This is going to be BIG.

JULY 16, 2012

Still, I contend that most companies have no idea how to hire, and in the last week, my theory got proved to me several times over. I wasn't hiring, but I agreed to meet him due to his generous offer. It's not even a matter of considering your potential employees carefully. The company who hired the candidate I quoted before?

Hiring 162

Hiring Software Review Technical Review Startup 162

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

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Hire a CEO to Go Public. The VCs would hire a CEO with a track record who looked and acted like the type of CEO Wall Street bankers expected to see in large companies. The role of the independent member was typically to tell the founding CEO that the VCs were hiring a new CEO.). People had to actually pay you for your product.

Founder 278

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 278

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 Employee Vesting 191

Berkonomics

APRIL 4, 2024

As soon as any outside money is ingested into the corporation, others have a vested and legal interest in the behavior of officers entrusted with the best use of funds. The number of employees grows. Start-ups with one founder rarely have or need a board of directors. The operations of the corporation become more complex.

Covenant 48

Covenant Software Review Stock Options Vesting 48

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

And let’s be honest, most employees, advisors, etc. You should avoid spending your time here and instead focus on finding a way to generate revenue or to attract investors so that you can afford to hire someone. In a few cases it’s where I’m a co-founder of the business. How To Get There

Technical Cofounder 241

Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Equity Sweat Equity 241

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

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

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

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

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

Hunter Walker

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Show me the first 20 employees of a startup and I’ll tell you whether it’s going to be successful or not. When I encounter founders who know how to hire, or founders who are self-aware enough to know it’s an area they want to get better at, it’s a huge plus in our investment decision. You need to know what excellent looks like.

Hiring 152

Hiring Vesting Salary Naming 152

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

OnlyOnce

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

Short of declaring failure and shutting down your company, laying off employees is the worst thing you may have to do as a startup CEO. This isn’t firing for cause—employees aren’t being asked to leave because of their own failings. Cut more employees than you think you need to in order to reduce the risk of a second round of layoffs.

Salary 62

Salary Vesting Employee B2C 62

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hunter Walker

JULY 2, 2022

Most hiring processes start with an antiquated assumption that companies select people to work for them. And if there’s a reason that they need to start 2+ months down the road, consider making them an employee sooner. Get them on your benefits, start vesting their stock and so on. Involve Their Family/Partners.

Hiring 96

Hiring Vesting Early Stage Stock 96

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

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. The rule is simple: every employee is 100% responsible for how they spend their time. Now he really thought I was nuts, replying "from the recruiter who hired me, of course!"

Employee 146

Employee San Francisco Lean Software Review 146

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

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

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

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 94

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 94

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

JULY 26, 2016

You may have often wondered, why do businesses hire consultants in the first place? It can seem puzzling to the untrained eye, but read on and you’ll see not only why businesses hire consultants, but why they need them. As temporary employees of the company, it is often cheaper to hire consultants than it is permanent employees.

Hiring 100

Hiring Vesting Employee Cost 100

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 88

Technical Review Retention Networking Leadership 88

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

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 23, 2023

How to give away too much too soon: Most early-stage companies make the mistake of making option grants to new hires at all levels that are too aggressive and distort the capital structure of the company to a degree that damages future professional investment. Director level employees are typically granted ½%.

Equity 62

Equity Stock Options Vesting Early Stage 62

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

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

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 Syndicate 150

The Startup Magazine

JULY 19, 2020

Competition can be tough among law firms, so it’s important to hire a developer to build you a website that stands out from the crowd. Consider creating a blog with relevant content; you can either write your own or hire a writer to do them for you. Hire Capable Staff. Set Up a Website. Find an Office for Your Law Firm.

Vesting 149

Vesting Reputation Hiring Community 149

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