But chips come in multiple flavors and it’s a fine line between positive and negative.

Churn Rate 150

Churn Rate Vesting Dilution Europe 150

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 13, 2015

Consequently, we should be paid employees of the company. Furthermore, as a company, we should pay all the taxes for our employees on time and in correct form. It is our responsibility as founders to carry out the payment of taxes, insurance, and everything that is necessary when it comes to the law and new employees.

Delaware 100

Delaware Technical Review United States Vesting 100

The Next Web

AUGUST 26, 2013

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. 10-20% for employees. Be generous with shares to your employees, they are your capital and most important resource.

Management 120

Management Cofounder Startup Bootstrapping 120

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

The reason is that employees are investors too—oftheir time—and they want just as much to be able to cash out. Ifyour competitors offer employees stock options that might make themrich, while you make it clear you plan to stay private, yourcompetitors will get the best people. Theres only common stock at this stage.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2011

Hire your co-founder. Vested over 4 years. Involve them in fund raising, hiring, strategy, etc. Most senior employees who join are given 2% if they join early. So trust me when I tell you that you can hire incredibly talented people for 30% of your company. Give them a large sum of equity. Who gets 30%?

Cofounder 393

Cofounder Founder Vesting Founder Vesting 393

www.thedailymuse.com

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

We’re Hiring. What Start-ups Should Know About Hiring a Lawyer. Hiring and working with a lawyer is often confusing and daunting, especially if you’ve never done it before. What should new entrepreneurs look for when hiring a lawyer? Hiring employees. We’re Hiring. Get Involved.

Hiring 56

Hiring LLC Intellectual Property Private Equity 56

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 19, 2019

While we all solve problems, managers and consultants are professionals — they’re hired and paid to do so. They also explain why a lean manufacturing expert can walk into a manufacturing plant and quickly spot opportunities to increase efficiency by reducing work-in-process inventory that plant employees missed. Work in teams.

Non-Compete 113

Non-Compete Vesting Boston Agile 113

www.paulgraham.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Standards arehigher; people are more sympathetic to what youre doing; the kindof people you want to hire want to live there; supporting industriesare there; the people you run into in chance meetings are in thesame business. They might accidentally hire someonebad, but its not going to kill the company. Idont think theres an answer.

Startup 108

Startup Software Review Hiring Silicon Valley 108

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

experiments to build a product, find customers, test business models and hire amazing people. It is not uncommon for startup directors to be more deeply involved in the operations of the business when the company is entering a new market, hiring critical team members or raising capital. This equity will vest over 2-3 years.

Technical Review 102

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 102

Altgate

JUNE 25, 2012

. —————– Dead equity — equity held by employees and founders no longer working at the company — is a large and growing problem. One who attracted much attention is David Choe, the graffiti artist hired to paint the company’s first headquarters. They fail to include vesting terms (i.e.,

Equity 44

Equity Vesting Cap Table Technical Review 44

Ben's Blog

APRIL 28, 2010

Andy Grove was Intel’s third employee (after the two cofounders Robert Noyce and Gordon E. Salmon points out that “not a single one of the 12 [candidates] is a CEO who was hired to run a company by its board of directors.”. VMware—Diane Greene. (*) While not technically cofounders, Andy Grove and Thomas Watson, Sr.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 78

www.instigatorblog.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Changing Equity Structures for Early Startup Employees Tweet Recently someone asked me for advice on how much equity they should give to their early employees. His company had just closed an early round of funding and he wanted to cement the employee relationships. Those first employees will take 0.5-1%

Equity 41

Equity Employee Startup Vesting 41

venturehacks.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

The best sellers can sell to customers, partners, investors, and employees. Build in founder vesting (a.k.a. As a corporate lawyer for 15+ years, I just wanted to echo your sound advice that co-founders should impose reasonable vesting restrictions on the equity issued them. Geeks can always be hired.

Cofounder 101

Cofounder Founder Technical Cofounder Technical Review 101

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

Gadea leveraged his connections in Silicon Valley to seed viral distribution of the product, which, in turn, generated the revenue to hire engineers and scale the company. is a SaaS tool that companies can use to assess engineers before they hire them. Vested Technology spent $17k on their MVP. spent $1k on their MVP.

Sweat Equity 50

Sweat Equity Software Review Vesting Cofounder 50

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2021

This problem can be avoided by incorporating immediately after early discussions, and issuing shares to the Founders, with normal vesting and other participation rules. Do the same for every business partner or employee you may hire. Trouble with the IRS over Founders stock value.

Cost 363

Cost Non-Compete Accredited Investor Cofounder 363

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

intrapreneurs, e.g., the employee of GE who is tasked with launching a new business. In those cases, the incentives for the founders and early employees are extraordinarily hard to align long term. Vesting equity equally divided into set milestones, in this case: 5% vest after design phase. 5% vest at beta launch.

Software Development 60

Software Development Software Developers Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

Duct Tape Marketing

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Benefits of Hiring a Fractional CMO If you’re a business owner, the thought of hiring a full-time Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) may have crossed your mind. Cost-Effectiveness of Hiring A Fractional CMO The cost difference between hiring a full-time and fractional CMO is staggering.

Technical Review 93

Technical Review Retention Networking Leadership 93