Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

He gives a wealth of practical advice on building a successful technical startup, including some specifics that I like on what constitutes a dream team of partners: The technical guru. 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

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

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 304

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2014

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 283

Startup Forecast Stock Options Technical Review 283

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

View from Seed

APRIL 27, 2020

Others are just starting out, but the financial safety net they thought they had from a spouse’s job or highly appreciated stock options has disappeared. We believe that it is unwise for VCs to try to time markets or do unnatural things to manage investment pace. We look forward to partnering together to make that happen.

Cofounder 194

Cofounder Software Review Portfolio Technical Review 194

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. Calculate employee stock option values and vesting times, as well as salary. How complex is the capitalization table?

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

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

He’d wasted a year of his life and had a pile of stock options that weren’t very interesting. Klout Puts Metrics Into Social Media Management - Tim Berry's Blog - Planning Startups Stories , May 21, 2010 I really like klout.com for three good reasons: 1.) Tesla is not. SlideShare: VC signaling in seed rounds. What should I do?’.

Fractional CTO 248

Fractional CTO Startup Venture Capital Cofounder 248

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 8, 2013

Wikipedia reminded me – it’s another Peter Drucker creation from The Practice of Management. I have a deeply held belief that a manager cannot “motivate behavior.” My partner Dave and I took the number, made a list of all employees, and figured out how much we were going to give each of them.

Stock Options 146

Stock Options Technical Review Leadership Equity 146

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

He gives a wealth of practical advice on building a successful technical startup, including some specifics that I like on what constitutes a dream team of partners: The technical guru. 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

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

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

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. Calculate employee stock option values and vesting times, as well as salary. How complex is the capitalization table?

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 120

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. Teamwork inside the company and interacting with customers and partners outside the company are mandatory activities. Motivation and commitment to results.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Stock Options Salary Hiring 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. Calculate employee stock option values and vesting times, as well as salary. How complex is the capitalization table?

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 120

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

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

VC’s raise money from their investors (limited partners like pension funds) and then spread their risk by investing in a number of startups (called a portfolio). BTW, Angel investors do not have limited partners, and often invest for reasons other than just for financial gain (e.g., The Deal With the Devil.

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Private Equity 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

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 17, 2011

Schools can’t give stock options, but they can give praise and non-economic rewards to those who uncover a new idea that works. Michael Feuer cofounded OfficeMax in 1988 starting with one store and $20,000 of his own money, a partner, and a small group of investors. Know when it’s time to pull the plug.

Cofounder 222

Cofounder Programming Leadership Ohio 222

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

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

If you’re thinking about joining as the director of marketing, product management manager, senior architect, international business development lead, etc. Now … these are stock options and not restricted stock so you’ll likely be taxed at a long-term capital gains rate. Let’s face it.

Stock Options 418

Stock Options Stock Liquidation Preference Option Pool 418

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

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. than to have to deal with healthcare benefit options, vacation policies, health-and-safety regulations and so forth. Stock option top-ups after a few years are vital retention mechanisms.

Operations 150

Operations Metrics Early Stage Non-Compete 150

Up and Running

DECEMBER 1, 2015

If you’re giving a large percentage of your company to someone (and yes, two percent is large), you’re entering into a contract that’s really a whole lot like marriage in that it creates a long-term relationship between you and the employee or partner. Make sure you understand all of your options before making any decisions.

Equity 60

Equity Employee Stock Options Vesting 60

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 12, 2009

S corps are not a popular entity choice because, in addition to presenting the same challenges to tax-exempt venture fund partners as those presented by LLCs, S corps are limited to one class of stock (meaning no preferred stock financings) and 100 stockholders. such as incentive stock options. residents.

LLC 61

LLC Stock Options Preferred Stock Stock 61

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. Is the revenue dependent on a concentrated set of distribution partners or platforms that put future revenue at risk? Two-f **g-billion!

Stock Options 227

Stock Options Startup Dilution Venture Capital 227

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

Old co-workers or new friends with complementary skills usually make the best partners. Later you need specialists and managers. Offer low cash early, with bonuses or stock options for milestones, to people in your personal network. The founder’s title and role dilemma. The right motivated employees dilemma.

Founder 325

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

Ben's Blog

APRIL 28, 2010

When my partner Marc wrote his post describing our firm , the most controversial component of our investment strategy was our preference for founding CEOs. 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.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 78

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2019

There are actually several type and I’m going to make the case that if you can avoid board observers you generally should and when you do have them you should be thoughtful about how you manage them. This can be practical for both parties if this is a senior partner already sitting on 10–12 boards. Types of Board Observers 1.

Strategic Investors 255

Strategic Investors Startup Stock Options Venture Capital 255

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2014

Old co-workers or new friends with complementary skills usually make the best partners. Later you need specialists and managers. Offer low cash early, with bonuses or stock options for milestones, to people in your personal network. The Founder’s title and role dilemma. The right motivated employees dilemma.

Hockey Stick 268

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 268

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

I work hard to create working relationships with my fellow non-management board members in the same way that every investor ultimately works to develop strong working relationships with founders. cash & unallocated stock options) Should we raise capital, from whom, how much and at what price? I practice what I preach.

LP 269

LP Startup Burn Rate Stock Options 269

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Leadership & Managing | Tuesdays. LEADERSHIP & MANAGING. Managing Creativity. I advise my clients that you offer stock only after youve searched your heart and soul and cant come up with a way to pay with anything else," says Thomas H. Chip Morse , cofounder and partner with Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton P.C.,

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2013

Old co-workers or new friends with complementary skills usually make the best partners. Later you need specialists and managers. Offer low cash early, with bonuses or stock options for milestones, to people in your personal network. The Founder’s title and role dilemma. The right motivated employees dilemma.

Founder 245

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 245

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2019

Old co-workers or new friends with complementary skills usually make the best partners. Later you need specialists and managers. Offer low cash early, with bonuses or stock options for milestones, to people in your personal network. The founder’s title and role dilemma. The right motivated employees dilemma.

Hockey Stick 243

Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event Startup 243

Reid Hoffman

DECEMBER 10, 2020

If I’m going to find out that a set of founders lack integrity, don’t behave like partners, take on unacceptable risks that might harm their customers or society, or simply aren’t the kinds of people I want to spend a decade with, I want to know those facts before I start down the path of evaluating that investment. I think David’s wrong.”.

Hosting 69

Hosting Hockey Stick IPO Silicon Valley 69

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 11, 2020

When I became a managing partner, aside from directing our strategy on where to invest, I also helped recruit board positions and management teams. Early in my climb I was hyper-focused on title and pay, realizing later that good health was like a stock option that pays off later.

Switzerland 264

Switzerland Private Equity Stock Options Equity 264

www.thedailymuse.com

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

You don’t want a senior partner preparing documents for an incorporation, nor do you want a third-year lawyer negotiating with a seasoned venture capitalist for you. A junior lawyer at a small firm in a smaller city may charge $150 an hour, while senior partners in big firms in major cities have been known to charge over $1,000 an hour.

Hiring 56

Hiring LLC Intellectual Property Private Equity 56