Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. You need to find the skills or experience you don’t have in business, technology, or money. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so I see no equity value in the idea alone.

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Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 238

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2022

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire or better? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for or expect when I join a startup today?” Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

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Stock Options Advisory Board Stock Startup 343

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2016

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. You need to find the skills or experience you don’t have in business, technology, or money. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so I see no equity value in the idea alone.

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

One of the first tough decisions that startup founders have to make is how to allocate or split the equity among co-founders. The easy answer of splitting it equally among all co-founders, since there is minimal value at that point, is usually the worst possible answer, and often results in a later startup failure due to an obvious inequity.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2014

Two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. You need to find the skills or experience you don’t have in business, technology or money. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so there is no equity value in the idea alone. Now comes the reality check.

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Cofounder Stock Founder Technical Cofounder 261

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

. — Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm. The startup process has become demystified – information is everywhere. If the founder was lucky, he got to stay as chairman or CTO.

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Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 245

The Next Web

OCTOBER 7, 2013

That’s what a couple of my friends – engineers at Google and Bloomberg who have been following the rise of startup culture with intrigue – told me recently. They were referring to non-founder engineers, most commonly the first hire for technology businesses. Every time a startup raises capital, all common shareholders are diluted.

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SoCal CTO

MARCH 1, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Thursday, March 1, 2007 Entreprenuer Network Great post by Ben Kuo - The Importance of the “Network&# to Entrepreneurs - the informal connections between people in the technology industry here who have a vested interest in helping entrepreneurs take their companies to the next level.

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The Next Web

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

George Deeb is the Managing Partner at Chicago-based Red Rocket Ventures , a startup consulting and financial advisory firm based in Chicago. There are a lot of variables to go into calculating a fair equity split a startup team. You can follow George on Twitter at @georgedeeb and @RedRocketVC. How important is this person’s role?

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire or better? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for or expect when I join a startup today?” Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

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Equity Stock Options Advisory Board Stock 237

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I’m inspired by the enthusiasm of the young, emerging startup ecosystem that is here. And I think about the “Seattle issue&# as a metaphor for startups and business in general. I was meeting with a first-time CEO of a very promising young startup recently and offering my advice on what his priorities should be.

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thinkspace.com

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Office Space. Virtual Office. How to Divide Equity to Startup Founders, Advisors, and Employees. Are there principles that you live by that you’ve implemented in your startup that have worked really well? How long should people vest – four years? Marketing Intern. Meeting Rooms. Virtual Receptionist.

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Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2017

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire or better? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for or expect when I join a startup today?” Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

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Stock Stock Options Advisory Board Startup 140

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2013

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for when I join a startup today?” By the way, you will normally only be offered “options,” which vest over a 4-year period after a 1-year “cliff.”

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Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 224

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 10, 2013

He believed we had a weakness with his CTO. The CTO had at-will employment with no notice period. He had vested 18 months or so. Our company had limited cash and – like most startups – an unsure future. About a year ago I was working with a team whose performance had not gone as expected. My response was NFW.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for when I join a startup today?” By the way, you will normally only be offered “options,” which vest over a 4-year period after a 1-year “cliff.”

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Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 230

Scalable Startup

OCTOBER 9, 2014

Talking to CEO and CTO about role as co-founder/COO. > Too many startups now devalue anyone who is not a developer. Vesting? > If you really want to be in a startup, want to have the COO title, love their strategy and technology, trust them, and aren’t working right now, maybe go for it. Keeping it?

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Cofounder Technical Cofounder Equity Vesting 20

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2011

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Microsoft when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for when I join a startup today?” By the way, you will normally only be offered “options,” which vest over a 4-year period after a 1-year “cliff.”

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2015

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for or expect when I join a startup today?” business entrepreneur shares startup stock options' Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7%

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Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 120

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

How would one set up such a startup to eventually raise capital from outside VCs, who will be wary of ‘dead equity’ (i.e., The most important thing to consider is that launching a startup is usually a personal endeavor. First, the founders are their startup and define the company it will become. 5% vest at clickable prototype.

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Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

www.metamorphblog.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Home About Contact Home About Contact The Metamorphosis Becoming an Entrepreneur, by Matt Mireles Startup Lessons for the Proto-Founder I started SpeakerText in October 2008 during the financial apocalypse. For students, your startup is more like a resume-enhancing ‘extra-curricular’ than a regular job. Vest, young man.

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Founder Startup Cofounder Vesting 51

www.chubbybrain.com

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Analyzing 32 Startup Failure Post-Mortems to Find the 20 Top Reasons that Startups Fail. We’d previously highlighted the top startup failure post-mortems of all-time here (32 in total) written by a group of startup entrepreneurs gracious enough to share their lessons learned from their startup’s failure.

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Cofounder Startup Technical Cofounder CTO Hire 89

www.avc.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

The first bracket is the senior management team; the CFO, Chief Revenue Officer/VP Sales, Chief Marketing Officer/VP Marketing, Chief Product Officer/VP Product, CTO, VP Eng, Chief People Officer/VP HR, General Counsel, and anyone else on the senior team.

Equity 64

Equity Employee CTO Hire Fractional CTO 64

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Advisor. ); STARTUP. We had a rough time early on," says Parker, president and chief technology officer of Roving Software Inc. , He suggests granting the options on day one but making sure they vest only upon satisfactory completion of the project. Entrepreneur news from reporter Eric Markowitz. Tools & Research.

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Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2010

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Microsoft when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for when I join a startup today?” By the way, you will normally only be offered “options,” which vest over a 4-year period after a 1-year “cliff.”

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Stock Stock Options Advisory Board Startup 144

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

This is part of my Startup Advice series. at a startup that has already raised $5 million the chances of you making your retirement money on that company is EXTREMELY small. Stock vests for 4 years. So a friend recently called to ask for advice on becoming the CTO of a startup. Let’s face it. Sorry bud.

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SoCal CTO

MAY 4, 2010

Some great posts from April 2010 that talk to me in terms of being a CTO at a Startup. Redeye VC , April 13, 2010 Startup Development - SoCal CTO , April 23, 2010 Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering? Ben Casnocha: The Blog , April 15, 2010 Everyone I spoke with loved the idea.

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www.startuplessonslearned.com

MAY 4, 2012

The following is an excerpt from HBS Professor Noam Wasserman’s new book, The Founders Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup. Having seen these dilemmas derail countless startups, I wish every entrepreneur and prospective founder would read this book." - Eric. Founders Dilemmas: Equity Splits.

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www.quora.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Type to Add and Search Questions; Search Topics and People Startups Startup Compensation Entrepreneurship Compensation Stock Options Major Internet Companies Silicon Valley Why is there such a large founder to early employee equity drop-off? Many startups these days are first-time entrepreneurs. is lowered. After that various i.

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Equity Employee Founder Cofounder 40

blog.expensify.com

APRIL 24, 2012

You become so steeped in tools and techniques that have absolutely no relevance outside of.NET that you are actually less valuable to a startup than had you just taken a long nap. Two things: If you ever want to work in a startup, avoid.NET. But what they do is very, very rarely startups. It does you no favors.

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Java PHP Software Review Coder 107