Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2020

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 436

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 436

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2022

Escalate all problems upward to senior management. Avoid the macho concept that only top management can solve problems or address strategic challenges. An even better alternative could be stock options, linked to the long-term success of the company. Decisions made lower down always get more buy-in.

Stock Options 277

Stock Options Incubator Framework Stock 277

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

Options are gravy - I lived through the first dot com era where we used stock options as a recruiting tool. Options are obviously a very important economic motivator for your first 3-5 employees and your most senior management team. We give out stock options. Then go ahead.

Stock Options 294

Stock Options Stock Valuation Liquidation Preference 294

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

MARCH 29, 2015

Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. Unless you have a sizable nest egg, or a working spouse with an income to support you, I would recommend that you consider any stock options as a “potential bonus,” rather than a key part of your compensation for joining a startup. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Stock Options 120

Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 120

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Board meeting gets scheduled Nobody thinks too much about it until a week or two before Management team has a last-minute scramble to pull materials together Management is super focused on its daily work of … winning customers, signing biz dev, shipping product … so this prep is a last minute “fire drill” and is seen as a slight distraction.

Stock Options 226

Stock Options Metrics Stock Valuation 226

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2022

Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. Unless you have a sizable nest egg, or a working spouse with an income to support you, I would recommend that you consider any stock options as a “potential bonus,” rather than a key part of your compensation for joining a startup. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Stock Options 343

Stock Options Advisory Board Stock Startup 343

abovethecrowd.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2009

Prominent finance publications like the WSJ and the Motley Fool along with several bloggers have recently taken shots at Google with respect to their decision to re-price a boat-load of employee stock options.

Stock Options 40

Stock Options Stock Finance Technical Review 40

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

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

Escalate all problems upward to senior management. Avoid the macho concept that only top management can solve problems, or address strategic challenges. An even better alternative could be stock options, linked to the long-term success of the company. Decisions made lower down always get more buy-in.

Stock Options 236

Stock Options Incubator Framework Stock 236

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. Is your management team world-class in all phases?

Management 64

Management Development Team Review Stock Options Technical Review 64

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

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

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

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. This is scary. Number of Investments.

Cofounder 194

Cofounder Software Review Portfolio Technical Review 194

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2022

Another example is Facebook , maintaining motivation with food, stock options, collaborative office space, an on-site laundry, and a competitive atmosphere that fosters personal growth and learning with great benefits. Don’t take yourself too seriously as well. Always treat your team as your highest priority.

Stock Options 362

Stock Options Salary Leadership Stock 362

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

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. Unless you have a sizable nest egg, or a working spouse with an income to support you, I would recommend that you consider any stock options as a “potential bonus,” rather than a key part of your compensation for joining a startup. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Equity 237

Equity Stock Options Advisory Board Stock 237

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 19, 2017

Escalate all problems upward to senior management. Avoid the macho concept that only top management can solve problems, or address strategic challenges. An even better alternative could be stock options, linked to the long-term success of the company. Decisions made lower down always get more buy-in.

Stock Options 141

Stock Options Incubator Framework Stock 141

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

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

He wrote a post this long weekend on how he manages the board of DataSift. In this period (less than 2 years) he has brought on incredibly talented senior execs is sales, marketing, product management, client services, finance, vp engineering and more. Rob Bailey is the CEO of DataSift. You should read it. Email updates frequently.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board CTO Hire Fractional CTO Los Angeles 365

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

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 1, 2018

Formal option plans for some. Some companies, especially those financed by angel or VC investors, have good, formal stock option plans with properly priced options set to reward all employees and managers in the event of a corporate sale.

Stock Options 192

Stock Options Stock Distribution Programming 192

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

People buy companies for 3 primary reasons: 1) they want the management team / talent 2) they want the technology or 3) they want the market traction (revenue, customer base, profits, etc). Mark Jeffrey - Q: “Is it more traditional to do your ESOP (employee stock option plan) before or after your angel or Series A funding?&#

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

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

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2022

What is new is the trend and mentality to just look for results and ignore other traditional management constraints, like the amount of time spent. Their reward is more free time for leisure, or more time for bonus objectives and stock options. Measuring results in itself is not new. Reward shorter hours of high productivity.

Cost 313

Cost Stock Options Cloud Differentiation 313

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. If you haven’t yet focused on attracting and managing the right people, it’s still too early to look for funding. Motivation and commitment to results.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Stock Options Salary Hiring 120

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 14, 2023

But how about awarding stock options to all employees? These plans are not as popular today because of their complexity and difficulty to manage, lost in favor of simple stock option plans. Obviously for the appropriate individuals, a bonus program aligned to the department’s goals is appropriate.

Employee 62

Employee Stock Options Stock Equity 62

Women Entrepreneurs Can

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

This could include tools such as automated customer relationship management systems (CRM), artificial intelligence (AI) for predictive analytics and market insights, or cloud-based solutions for data security and scalability. Additionally, consider offering incentives such as bonuses or stock options to reward employee performance.

Artificial Inteligence 52

Artificial Inteligence Guerilla Technical Review Stock Options 52

Up and Running

OCTOBER 19, 2021

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. Enterprising employees will make do anyway.

Startup 127

Startup Salary Stock Options Employee 127

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

Later you need specialists and managers. Offer low cash early, with bonuses or stock options for milestones, to people in your personal network. The right motivated employees dilemma. Very early, you need generalists who can cover multiple areas, but you can’t pay for experience. The founder succession dilemma.

Founder 325

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

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? They usually ask for warrants (basically like a stock option) in exchange for taking a deferred fee. Shame about that pesky FAS 157 ruling. Good people and evil people.

Southern California 318

Southern California Silicon Valley IP Stock Options 318

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

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 23, 2023

Some rules about stock options and phantom stock: [Email readers, continue here…] The real insight here is that stock options or phantom stock are the tools of early-stage businesses used to attract great talent when there is not enough cash to pay market rates. How about multiple classes of stock?

Equity 62

Equity Stock Options Vesting Early Stage 62

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2020

Another example is Facebook , maintaining motivation with food, stock options, collaborative office space, an on-site laundry, and a competitive atmosphere that fosters personal growth and learning with great benefits. Don’t take yourself too seriously as well. Always treat your team as your highest priority.

Product 322

Product Stock Options Salary Leadership 322