article thumbnail

Options about your Options – How to think through your company’s option program

VC Adventure

The data change over time and, frankly, I’m less interested in debating what % grant your Director of Product Management should receive given your stage of company and capital raised, and more interested in the structure of your program. I’m also not going to give option bands for various positions.

article thumbnail

Watch out for the most common scam in startup world?—?Sputnik ATX

Austin Startup

Another red flag is when a SIC member asks for equity in your company upfront, without any performance vesting standards. Rule Number Two: when giving equity, it should always vest over time for performance tied to measurable goals such as sales or results that move your KPIs. This is a bad deal for you, if you take it.

Vesting 72
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Why Your Business’s Purpose Should Be More Than Making Money

Up and Running

We have gotten used to treating one another as a means to our vested interests, thereby plaguing the very essential humanitarian value of mutual ethics, respect, love, and compassion. Conversely, employees who feel that their work has a deeper purpose are happy to give 100% of their effort to the company and its customers. .

Framework 191
article thumbnail

Who Should be on Your Startup Board?

Both Sides of the Table

just having a sparring partner with a vested interest in your success can be useful. But gone are the days where VCs put dollars into companies and ask founders to step aside quickly so that the VC can install their favorite management team. Can I really manage a 7-person board plus 2 board observers? Legally speaking.

article thumbnail

Organizational Debt is like Technical debt – but worse

Steve Blank

While he kept bringing the conversation back to their big valuation I tried to steer the conversation back to how they were going to deal with: training the influx of new hires – in both culture and job specific tasks. Tell each hiring manager: No new hires until you write/update your own job description. the company had.

article thumbnail

Celebrate Your Inner Wimp: Six Ways To Get Ahead By Showing Weakness

YoungUpstarts

No, it’s not always easy when emotions are running high, but a ‘weak’ response can often stabilize a harsh conversation and prevent damage to the underlying relationship. Try to stay serious and focused and keep the conversation as brief as possible. Problems in the Now category require an immediate, solution-based conversation.

Turkey 145
article thumbnail

Should You Offer Equity Compensation to Employees?

Up and Running

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. Restricted stock: . When cash flow is poor.

Equity 60