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

Up and Running

MARCH 7, 2018

I spent years as a manager at a startup company. It is important to develop a retention plan right off the bat to keep employee turnover in your small business from becoming a very costly and aggravating expense. Work on your management skills. Acknowledging your weaknesses as a manager is the first step to improving.

Employee 91

Employee Startup Salary Hiring 91

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Also factor in the value of recruitment and employee retention as part of your calculations; if you can spend a little more on perks and in doing so increase loyalty, this might help you justify the expense. Empowering HR with the right tools to manage the allocation of benefits is important in this context.

Stock Options 121

Stock Options Retention Salary Employee 121

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. More often than not, equity compensation is an attraction and retention tool, rather than a replacement to salary.

Equity 60

Equity Employee Stock Options Vesting 60

Berkonomics

APRIL 18, 2024

We have investigated the restrictions imposed by investment documents and the obvious need to keep continuity on the board with the retention of the CEO position at the very least. Practically speaking, this is an impossible goal. How about loss of institutional knowledge? And that’s not good.

Stock Options 62

Stock Options Retention Stock Government 62

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. They got a bigger office space so their employees would feel comfortable and they could improve employee retention. Two-f **g-billion! What a disaster!

Stock Options 227

Stock Options Startup Dilution Venture Capital 227

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