Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for when I join a startup today?” Thus, stock doesn’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7%

Stock Options 230

Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 230

Up and Running

MARCH 7, 2018

I spent years as a manager at a startup company. 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. Here is how to do it.

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Employee Startup Salary Hiring 91

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 14, 2012

I was just asked about a particular startup situation (seed stage, CMO hire, non-founder) and particularly what compensation and equity is appropriate. Quick & Dirty How-To: Employee Stock Option Allocations Seed Stage Compensation What are typical compensation numbers?

CTO Hire 329

CTO Hire Equity Seed Stage Option Pool 329

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2015

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for or expect when I join a startup today?” Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3% Marty Zwilling.

Stock Options 120

Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 120

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.

Equity 60

Equity Employee Stock Options Vesting 60

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 23, 2023

Most of her lessons were applicable to any government employee venturing out to the private sector. The same Emotional Quotient and approach that attracts investors will also attract excellent employees. For me, personally : People in the senior ranks at startups usually call themselves operators. Read part one here.

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Government Advisory Board Salary Sales Cycle 242

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

Options are gravy - I lived through the first dot com era where we used stock options as a recruiting tool. We set our sites on our IPO price and then worked back to our current valuation and showed potential employees what we thought they could earn (with all legal caveats) if the company was successful.

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Stock Options Stock Valuation Liquidation Preference 294

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2022

Here is my summary of the ten top creativity mistakes we both still see too often: Criticize any new idea or employee suggestion. An even better alternative could be stock options, linked to the long-term success of the company. A natural human reaction to any new idea is to point out potential weaknesses.

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Stock Options Incubator Framework Stock 277

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2016

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Early stage burn rates over $50K per month, or a runway of less than six months may indicate an inefficient or desperate startup.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2015

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Early stage burn rates over $50K per month, or a runway of less than six months may indicate an inefficient or desperate startup.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 120

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.

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Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

As a starting point the board is intended to have legal and financial responsibilities to a few key constituencies: shareholders, debt holders, creditors, employees, government and major parties with whom the business operates. ICOs certainly have a place in startup financing.

Cofounder 217

Cofounder Stock Options Equity Technical Review 217

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. The right motivated employees dilemma. Otherwise exit and startup with another idea. Later you need specialists and managers.

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Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 17, 2023

Taking better care of your employees is not just a moral imperative; it’s a strategic necessity in today’s competitive business landscape. Employees are the foundation of any organization, and their engagement and well-being have a direct and profound impact on productivity, morale, and the overall success of the company.

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Employee Stock Options Programming Equity 104

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

If you’re a startup and you don’t have a close relationship with a few law firms you’re really missing one of the most important relationships that any entrepreneur can have. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. I know that people have an allergy to lawyers out of fear of being screwed.

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Southern California Silicon Valley IP Stock Options 318

The Next Web

OCTOBER 25, 2013

If you look at some of the latest startup offices, there seems to be a competition to who can have the coolest ping pong tables, kitchen, and big TVs displaying real time data. We spoke to some of the hottest startups to hear their experiences and tips for building a space that welcomes productivity, creativity, and keeps employees happy.

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San Francisco Design Product Startup 167

YoungUpstarts

JULY 17, 2020

The startup world is a perfect microcosm for these strange times — even in normal circumstances, a startup is always on a tightrope, one step away from unicorn status or financial ruin. As startups pivot to meet the changing landscape, here are four things to consider: 1. Support Your Employees.

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Startup Wisconsin Stock Options Dividend 287

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. Speed is often of the essence early on in the startup lifecycle, and that often means rushing into casual arrangements.

Equity 116

Equity Stock Options Vesting Stock 116

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2022

I was shocked to read an old Gallup study that indicates only 13 percent of employees worldwide are actively engaged at work, and more recent data shows only a small change in the right direction. As a startup founder or executive, you need to subvert your own troubles for the sake of the team.

Stock Options 362

Stock Options Salary Leadership Stock 362

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

Here is my summary of the ten top creativity mistakes we both still see too often: Criticize any new idea or employee suggestion. An even better alternative could be stock options, linked to the long-term success of the company. A natural human reaction to any new idea is to point out potential weaknesses.

Stock Options 236

Stock Options Incubator Framework Stock 236

crowdSPRING Blog

OCTOBER 10, 2014

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! The ROI of Blogging: What the Groove Blog is Worth to Our Startup – crowdspring.co/YUXa2r. The Ultimate Startup Marketing Strategy | by Venture Harbour – [link] crowdspring.co/1xxV8lb.

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Social Media Small Business Design Media 97

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2022

The new era of highly connected and interactive technology is changing not only how business employees interact with customers, but also how they interact with each other, and with their company. I am happy to see reports that young companies are leading the way in these trends, on both the customer and the employee side.

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Cost Stock Options Cloud Differentiation 313

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2018

One of the lessons I have learned over the years as a business executive, and now as a mentor to entrepreneurs, is that if you really want employees who enthusiastically take ownership of their work, you have to start treating them like owners, not renters. Employees can’t be owners if they don’t understand the business targets and realities.

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Employee Stock Options Leadership Stock 180

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

There are certain topics that even some of the smartest people I talk with who aren’t startup oriented can’t fully grok. It’s common cocktail party chatter to hear people confidently pronounce that some well known startup is sure to blow up because, “How could they succeed when they’re not even profitable!” What did they actually do?

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Stock Options Startup Dilution Venture Capital 227

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

SEPTEMBER 29, 2015

The proper ambition for a tech entrepreneur should be to join the ranks of the great tech companies, or, at least, to create a profitable, independent company beloved by employees, customers, and shareholders. But what about the other employees? Companies are constantly changing. Or eBay’s acquisition of PayPal?

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Acquisition Technical Review Stock Options Employee 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire or better? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for or expect when I join a startup today?” Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Equity 237

Equity Stock Options Advisory Board Stock 237

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

Dealing almost exclusively with first time startup founders, we tackle the following question with nearly all of our CEOs: How much equity should they give to the employees? In one instance, I told a CEO that we typically recommend a 15 percent stock options pool at seed/Series A stage. She rolled her eyes in disbelief.

Equity 154

Equity Employee Option Pool Stock Options 154

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

According to the Angel Capital Association: Angels (private money) invest in 55,000 startups each year versus 1,500 companies by VC (venture capital) funding. ” Yes, the JOBS Act (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) is exciting, and it will bring a lot more potential investors into the marketplace. Stock Option.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

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. The right motivated employees dilemma. Otherwise exit and startup with another idea. Later you need specialists and managers.

Hockey Stick 243

Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event Startup 243

View from Seed

AUGUST 6, 2015

When someone goes to work for an early startup, the compensation package general includes an annual salary, health insurance, and, instead of fixed-cost performance upside, a percentage of unvested options to purchase equity in the company. It falls on the hiring company to thoroughly explain equity options to their new employees.

Equity 120

Equity Employee Cap Table Stock Options 120

View from Seed

AUGUST 6, 2015

When someone goes to work for an early startup, the compensation package general includes an annual salary, health insurance, and, instead of fixed-cost performance upside, a percentage of unvested options to purchase equity in the company. It falls on the hiring company to thoroughly explain equity options to their new employees.

Equity 120

Equity Employee Cap Table Stock Options 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

With the current volatile economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. Is your startup really ready to play in the corporate world? These looming constraints can turn your startup dream into a nightmare, all to increase funding.

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Merger OTC IPO Due Diligence 261

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

He has grown our US operations from 1 employee (him) to a global organization of 75 employees that will finish the year with 8-digit revenues (90+% recurring) and more than 350% year-over-year growth. Startup Advice' Rob is one of the most driven and successful CEOs I work with. He is very pleasant when he calls and writes.

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Advisory Board Fractional CTO CTO Hire Los Angeles 365

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

Mike Stern (wasn’t sure which one so leave a comment if it’s you): Q: “is it possible to sell your startup without venture investment if the company has big traction and a large user base?&# I talked about the need to have a restricted stock plan for your earliest employees. This is minutes 8-11.

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Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2017

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire or better? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for or expect when I join a startup today?” Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Stock 140

Stock Stock Options Advisory Board Startup 140

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

Moving on … My second post was directed at employees. I never implied that startups are all great and job hoppers are all at fault. 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. It’s a subjective topic. We were family.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Hiring Software Review Stock Options 285

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. So what does an early-stage company do to avoid the doom and gloom plaguing the world of startups?

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Early Stage Los Angeles Silicon Valley Cofounder 108