Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2014

Often the Boomer is more willing to work for equity, and easily convinced to step aside when revenues reach that next threshold. Member of the Advisory Board. Manage customer service. Marketing and sales to Gen-Y customers. Software and hardware development architects and designers.

Entrepreneur 266

Entrepreneur Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor 266

www.instigatorblog.com

MARCH 2, 2010

The Importance of Advisory Boards for Startup CEOs Tweet When a startup receives financing it will need to setup a Board of Directors. The Board probably existed beforehand, but was made up only of the founders. Mark Macleod spells it out beautifully in his post on Advisory Boards. Why wouldn’t you?

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Advisory Board Startup Cofounder Equity 40

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 5, 2015

Lesson Learned: Equity is the ultimate power; don’t give it away without the appropriate compensation or plan. Hindsight being 20/20, we should have treated these projects like any other customer. Our intention from day one was to have both an executive board and an advisory board.

CTO Hire 100

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Advisory Board Software Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2020

Many startup founders I know avoid establishing a formal advisory board or board of directors for as long as possible, with the excuse that this is just another burden, or it has more risk than value to the founder. To show your commitment, and keep theirs, all board members should be compensated.

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Advisory Board Startup IPO Government 336

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Partly out of the fact that in 1 week I depart for England to speak at LeWeb, attend our DataSift board meeting and generally make myself available to the DataSift team to meet their customers, partners and employees. You may know how much to pay in cash or equity for your new VP Engineering. Between Board Meetings.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board CTO Hire Fractional CTO Los Angeles 365

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Build qualified advisory board. If you can convince a couple of domain experts, or a couple of experienced executives to join your board and be your advocate, that’s traction. For a business, you must define the absolute minimum features you need to satisfy the customer problem, and test it in the market.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Sweat Equity CTO Hire 281

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

For startup founders, it’s never too early to start thinking about putting together a target market advisory board. The target market advisory board should consist of 2–4 industry veterans who have connections to C-level execs and VPs in your target market. Never discount the power of a warm intro.

Advisory Board 48

Advisory Board Sweat Equity Marketing Vertical 48

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

Build qualified advisory board. If you can convince a couple of domain experts, or a couple of experienced executives to join your board and be your advocate, that’s traction. For a business, you must define the absolute minimum features you need to satisfy the customer problem, and test it in the market.

Intellectual Property 260

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 8, 2016

Maintaining your team’s passion and freedom to focus first on innovating for customers are only a couple of the reasons for thinking hard before you seek money from crowdfunding, angel investors, venture capital organizations, or attempt to qualify for a public stock offering. Investors want board seats and a vote on key decisions.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup Venture Capital 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

Build qualified advisory board. If you can convince a couple of domain experts, or a couple of experienced executives to join your board and be your advocate, that’s traction. For a business, you must define the absolute minimum features you need to satisfy the customer problem, and test it in the market.

Intellectual Property 253

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 253

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2010

Build qualified advisory board. If you can convince a couple of domain experts, or a couple of experienced executives to join your board and be your advocate, that’s traction. For a business, you must define the absolute minimum features you need to satisfy the customer problem, and test it in the market.

Intellectual Property 222

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 222

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. retaining their existing hires who were working for intern-like salaries with little equity. Upgrade their salaries and equity ASAP. Is that feasible?

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

Hunter Walker

FEBRUARY 20, 2021

You don’t even need to do anything and we’ll give you equity. It doesn’t have to be a huge commitment on their part (or significant equity), but just start giving them some tie to your startup and some incentive to maintain the relationship. The “Customer Council” Advisor. Can we put you as an advisor in our deck?

Advisory Board 151

Advisory Board Equity Vesting Startup 151

David Teten

JANUARY 23, 2021

The next best move is to build your core team, e.g., recruit an Advisory Board, Venture Partners, and EIRs. For ideas, see How Executives Can Work from Home with Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds. For example, one LP told me she prefers customized emails from fund principals, as opposed to a bulk-mailed quarterly update.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review 78

OnlyOnce

JULY 9, 2013

Chapter 2: Defining and Testing the Story…Start Out By Admitting You’re Wrong, A Lean Business Plan Template, Problem, Solution, Key Metrics, Unique Value Proposition and Unfair Advantages, Channels, Customer Segments, Cost Structure and Revenue Streams. Chapter 3: Telling the Story to Your Investors…The Business Plan is Dead.

Startup 95

Startup Advisory Board Elevator Pitch Forecast 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2017

Retain maximum equity by requesting minimal funding. Focus on products and customers, and trust your accountant. The accountant may accurately record every transaction, but only you can make the strategic tradeoffs on marketing costs versus customer revenue, product quality versus support, and so forth.

Cost 180

Cost Advisory Board Entrepreneur Angel Investor 180

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Investors want to hear about customers with money who have a painful problem that you can solve now. Investors are looking for a concise description of your product or service without technical jargon or fuzzy marketing terms with value quantified in customer terms. How big is the funding request, and how much equity will you give?

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Advisory Board Liquidity Event Startup 120

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

I’ve written on the expert network industry a fair amount in the past: see How to Earn More Consulting Revenue from Expert Networks and How Executives Can Work with Private Equity and Venture Capital Portfolio Companies. Here the rigor in qualifying the GLG Share members helps, because we want the conversation to be valuable on both sides.

New York 114

New York Technical Review Networking Advisory Board 114

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 14, 2009

I wrote recently about the role of Advisory Boards in startups , which I expected to be a bit controversial. It’s just that many companies waste equity on advisory boards, pick the wrong advisers or set up advisory boards with the wrong expectations.

Advisory Board 215

Advisory Board Strategic Investors Venture Capital Later Stage 215

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Terms like “every customer needs this” and “next generation platform” are far too soft, and should be avoided. This is not the place for a detailed product specification, but an explanation of how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Solution and benefits. Focus is the keyword here.

Business Plan 283

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 283

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Terms like “every customer needs this” and “next generation platform” are far too soft, and should be avoided. This is not the place for a detailed product specification, but an explanation of how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Solution and benefits. Focus is the keyword here.

Business Plan 290

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 290

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

Terms like “every customer needs this” and “next generation platform” are far too soft, and should be avoided. This is not the place for a detailed product specification, but an explanation of how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Solution and benefits. Focus is the keyword here.

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Terms like “every customer needs this” and “next generation platform” are far too soft, and should be avoided. This is not the place for a detailed product specification, but an explanation of how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Solution and benefits. Focus is the keyword here.

Business Plan 186

Business Plan Exit Strategy Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 186

Business Plan Blog

DECEMBER 10, 2013

Founding Team, Key Hires, Advisory Board. If you cannot afford to hire the individuals with key expertise you may need to bring them on as co-founders with an equity stake or hire a part-time, interim individual or company. You can also bring these skillsets to the organization via a board of advisors. Startup Funding'

Angel Investor 55

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Seed Capital Advisory Board 55

Business Plan Blog

NOVEMBER 22, 2013

Founding Team, Key Hires, Advisory Board. If you cannot afford to hire the individuals with key expertise you may need to bring them on as co-founders with an equity stake or hire a part-time, interim individual or company. Obtain customer feedback and demonstrate that your product is fulfilling a real market need.

Intellectual Property 55

Intellectual Property Advisory Board Startup Seed Capital 55

Board Effect

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

D iversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is now a critical part of the conversation in every boardroom in America. Corporate boards are gradually working toward increased diversity and chasing the recognized value in more diverse leadership. In that case, there’s always a chance to make changes as board vacancies open.

Technical Review 52

Technical Review Technology Advisory Board Leadership 52

David Teten

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

It’s very powerful to have a model that you can email to everyone in the firm, because then everyone sees clearly that you’re communicating the exact same message to the whole team (including outside consultants and the advisory board, if any).

Employee 155

Employee IRR Startup Mexico 155

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

What do you do with an advisory board?” There is a ton of things I had to learn about lawyers, which I’ve hated every minute of… There are (also) challenges in the beginning like negotiating equity (how to split up stock) among your founders and with your employees and things like that.

Artificial Inteligence 120

Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur Silicon Valley New York 120

SoCal CTO

MARCH 4, 2010

CTO Founder – Direct responsibility for technical direction and development, sometimes operations, implies greater authority on product and company direction and higher equity position. Other labels: Consultant – Take bits and pieces, possibly coach Advisor / Advisory Board Member – Often a periodic responsibility and some ad hoc activities.

Technical Review 170

Technical Review Fractional CTO Technology CTO Hire 170

Duct Tape Marketing

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

Talked about the, the idea of getting your customers, your prospects in the habit of buying from you or listening to you or following you habit based marketing, download, nudge, wherever you get your podcasts. (00:47): John Jantsch (13:45): So what should a board, I guess this could go either way, what should a board member expect to bring?

Startup 86

Startup Cofounder Early Stage Founder 86

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 5, 2010

previously explained that it usually requires some equity, but here is some more step by step practical advice. Advisory Board. We discussed (for ~1hr) how to approach getting the first set of enterprise customers. CompStudy 2008 Report on Equity and Cash Compensation at Technology Startups. Let's recap.

Technology 191

Technology Product San Francisco CTO Hire 191

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2013

In addition to being startup founders, like Richard Branson , founder of more than 400 companies and still going strong, there are several other key roles that I see Boomers taking more often these days to drive successful startups: Advisory Board. Customer service.

Advisory Board 247

Advisory Board Angel Investor Startup Equity 247

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 20, 2011

In addition to being startup founders, there are several other key roles that I see Boomers taking more often these days to drive successful startups: Advisory Board. What you need is an experienced executive, who is willing to work for equity, and will happily step aside in a couple of years when your revenues exceed $20M.

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Advisory Board Angel Investor Entrepreneur Equity 268

venturehacks.com

MARCH 21, 2008

For example, they introduce the company to a key customer or investor. Normal advisors are also assembled by naive entrepreneurs who think the mere presence of an advisory board will create social proof and help them raise money. But investors don’t take these mock advisory boards seriously.

Advisory Board 44

Advisory Board Cap Table Vesting Equity 44

Gust

DECEMBER 31, 2012

In addition to being startup founders, like Richard Branson , founder of more than 400 companies and still going strong, there are several other key roles that I see Boomers taking more often these days to drive successful startups: Advisory Board. Customer service.

Advisory Board 177

Advisory Board Angel Investor Startup Equity 177

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

As I’ve helped entrepreneurs find their own product-market fit and connected them to potential clients, investors, and Advisory Board members, I’ve spent a lot of time telling them about the “cool kids”. and build a lifetime profile of all of their customers’ interactions. it isn’t easy. all in real-time?—?and

Software Review 48

Software Review Sales Cofounder Analytics 48

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2010

Advisory Board. How can you beat finding someone who has been there and done that, able to mentor Gen-Y, has lots of connections to people in your industry, and is often willing to work for equity alone? Customer Service. So what are some ideal roles for a Boomer relative to your startup?

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Advisory Board Angel Investor Equity Salary 189