Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Outside professionals are always available, but they may have their own agenda, such as building a career, making money quickly, or managing up the stock price for a quick exit. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

Forget to get around to setting up that Employee Stock Option Plan and want to be able to give the early guys their options at a low strike price? I know he’s smart but you wouldn’t hire a Javascript developer to do your database design – would you? Shame about that pesky FAS 157 ruling.

Southern California 318

Southern California Silicon Valley IP Stock Options 318

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 2, 2010

If you’re a pure startup and haven’t raised any money – you might change the life of every person you hire. I always encourage people to allocate a few extra stock options to those that join super early when your company is risky and they just believed in you. Sure, you can get away with less, but why?

Europe 352

Europe France San Francisco Chicago 352

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

Outside professionals are always available, but they may have their own agenda, such as building a career, making money quickly, or managing up the stock price for a quick exit. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Cofounder 245

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 245

Ben's Blog

OCTOBER 6, 2011

In theory, they want a well-managed company with a great culture. Similarly, a high quality Human Resources organization cannot make you a well-managed company with a great culture, but it can tell you when you and your managers are not getting the job done. From hire to retire, how good is your company? Compensation.

Management 64

Management Development Team Review Stock Options Technical Review 64

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2023

The allocation of shares among the founders, and the number and size of outside investments, will tells volumes about the health, stability, and management of the business. 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.

Sweat Equity 207

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 207

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2018

Many risks can be managed or calculated to improve growth or provide a competitive edge, while others, like skipping quality checks to save money, are recipes for failure. The challenge is to avoid the bad risks, while actively seeking and managing the smart risks. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing.

Forecast 161

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 161

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Outside professionals are always available, but they may have their own agenda, such as building a career, making money quickly, or managing up the stock price for a quick exit. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Cofounder 144

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 144

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2016

The most effective and productive team members are positive, driven and want to be measured by results rather than hear work hours, perks or stock options. Attracting, evaluation and hiring direct reports is a task that should never be delegated. Motivation and commitment to results. Personal character and chemistry.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Stock Options Salary Hiring 120

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

I’m a mom, a full-time sales manager, and recruiter. Taking a campaign online and encouraging non-accredited investors to use a crowdfunding platform is a great way to show their support, manage the volume, and market your business. Management Resumes and Organizational Chart. Stock Option. Customer References.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 22, 2010

I never hire job hoppers. 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. And he has already vested 75% of his stock options at your company.

Hiring 392

Hiring Employee Vesting Silicon Valley 392

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

Many risks can be managed or calculated to improve growth or provide a competitive edge, while others, like skipping quality checks to save money, are recipes for failure. The challenge is to avoid the bad risks, while actively seeking and managing the smart risks. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing.

Startup 120

Startup Forecast Stock Options Technical Review 120

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 11, 2014

And when you look at the tools that we use, I mean we’ve made so many technological advances, but really to manage a meeting there’s not a practical tool available. We use email; we use Word; we use task manager; we use a file sharing tool. They are so happy that they finally have a tool to manage their business.

Technical Cofounder 220

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Review Management 220

crowdSPRING Blog

OCTOBER 10, 2014

“the people you fire are more important to your [company''s] culture than the people you hire.” Stock option questions startup employees should ask | Business Insider – crowdspring.co/1n8lUje. 44 engineering management lessons – crowdspring.co/1x7TVkf. ” – crowdspring.co/1slKVZ2.

Social Media 97

Social Media Small Business Design Media 97

The Next Web

AUGUST 12, 2013

It’s important you understand the risks, and start managing them. I managed that by simply being completely transparent about our financials (I still am). However, there is a way to help manage risks and to deal better with day-to-day challenges – and that is by having great co-founders. Remember, that’s precisely your job.

Cofounder 119

Cofounder CTO Hire Startup Europe 119

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2016

The allocation of shares among the founders, and the number and size of outside investments, will tells volumes about the health, stability, and management of the business. 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.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2015

The allocation of shares among the founders, and the number and size of outside investments, will tells volumes about the health, stability, and management of the business. 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.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 120

Up and Running

JANUARY 4, 2017

Hiring the right employees. See Also: How to Hire Your First Employee. Stock options, increased pay over time, a flexible schedule, and use of work resources are all great incentives for snagging yourself a talented new employee. Overall, just focus on hiring the right people—the people with potential.

Small Business 122

Small Business Social Media Stock Options Employee 122

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

Outside professionals are always available, but they may have their own agenda, such as building a career, making money quickly, or managing up the stock price for a quick exit. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Cofounder 120

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 120

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

For a well-funded seed company I have controversially recommended hiring a great office manager that doubles as an administrative assistant. This happens because many CEOs are passionate, market-driven people who are constantly trying to launch new products, win contracts, get press, hire staff and woo VCs. HR & Legal.

Operations 150

Operations Metrics Early Stage Non-Compete 150

Feld Thoughts

JANUARY 17, 2013

It’s the annual bonus, next year bonus plan, option grant refresh cycle. For many management teams, especially in rapidly growing, or mature companies, it’s an important part of their existence as culturally we’ve oriented compensation, bonuses, and future compensation around an annual cycle. Let me give an example.

Stock Options 134

Stock Options Stock Vesting Retention 134

www.joelonsoftware.com

MARCH 24, 2010

Fog Creek explicitly recognizes that many good software engineers have no desire whatsoever to do "management" or to take on a formal personnel management role. One of the purposes of the Fog Creek Professional Ladder is to create a career path with promotions for engineers who simply do not want to do management stuff at all.

Software Review 48

Software Review Stock Options Salary Technical Review 48

Up and Running

MARCH 7, 2018

I spent years as a manager at a startup company. Aside from the time-consuming tasks of screening potential employees, interviewing, and re-hiring , losing and replacing employees is expensive. Hire the right people. It wasn’t what I was hired to do, but it was liberating. Here is how to do it. Fire when you have to.

Employee 91

Employee Startup Salary Hiring 91

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. 3 Signs Your Employees Think You Suck as a Manager.

Hiring 56

Hiring LLC Intellectual Property Private Equity 56

thinkspace.com

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Manager or Junior Engineer 0.2 - 0.33. Chris Dixon wrote a blog post about “ The one number you should know about your equity grant “ The one number you should know about your equity grant is the percent of the company you are being granted (in options, shares, whatever – it doesn’t matter – just the % matters). CEO 5 - 10.

Equity 62

Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

Up and Running

DECEMBER 1, 2015

If however you are giving a “normal employee” an incentive stock option plan (more on that later), that’s entirely different. Make sure you understand all of your options before making any decisions. When business owners decide to go down the route of equity compensation, there are two primary options to choose between.

Equity 60

Equity Employee Stock Options Vesting 60

Up and Running

OCTOBER 19, 2021

As a startup looking to hire your dream team, this news can be exciting. You can trust them to manage your organization on their own because they’ll do whatever it takes to be successful. Stock options, restricted stock, or performance shares can make your offer more attractive to the right candidate.

Startup 127

Startup Salary Stock Options Employee 127

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2022

Thus if you want to change the world with your new business, you need to follow the example of startups like Zappos , which hires according to cultural fit first. Yet many managers unintentionally de-motivate their team by being too busy with business challenges to communicate, understand, or help people.

Stock Options 362

Stock Options Salary Leadership Stock 362

www.drowningamerican.com

JUNE 22, 2012

Next → How we Hire for Sweat Equity (Part 2)… Posted on April 7, 2011 by Travis Biziorek. The first time we hired partners for Kibin was way back in late 2009. I’ve heard people say it’s impossible to hire good developers right now. I want to hire before I have the ability to pay anyone.

Sweat Equity 40

Sweat Equity Equity Hiring Technical Review 40

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

There is such a thing as a “diamond in the rough” and let’s face it – if the company was totally rocking would they be hiring you? the standard 4-6% for a hired-gun CEO). And there’s always a but. You – who hasn’t been CEO before? Here’s why I think it might be perfect for you: 1.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Liquidation Preference Silicon Valley IP 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

It was a stock option incentive related “expense” but I bet you didn’t know that because in an era where we only read the headlines — they must be a train wreck losing billions. If you don’t have a strong balance sheet and can’t hire more people that’s fine — but understand this may lead to slower growth. Two-f **g-billion!

Stock Options 227

Stock Options Startup Dilution Venture Capital 227

Ben's Blog

APRIL 28, 2010

joined as a General Manager of the Computing Tabulating Recording Company, but renamed the company International Business Machines and turned it into the IBM we recognize today. 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.”. If you do, hire him!

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 78

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2020

Thus if you want to change the world with your new business, you need to follow the example of startups like Zappos , which hires according to cultural fit first. Yet many managers unintentionally de-motivate their team by being too busy with business challenges to communicate, understand, or help people.

Product 322

Product Stock Options Salary Leadership 322

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 20, 2020

Here are 8 business management strategies to consider this year. Our aim with this post is to share a handful of management strategies that you can lean on to not only help you through this recession but also to assist you in thriving at any time. That might entail calling an EDI managed services provider to liquidate stock options.

Small Business 183

Small Business Management Non-Compete B2C 183

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 2, 2014

We spend all our time as an industry talking about “growth hacking,” “design principles,” or “product/market fit” and not enough about the most important skills for success – people management. Given how important people management is it’s surprising more of us don’t have group coaches.

Startup 385

Startup Stock Options Cofounder Campaign 385

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 9, 2013

Most board meetings are “update meetings” where management downloads its status to a group of investors. This is hardly ideal and some simple changes could help management avoid both issues. I’d want to maximize the amount of time these outsiders could spar with management on the key issues in my business.

Advisory Board 337

Advisory Board Valuation Stock Options Seed Money 337

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2013

As an employee, you salary will likely be low, your job security low, so the job title better be large, and the stock options better be large. They should be asking to speak to you if you are a potential investor or a superstar hire. What traction can be measured today? Who is a real customer that I can talk to?

Due Diligence 253

Due Diligence Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Burn Rate 253