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NOVEMBER 4, 2019

And to do that, founders either spend way too much money on a third party dev shop, or hire a “lead engineer” that is capable, but not really a star. The other priority is to generate the most cost-effective signals of market demand possible.

Seed Stage 180

Seed Stage Bootstrapping Demand Early Stage 180

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MAY 14, 2019

You needed to find the most scrappy and cost efficient way to get a product out, and in the process learned tons about the market and customer you are trying to serve. The hard struggles test your own conviction and vigor at a time when the cost of starting over are relatively low.

Founder 256

Founder Agile Cofounder Seed Capital 256

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MARCH 3, 2015

Ellie Mirman was the first marketer hired by the CMO of HubSpot, the Boston-based marketing software startup that IPOed in 2014. Webinars have a whole other cost in terms of time, effort, headaches, etc. NVV: You’ve been Frontline Marketer #1 before, and now you’re on the hiring side as a VP.

Marketing 120

Marketing Sales Cycle Startup CTO Hire 120

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MARCH 19, 2015

” After spending some time at the acquiring company, I was hired by Google and eventually was put in charge of the development team that launched AdWords. I was fortunate enough to be hired back by Google, and while there, I was asked to be part of an “innovation task force.” Why doesn’t everyone do this?”

Product 120

Product Technical Review Marketing Lean 120

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OCTOBER 15, 2014

Team: Hires, fires, departures, responsibility changes, major promotions, and your org chart. Office and Logistics: Potential moves and cost (rent plus dollars per square foot plus lease length), insurance, healthcare, legal, and other services. Note that “housekeeping” doesn’t mean “not important.”

Seed Stage 331

Seed Stage Cap Table Metrics Burn Rate 331

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AUGUST 6, 2015

When someone goes to work for an early startup, the compensation package general includes an annual salary, health insurance, and, instead of fixed-cost performance upside, a percentage of unvested options to purchase equity in the company. It falls on the hiring company to thoroughly explain equity options to their new employees.

Equity 120

Equity Employee Cap Table Stock Options 120

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FEBRUARY 18, 2016

This forces companies to be more discplined on the hiring front (and likely much less competitive with bigger companies —  see The Information’s great post on this ) which will then poentially slow progress towards the key milestones needed to raise a Series A. These two costs suck up a lot of the money in an early stage company.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage San Francisco Startup Valuation 120

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APRIL 21, 2015

Do you find yourself hiring operators or PMs with that background? I have, and would consider, hiring people with business school backgrounds. So I certainly would not recommend going to business school if you have the right idea, founding team, and are ready to dive in full-time.

Founder 120

Founder Las Vegas Entrepreneur Cofounder 120

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JULY 26, 2022

Only ~3% of people have access to IVF (in-vitro fertilization), primarily due to cost and access issues. As we build and grow, I get a crash course in every domain of business – Product Development 101, Digital Marketing 101, Hiring 101 and so forth. AD: The current paradigm is not working. Infertility continues to rise.

Silicon Valley 156

Silicon Valley Later Stage Early Stage Founder 156

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AUGUST 6, 2015

When someone goes to work for an early startup, the compensation package general includes an annual salary, health insurance, and, instead of fixed-cost performance upside, a percentage of unvested options to purchase equity in the company. It falls on the hiring company to thoroughly explain equity options to their new employees.

Equity 120

Equity Employee Cap Table Stock Options 120

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MARCH 1, 2016

Investors and smart hires will always do appropriate diligence before investing money and time, but they won’t bother doing that unless they are excited about your story. Are you able to achieve pricing 10 times better than incumbents due to unfair cost advantages?

Founder 120

Founder Technical Review Cofounder Non-Compete 120

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AUGUST 5, 2014

We started the process of building our company culture early, before we hired any employees, by writing down our desired values. Hiring: We look for people oriented towards (even obsessed with) learning and growth. Culture bleeds right into our product, our relationships with customers, and our potential impact on the world.

Cofounder 307

Cofounder Startup SCRUM Seed Stage 307

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MARCH 8, 2016

And try to listen to the people you’re hiring as experts. And in that case, there’s a low barrier to entry from a cost perspective and an experience perspective. It adds value when it comes to customer acquisition, yes, but there are also a number of intangible benefits: hiring, partnerships, and even a higher valuation.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Conversion Startup PR 120