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. They were referring to non-founder engineers, most commonly the first hire for technology businesses. Every time a startup raises capital, all common shareholders are diluted.

Engineer 129

Engineer Dilution Option Pool Vesting 129

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

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

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

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

The Startup Toolkit

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

false As a cheatsheet, the “normal” equity structure is: Founder terms: 4 year vesting, 1 year cliff, for everyone, including you. 2.0% ) : 4 year vesting, optional cliff, full acceleration on exit. When it comes to equity terms, there are only 3 things to understand: vesting, cliffs, and acceleration. Cliffs & vesting.

Vesting 56

Vesting Equity Cofounder Technical Review 56

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. experiments to build a product, find customers, test business models and hire amazing people.

Technical Review 105

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 105

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

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

techcrunch.com

JUNE 22, 2012

Startup Battlefield. Free Startup Docs: How Much Equity Should Advisors Get? Free Startup Docs: How Much Equity Should Advisors Get? He covers startups, music, social, mobile, health, and education. So, the Founder Institute has developed a solution to this long-standing pain in the ass that all startups experience.

Equity 94

Equity San Francisco Startup Silicon Valley 94

VC Adventure

AUGUST 16, 2020

Some feel that, especially for early employees, options should act as a reward for taking startup risk. Many startups use option packages to compete with the larger current comp packages of bigger, more established businesses. The grant would begin vesting on the employee’s 4th anniversary and will vest monthly over 4 years.

Programming 148

Programming Vesting Equity Software Review 148

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. I never hire job hoppers. 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

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

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 22, 2017

Hire Professional Services. Accountants also have the specialist knowledge to glean insights about the business by interpreting the figures, and can often give specific advice to startups. If you’re not ready to hire a bookkeeper or accountant and you have a business partner, share the job of keeping financial records straight.

Software Review 100

Software Review Startup Vesting Forecast 100

crowdSPRING Blog

JULY 1, 2011

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! How to Hire a Graphic Designer – [link]. The long term value of customers for small businesses & startups – [link]. How to Hire a Graphic Designer – [link].

Social Media 92

Social Media Small Business Design Media 92

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. But its not.

Employee 146

Employee San Francisco Lean Software Review 146

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. But never give away shares without vesting. Learn how to hire and maintain your company culture. 10-20% for employees.

Management 120

Management Cofounder Startup Bootstrapping 120

thinkspace.com

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

How to Divide Equity to Startup Founders, Advisors, and Employees. Are there principles that you live by that you’ve implemented in your startup that have worked really well? How long should people vest – four years? And the vesting doesn’t necessarily need to be time-based either. Marketing Intern.

Equity 62

Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

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. And even this can’t stop their employees from fleeing after two years of vesting to move on to the next hot startup. Easier said than done.

Software Review 150

Software Review Turkey Portfolio Syndicate 150

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

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 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 78

Sweat Equity Software Review Vesting Cofounder 78

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. Hire your co-founder. Vested over 4 years. Involve them in fund raising, hiring, strategy, etc. Startups have high failure rates. Give them a large sum of equity. That’s OK.

Cofounder 393

Cofounder Founder Vesting Founder Vesting 393

www.avc.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

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. For your first key hires, three, five, maybe as much as ten, you will probably not be able to use any kind of formula. First, a caveat.

Equity 64

Equity Employee CTO Hire Fractional CTO 64

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

Steve Blank

JULY 19, 2010

As a founder I fought with VC’s over vesting as they brought in a new CEO and walked me out the door. As a board member I negotiated with founding CEO’s over vesting when I thought it was their time to go. Every VC knows that the founding CEO is the individual you throw into the chaotic battle of a startup. Preparing For Chaos.

Vesting 264

Vesting Liquidity Event Founder Vesting Venture Capital 264

Up and Running

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Stock options are issued to employees usually through an Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) and include what is called a “vesting period.” The vesting period, often three or four years, frees up a percentage of the options for the employee to purchase the longer they stay at the company. See Also: How to Hire Your First Employee.

Equity 60

Equity Employee Stock Options Vesting 60

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 13, 2015

Lastly, when we hire our first employees, we should always do it with the appropriate documentation, in which there should not lack the specification that everything they create while working for us, on the level of intellectual property, belongs to the company.

Delaware 100

Delaware Technical Review United States Vesting 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2021

Although every startup is unique, there are certain common avoidable mistakes that can lead to legal complications which jeopardize the long-term success of the business. This problem can be avoided by incorporating immediately after early discussions, and issuing shares to the Founders, with normal vesting and other participation rules.

Cost 363

Cost Non-Compete Accredited Investor Cofounder 363

Duct Tape Marketing

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Companies find value in this flexibility because it allows them access to expert advice without bearing the cost associated with employing someone at such level permanently; hence saving on overall CMO costs which could otherwise be prohibitive especially for startup companies. But have you considered going fractional?

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Retention Networking Leadership 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 10, 2012

Although every startup is unique, there are certain common avoidable mistakes that can lead to legal complications which jeopardize the long-term success of the business. This problem can be avoided by incorporating immediately after early discussions, and issuing shares to the founders, with normal vesting and other participation rules.

Non-Compete 249

Non-Compete Accredited Investor Cofounder Startup 249

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 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

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2013

Although every startup is unique, there are certain common avoidable mistakes that can lead to legal complications which jeopardize the long-term success of the business. This problem can be avoided by incorporating immediately after early discussions, and issuing shares to the Founders, with normal vesting and other participation rules.

Non-Compete 235

Non-Compete Accredited Investor Startup Cofounder 235

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 28, 2021

In fact, it’s why many startup folks leave the early stage world to go over to the big company side—because the benefits tend to be much better. A lot of smaller startups are complaining that it’s super difficult to recruit talent right now, but few are differentiating their offering.

Hiring 187

Hiring Early Stage Marketing Term Sheet 187

Steve Blank

JUNE 15, 2010

The role of a founding CEO in a startup searching for a business model is radically different than a CEO building and growing a company. So if you’re the founder of a startup, you may want to consider who you take money from. What startup stage do they typically invest in? What Startup Stage Do they Invest In?

Founder 232

Founder Vesting Later Stage Early Stage 232

Hunter Walker

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Show me the first 20 employees of a startup and I’ll tell you whether it’s going to be successful or not. When I encounter founders who know how to hire, or founders who are self-aware enough to know it’s an area they want to get better at, it’s a huge plus in our investment decision. You need to know what excellent looks like.

Hiring 169

Hiring Vesting Salary Naming 169

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. the better the startup will be. 1% is just not a lot.

Equity 41

Equity Employee Startup Vesting 41