Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2023

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 207

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 207

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.

Seattle 317

Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

The Next Web

OCTOBER 7, 2013

That’s what a couple of my friends – engineers at Google and Bloomberg who have been following the rise of startup culture with intrigue – told me recently. 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?

Engineer 129

Engineer Dilution Option Pool Vesting 129

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

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

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

In the bustling world of startups, every detail counts, from the way you pitch to potential investors to the attire your team dons daily. Dive into the world of branded workwear and discover why it’s an indispensable asset for startups aiming to make a mark.

Technical Review 166

Technical Review Startup Vesting Employee 166

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

If you haven’t raised any money or if you raised a small round from angels or friends & family I would suggest you avoid setting up a formal board unless the people who would join your board are deeply experienced at sitting on startup boards. just having a sparring partner with a vested interest in your success can be useful.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Startup Angel Investor Silicon Valley 236

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 11, 2024

With startups and many smaller businesses often having tighter budgets than more established companies, it becomes vital to implement measures to limit potential liability. So how exactly can startups limit their liability in such incidents? One area where liability can be substantial is company car accidents.

Technical Review 147

Technical Review Houston Dividend Startup 147

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.

Equity 62

Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

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

ReadWriteStart

MAY 3, 2012

The conflicting (frequently unsolicited) advice startup entrepreneurs too often hear is enough to make you tune it all out. But bootstrapping a startup is not easy, requiring discipline and fortitude, as well as ingenuity. But bootstrapping a startup is not easy, requiring discipline and fortitude, as well as ingenuity.

Bootstrapping 137

Bootstrapping Software Review Startup Equity 137

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

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

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. In this case, I would take your total ownership and divide it up by employee tiers.

Cofounder 136

Cofounder Equity Founder Seed Stage 136

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

Up and Running

OCTOBER 28, 2022

Pros and cons of using your own money for startup costs. You have a vested interest in its success, which can provide you with the drive needed to overcome challenges and establish strong relationships with customers, vendors, suppliers, and so on. You may need to fund the enterprise on your own. Conduct a cost estimation.

Cost 138

Cost Startup Early Stage Vesting 138

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

It is our startup sector which will drive this innovative progress. Startup founders are our ambitious problem solvers. To generate growth in a startup, it is almost always necessary to raise external capital to run the necessary. In order to understand startup governance, you need to understand risk and reward.

Technical Review 105

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 105

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. Once you have assembled a core team that is operating the business, you need to move from art to science in terms of granting employee equity.

Equity 64

Equity Employee CTO Hire Fractional CTO 64

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

Let me preface by saying I obviously have a vested interest in being wrong about tough times ahead but as the old saying goes, “hope for best, plan for the worst.”. Let me preface by saying I obviously have a vested interest in being wrong about tough times ahead but as the old saying goes, “hope for best, plan for the worst.”.

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Technical Review Balance Sheet Government 298

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

I rarely talk to any startup entrepreneur or VC who doesn’t feel it and somehow long for simpler times despite the benefits we all enjoy from increased enthusiasm for our sector. Of course your friend’s company raised $50 million and offers it’s employees free kombucha and desk massages. Easier said than done.

Software Review 150

Software Review Turkey Portfolio Syndicate 150

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. Below, I take a look at each.

Founder 120

Founder Cofounder Startup Early Stage 120

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.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 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. What is equity compensation?

Equity 60

Equity Employee Stock Options Vesting 60

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 22, 2010

This is part of my startup advice series. It’s still important advice for startup founders and something that I’m passionate about. They make terrible employees. Yes, if you were a startup CEO I would probably cut you some slack. If they are Google, Facebook and then a startup – you’re fine.

Hiring 392

Hiring Employee Vesting Silicon Valley 392

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. This is a very predictable phase of the startup journey and a lot of good can come from it. So positive chips are a great signal for me.

Churn Rate 150

Churn Rate Vesting Dilution Europe 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2013

In reality, so-called “founder’s” shares are simply common stock, issued at the time of startup incorporation, for a very low price, and normally allocated to the multiple initial players commensurate with their investment or role. These shares are allocated and committed, but not really issued and owned (vested) until later.

Vesting 245

Vesting Common Stock Stock Founder Vesting 245

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

Gust

DECEMBER 1, 2011

What is a startup really? Notice what is missing from this list of priorities: The company itself – that is, a business entity, most often a corporation , that will own the entire business (however defined), issue equity to founders, take investment capital , enter into contracts, make sales, pay employees and contractors, and so forth.

IP 114

IP Intellectual Property Equity Liquidity Event 114

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2022

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. It’s a huge gamble.

Stock Options 343

Stock Options Advisory Board Stock Startup 343

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

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 Vested Technology spent $17k on their MVP. Prior to his role at Vested Technology, co-founder and CEO Akash Srivastava worked on Wall Street.

Sweat Equity 78

Sweat Equity Software Review Vesting Cofounder 78

www.instigatorblog.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Home About Contact My thoughts & lessons learned on startups, entrepreneurship, marketing and other stuff. 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. Those first employees will take 0.5-1%

Equity 41

Equity Employee Startup Vesting 41

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2011

It is increasingly popular to have “founder dating&# or “startup weekend hackathons&# of some variety or the other. Vested over 4 years. Startups have high failure rates. Most senior employees who join are given 2% if they join early. And some of them will be from startups that are already very successful.

Cofounder 393

Cofounder Founder Vesting Founder Vesting 393

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. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones.

Founder 325

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

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 Professionals Musings

MARCH 23, 2014

In reality, so-called “Founder’s” shares are simply common stock, issued at the time of startup incorporation, for a very low price, and normally allocated to the multiple initial players commensurate with their investment or role. These shares are allocated and committed, but not really issued and owned (vested) until later.

Stock 256

Stock Vesting Common Stock Founder Vesting 256

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

This is part of my ongoing series on Startup Advice. As startup entrepreneurs we all want to work with them because having their name as reference clients makes it so much easier for marketing, PR, selling to other customers, fund raising and even recruiting. Think of it as similar to an employee stock option.

Warrant 298

Warrant Dilution Startup Stock Options 298

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