David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Should you co-found your company with a software development shop? I’ve talked with a number of software development shops who are eager to get into the business of cofounding companies, i.e., getting product revenue and equity instead of just consulting revenue. Vlad is also the CEO at DarwinApps , a software development shop.

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

A version of this article is in the Harvard Business Review. 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. This seems to be occurring more and more. Why do these founders get to stay around?

Founder 278

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 278

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

An engineer by training, Founder and CEO Larry Gadea built the MVP of Envoy’s first product, Visitors, by himself using only free versions of software. “I 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.

Sweat Equity 50

Sweat Equity Software Review Vesting Cofounder 50

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. There are three deadly mistakes that relate to intellectual property (IP) ownership, all of which usually surface when the investors conduct their due-diligence investigation: 1.

Vesting 89

Vesting Software Review IP Intellectual Property 89

Steve Blank

MAY 19, 2015

But over time code/hardware written/built to validate hypotheses and find early customers can become unwieldy, difficult to maintain and incapable of scaling. You fix technical debt by refactoring , going into the existing code and “cleaning it up” by restructuring it. Organizational debt was coming due. the company had.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

Duct Tape Marketing

MAY 19, 2020

For more complicated products, like a new software system or a tool or machinery that requires some set-up, product videos can help eliminate some of the fear that a prospect might feel about purchasing a complex product. Testimonials, reviews, and case studies all play a similar role in the lead nurturing process. Client Testimonials.

Video 101

Video Marketing Technical Review Software Review 101

ReadWriteStart

MAY 3, 2012

Serial entrepreneur Rachel Blankstein is bootstrapping her latest startup, Comparz , the largest independent user review site for businesses seeking Web-based software. Exchange your coding skills with someone who will offer the equivalent value of marketing. See also: 4 Ways to Avoid Hiring Your First Employee.).

Bootstrapping 137

Bootstrapping Software Review Startup Equity 137

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 22, 2017

In the excitement of a new business venture, it’s tempting to arm yourself with a big, fancy, expensive accounting software package that you don’t need. When this has a few months’ history, it will be useful for forecasting future expenses or profits, as well as reviewing historical balances. Hire Professional Services.

Software Review 72

Software Review Startup Vesting Forecast 72

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

JUNE 18, 2015

And even this can’t stop their employees from fleeing after two years of vesting to move on to the next hot startup. In some ways having seen these trends before and being a bit more mature (code for I’m 47) I think I feel just a little bit less pressure than I did when I was younger. For investors life is no different.

Software Review 150

Software Review Turkey Portfolio Syndicate 150

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

Hiring is a chapter unto itself, but it deserves to lead off any discussion of context. Compensation decisions obviously affect hiring and retention. You can’t be too careful in determining comp packages for your new hires. Make your choices only after you’ve done some due diligence with other companies where they’ve served.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

I wassurprised recently when I realized that all the worst problems wefaced in our startup were due not to competitors, but investors.Dealing with competitors was easy by comparison. Your natural tendency when an investor says yes willbe to relax and go back to writing code. They were helpful in negotiating deals, for example.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

crowdSPRING Blog

JULY 1, 2011

How to Hire a Graphic Designer – [link]. How to Hire a Graphic Designer – [link]. Interesting but punitive provision in Skype’s option plan allowing repurchase of even vested options at grant price – [link]. Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!

Social Media 92

Social Media Small Business Design Media 92

The Next Web

JUNE 21, 2015

Aside from having an awesome name, this book looks at how a successful software company is built and run. Which software company? And it’s always interesting to see the behind-the-scenes of successful software startups. Read Next: Mark Zuckerberg’s year of books: Michael Suk-Young Chwe’s ‘Rational Ritual’ review.

PR 60

PR Startup Software Review Technical Review 60

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010

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. Start-ups with one founder rarely have or need a board of directors. In fact, such a board would seem out of place in a one person company.

Covenant 59

Covenant Software Review Stock Options Vesting 59

thinkspace.com

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

How long should people vest – four years? Investors routinely subject founder shares to vesting, but there is no rule that says that founders cannot, or should not, impose vesting on themselves. And the vesting doesn’t necessarily need to be time-based either. Five years? Buffer Pin It Digg Digg.

Equity 62

Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 3, 2009

Now he really thought I was nuts, replying "from the recruiter who hired me, of course!" If youre hiring creative, resourceful and smart people (and you are screening for that , right?) At IMVU , these were quite common (after all, were shipping code 50 times a day). I asked, "how do you know what your job description is?"

Employee 146

Employee San Francisco Lean Software Review 146

www.paulgraham.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Standards arehigher; people are more sympathetic to what youre doing; the kindof people you want to hire want to live there; supporting industriesare there; the people you run into in chance meetings are in thesame business. Our startup made software for making online stores. Itsintrinsic to the medium; software is always 85% done.

Startup 108

Startup Software Review Hiring Silicon Valley 108

venturehacks.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

What you don’t know Business founders who don’t code use bad proxies for picking technical co-founders (&# 10 years with Java!&# ). Build in founder vesting (a.k.a. However, neither one of us has a coding background. Geeks can always be hired. Be especially careful with the “sales&# guy here.

Cofounder 101

Cofounder Founder Technical Cofounder Technical Review 101

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Your highest priority right now is hiring the 1 or 2 people that are going to join your company and make a difference. It’s clear that America has a vested interest in promoting entrepreneurship in many regions in the country to stimulate innovation & job creation. There’s you and your killer CTO co-founder.

Seattle 317

Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

Ben's Blog

APRIL 28, 2010

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.”. This knowledge becomes the foundation on top of which a gigantic knowledge pyramid gets built which includes: Knowledge of every employee who gets hired and why.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 78

discuss.joelonsoftware.com

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

(Not logged on) | Register | Log On Home Discuss Jobs About The Business of Software A community discussing the business of software, from the smallest shareware operation to Microsoft. A part of Joel on Software. This community works best when people use their real names. Please register for a free account.

Sweat Equity 40

Sweat Equity Equity Angel Investor Affiliate 40

www.metamorphblog.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Experienced, talented software engineers have lots of options in life, and most of them involve getting paid. We hired three guys from that batch and paid them in iPhones. Treat everyone you hire like a co-founder. It builds trust and earns buy-in from the people you hire. Huge upfront software licensing fees.

Founder 51

Founder Startup Cofounder Vesting 51

venturehacks.com

MARCH 21, 2008

Advisor compensation Whether you’re hiring a normal advisor or super advisor: Advisory shares are usually issued as common stock options. The options typically vest monthly over 1-2 years with 100% single-trigger acceleration and no cliff. Does this stake need to have vesting schedule? Read some fun reviews of this site.

Advisory Board 44

Advisory Board Cap Table Vesting Equity 44

Hearpreneur

NOVEMBER 19, 2021

Increased productivity also leads to reduced lead-time and improved due date performance, both of which reduce chaos and foster a great work culture. Before starting Bizstim Software Solutions I was a college professor and I had a tutoring company as a side hustle. Thanks to Christopher Binns, Bizstim Software Solutions ! #12-

Entrepreneur 152

Entrepreneur Software Review LLC Web Development 152

www.chubbybrain.com

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Also worth a read after you review these startup failure post-mortems. A month ago, half way through my angel funds raised from family members, I decided to review the progress I’ve made and figure out what still needs to happen to make this a viable business. Post-Mortem Title : My eHarmony for Hiring Failure.

Software Review 79

Software Review Startup Technical Review Vesting 79

blog.expensify.com

APRIL 24, 2012

Update: The end is near, Expensify is hiring a.NET programmer! As you might know, we’re hiring the best programmers in the world. The right sort of person is so passionate about coding, they can’t be stopped from doing it. Expensify Blog. Expense Reports That Don't Suck. Some additional comments at the end.

Java 107

Java PHP Software Review Coder 107

maplebutter.com

JANUARY 8, 2013

You are here: Home » Hiring » Crazy! Written By Dan Martell on February 2nd, 2012 | Category: Hiring LeanStartup Marketing Metrics Startup Life | 6 Comments. Ability to hire top talent (A+ talent). you can hire for those. I think quick, do something, then review what I’ve learned. Maple Butter.

Technical Review 44

Technical Review Startup Cofounder Software Review 44

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

Examples: how a market will evolve, what competitors are investing in, whether new marketing campaigns will be successful, or how an important new hire will perform. Suppose we’re hiring a high-level, experienced position, like a VP of Marketing. If any are impossible for you to ameliorate, it’s a no-hire.

Differentiation 120

Differentiation Framework Restful Software Review 120