Steve Blank

APRIL 10, 2019

VC’s have just changed the ~50-year old social contract with startup employees. For most startup employee’s startup stock options are now a bad deal. As Venture Capital emerged as an industry in the mid 1970’s, investors in venture-funded startups began to give stock options to all their employees. Here’s why.

Stock Options 335

Stock Options Stock Vesting Common Stock 335

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

DECEMBER 21, 2009

If you had zero revenue from now on, on what date would you run out of money? Second, you know the length of your fuse even in event of disaster (if you have revenue) or if you never manage to land a customer (if you're just starting out). No need for a new employee of course, but maybe you should re-prioritize those tasks next month.

Startup 315

Startup Revenue Cofounder Sales 315

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 2, 2009

Founders however are asked to take low salaries and never really get back the time they worked for free. We should end the year with a few million in fully recurring revenue and we’re projected to double next year. But more spend = more viral opps = more revenue down the road. >50% of our revenue in now viral.

Founder 329

Founder Liquidation Preference Term Sheet Participating Preferred 329

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 28, 2011

While Jane was building SayAhh’s revenue projections , Dick focused his attention on building the expense side of the projections. It is simple in that it forecasts how much cash will be coming in the door (revenues + equity financing + debt financing) and then subtracts from that amount how much cash is expected to be going out the door.

Revenue 128

Revenue Balance Sheet Forecast Software Review 128

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. This could equate to two technical founders (with a minimal salary), funding two developers for a year.

Burn Rate 223

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 223

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

Moving on … My second post was directed at employees. If you’ve done it for a long time then I usually advise hiring managers to hire you as contractors and not full-time employees. No employees wanted to join startups – they were all looking for stable jobs. I learned about revenue recognition.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Hiring Software Review Stock Options 285

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 8, 2021

After launching a new startup, you’ll be interested in growing the business as quickly as possible, thus generating more revenue, securing more stability, and improving your reputation as well. What Makes Employees Productive in a New Startup? So what is it that makes employees productive in a new startup? Limited budgets.

Employee 127

Employee Product Startup Software Review 127

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 28, 2009

And I made a version of this company-wide speech to our employees: “Look. I know that we haven’t brought in revenue as quickly as we had hoped. They haven’t hit their revenue targets. Don’t overset expectations for your employees on the way in. I figured it out. Believe me. And, oh, by the way.

PR 331

PR Software Review Ireland Germany 331

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

— 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. Typically, this caliber of bankers wouldn’t talk to you unless your company had five profitable quarters of increasing revenue.

Founder 281

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 281

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

The company landed one big customer representing 80% of total revenue, but that customer canceled. A key employee left the company, which caused the company to fail. A suitable replacement is too rare; it takes too long to find someone, convince them to join for almost no salary, and get them up-to-speed and productive.

Software Review 294

Software Review Channel Revenue Non-Compete 294

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 18, 2020

Liabilities are anything that the company owes, often coming with the word “payable,” and may include items such debt owed to creditors and salaries due to employees. Look at Revenues. Use previous years’ revenue figures to get an idea of how much revenue your business is likely to generate in the coming fiscal year.

Balance Sheet 195

Balance Sheet Valuation Software Review .Net 195

The Startup Magazine

MAY 31, 2022

Any operation that involves an employee, like recruitment, payroll management, or even offboarding, can be included in these HR functions or duties. . Most HR functions are outsourced to an HR consulting agency by SMBs (10–500 employees). We are introducing new employees to the organization. What Is Human Resources Outsourcing?

United States 158

United States Salary UAE Hiring 158

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

The very last email I got from him told me the following: Thank you for your time Tony, I understand everyone wants a huge salary, no risk and a cut of the profits. And let’s be honest, most employees, advisors, etc. Otherwise, you’ll end up spending time with people who are not going to be interested.

Technical Cofounder 241

Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Equity Sweat Equity 241

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 1, 2017

At GE the biggest problem in 2017 was major revenue misses in their Power business.) Often the short-term cuts directly affect employee salaries, jobs, and long-term investment in R&D. capture the imagination of investors and can focus on revenue and user growth instead of on the bottom line. So What is a CEO to Do?

Institutional Investors 271

Institutional Investors Dividend Stock Technical Review 271

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

No salaries followed by low salaries. The scrounging and scrabbling and begging and fighting the a s for those morsels of revenue, those crumbs of validation. The experience you get just after you need it. The inner doubt suppressed for the morale of the team. The “eat what we kill” mentality. It’s over.

Software Review 295

Software Review Startup Cofounder Search 295

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 4, 2017

By which they mean: Without stupid rules that assume employees are dumb or evil, without everything taking ten times longer than it should, without wall-to-wall meetings, without resorting to hiring anything less than the top 1% of the talent pool, and so on. Why is this impossible when you have 500 employees? From Brittle to Robust.

Government 223

Government Startup Cofounder Technical Support 223

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Sam also had a vision as early as 2012 about how MakeSpace would be a large employer of middle-income jobs: The company would hire employees rather than just have contractors and he would lead the effort to ensure they had opportunities for growth and benefits for their families. were more distributed.

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 14, 2012

Most businesses stay that way - there are many more solo entrepreneurs than business owners with employees. You’ll save a lot of tension and disruption down the road if you’re upfront and manage your team's expectations regarding your expected timeline for funding, higher salaries, bonuses, etc. It’s worth spending time on recruiting.

Technical Review 159

Technical Review CTO Hire Software Review Startup 159

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2013

For the entire first year after I funded the company he refused to take a salary and I had to admonish him to make sure he paid his expenses. Yet our initial customer success didn’t translate into big revenue growth and we faced issues such as: Do we support developers, end-users or both? I had stayed for 6 years.

Technical Review 303

Technical Review Cofounder Analytics Founder 303

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 23, 2019

But in this customer-focused model, some businesses make the mistake of neglecting to focus on their employees. Their study, alongside others , found that happier employees are at least a predictor of customer happiness, if not one of the main causes. Happier employees = greater customer loyalty. But what’s the reason for this?

Employee 113

Employee Customer Software Review Salary 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2023

If the company has been around for more than a couple of years, and still has no product or revenue flow, there better be a good explanation. One more key employee or one more investor will probably not turn the situation around. Look for examples of similar companies and revenue multiples achieved from acquirers.

Sweat Equity 207

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 207

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 20, 2024

link] Now, according to Forbes , a startup has to spend around 15 to 50 percent of its budget on paying its employees. You need not worry about the financial burden of a full-time salary. Such a dual approach helps B2B startups generate new leads while building brand awareness and driving revenue growth right from the start.

B2B 148

B2B Hiring Salary Early Stage 148

Duct Tape Marketing

JUNE 7, 2023

How Employee Experience Shapes Brand Perception written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing Marketing Podcast with Tiffani Bova In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast , I interview Tiffani Bova. Key Takeaway: Prioritizing the employee experience alongside customer experience drives business success.

Employee 90

Employee Technical Review Advisory Board Sales 90

Steve Blank

MAY 19, 2015

I had lunch last week with Tom, the CEO of a startup that was quickly becoming a large company – last year’s revenue was $40M, this year likely to be $80M maybe even $100 million in ad revenue. to drive traffic to their site, which they then turned into ad revenue. Organizational debt was coming due.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

Duct Tape Marketing

OCTOBER 28, 2024

You get access to outside experts without needing to hire full-time employees. Here’s why it’s worth thinking about: Fractional CMO Agency Monthly Fees : $5,000 - $15,000+ Pros : Top-Tier Expertise : You get a senior-level marketer without paying a full-time salary.

Small Business 80

Small Business Hiring Marketing Jordan 80

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

The lack of team cohesion and respect for individuals has probably been one of the biggest weaknesses of Zynga – at least from nearly EVERY employee I’ve ever talked to who worked there. He felt the CEO was willing to “sell his soul” for revenue and wanted things to be more pure.

Founder 340

Founder Cofounder Sacramento Technical Review 340

Up and Running

JULY 28, 2022

Generally, the size is based on the number of employees and annual receipts for a given period. Small Business Administration , an organization is considered to be a small business if their: Firm revenue ranges from $1 million to $40 million Number of employees is between 100 and 1,500. According to the U.S.

Small Business 167

Small Business Intellectual Property Cofounder Software Review 167

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

Employees want a paycheck on time. But making a mistake, especially when it comes to government taxes and regulations, could land you in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). As the new year starts, employers have to ensure they have mailed or provided their employees the IRS W-2 form no later than January 31.

Small Business 165

Small Business Software Review Salary Government 165

YoungUpstarts

JULY 16, 2019

Information systems analyst and consultants start at a median salary of $74,048. Information and communications technology include 4,600 companies and 45,000 employees. This generated $16 billion in annual revenues in 2015. Tech sector employees earned on average approximately $67,000 per the Brookfield Institute report.

Canada 167

Canada Hiring Artificial Inteligence Software Developers 167

Up and Running

JULY 22, 2014

It’s a table that lists all of your revenue streams and all of your expenses—typically for a three-month period—and lists at the very bottom the total amount of net profit or loss. A typical profit and loss statement should include: your revenue (also called sales), followed by. how you make money. Personnel plan .

Balance Sheet 148

Balance Sheet Forecast Equity .Net 148

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. This could equate to two technical founders (with a minimal salary), funding two developers for a year.

Burn Rate 120

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 120

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 13, 2024

Create a detailed business plan where you must outline your financial goals, expenses, and revenue projections. Networking can help you find investors, talent, customers, and revenue opportunities. Trusting others with responsibilities will lighten your workload as well as empower your employees.

United States 141

United States Bootstrapping Social Media Angel Investor 141

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 23, 2011

I’ll try to offer some guidelines to address these issues, but I generally recommend you keep the day job until your new company is producing real revenue. There is nothing wrong with a dependable salary, medical benefits, and a contributing 401(k) retirement savings account. Marty Zwilling.

Founder 233

Founder Startup Cofounder Angel Investor 233

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

Employee Benefits. It’s not enough to base your estimates on salaries alone. You also need to consider taxes, perks and other employee benefits including healthcare, holidays, retirement and so forth. What you’ll have to spend on each policy depends on key areas such as business type, size, location, revenue and risk factors.

Cost 151

Cost Entrepreneur Software Review Salary 151

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 26, 2020

Announcement: Square lets employees work from home permanently. The Coronavirus pandemic is undoubtedly a catalyst for this sudden movement, but the underlying factors that are powering this change include: Employee preference to work from home (plus higher productivity in many cases). E – Execution.

Silicon Valley 198

Silicon Valley Distribution Engineer Technical Review 198

Mike Michalowicz

APRIL 15, 2013

You fix your bottom line by increasing revenue or cutting costs or both. You can’t guarantee that you will increase revenue by next month, but you can guarantee that your rent will be due. Many costs are static and recurring, meaning they happen every month for the same amount regardless of your revenue. Sales don’t.

Cost 151

Cost Bankruptcy Revenue Software Review 151

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

So you’re interested in raising capital from a Revenue-Based Investor VC. A new wave of Revenue-Based Investors (“RBI”) are emerging. For background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A New Option for Founders who Care About Control. Rational burn profile, up to 50% of revenue at close, scaling down. Bigfoot Capital.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60