Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

Equity for the future? If you are the person staying how resentful will you become working your arse off for equity that your co-founder who leaves will get value from. He wanted more ability to push the product & engineering teams harder – he was, after all, the CEO. We sat down the three of us.

Founder 340

Founder Sacramento Cofounder Technical Review 340

www.instigatorblog.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Changing Equity Structures for Early Startup Employees Tweet Recently someone asked me for advice on how much equity they should give to their early employees. This is especially true when you think of a tech startup, where the first few hires are typically engineers/programmers. 1% is just not a lot.

Equity 41

Equity Employee Startup Vesting 41

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2011

CEO brought in to replace the founder, 5 - 10% CTO, CFO, VP of Marketing or Sales, 1.5 - 3% Chief Engineer or Architect, 1 - 1.5% Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7% It never hurts to ask in a job interview what stock options are available, and don’t accept an offer which promises to “work out the equity terms later.”

Equity 234

Equity Advisory Board Stock Options Stock 234

Up and Running

JUNE 14, 2012

It could be an engineer and a business person, or it may need two different sets of engineering skills and a business person. A good engineer can design something fancy but that doesn’t mean there’s a market for it or that it will sell. Should co-founders have the same equity stake? Skills Part. Conclusion.

Cofounder 90

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Accredited Investor Equity 90

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 7, 2017

Employee options pools, typically created at the point of financings, shouldn’t be treated as haggling over dilution, but rather a strategic resource that will help founders build the best team and, by extension, a more valuable company.

Equity 94

Equity Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Founder 94

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

Your goal is to invest in engineering (to maintain your product lead), new offices / locations (to capture markets before others), marketing (to capture consumer attention before others do) … all of these activities consume cash often in advance of the revenue they generate. Think DropBox, Airbnb, Uber, Maker Studios.

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

David Teten

JANUARY 21, 2021

V: Should you raise venture capital from a traditional equity VC or a Revenue-Based Investing VC? VI: Revenue-based financing: The next step for private equity and early-stage investment. VIII: The Leading Flexible VCs, With Structures Between Equity and Revenue-Based Investing.

Equity 78

Equity Revenue Cofounder Colorado 78

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

Despite advances in cloud infrastructure, many businesses still have fleshy parts—soft underbellies where a human hand is required to keep quality control, stuff something into a box, order inventory, hire enough engineers to keep the site going or manage cash. Scale brings complexity.

Dilution 104

Dilution Equity Hiring Partner 104

ReadWriteStart

JULY 18, 2011

Jeff Clavier was the first tech investor I ever met; he was introduced to me years ago by some hip engineers in a bar as "one of the few cool VCs." He believes that equity need not be distributed equally, as long as everyone involved is happy with their arrangement. You can also follow Kedrosky on Twitter.

Investment Bankers 153

Investment Bankers Technical Review Cofounder Due Diligence 153

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 27, 2011

And, oh by the way, we also really like the idea of the 1M/1M entrepreneurs building valuation and negotiating leverage through these business development efforts, instead of signing off large chunks of their company in form of equity early on. Photo by nosheep. Discuss.

Dilution 114

Dilution Revenue Finance Entrepreneur 114

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2018

Bootstrapping allows you to maintain full control of your startup strategy, retain maximum equity, and avoid the time delay and energy spent to attract outside investors. In today’s world, more successful entrepreneurs have built on degrees in engineering rather than business. You need a business degree to start a venture today.

Incubator 180

Incubator Angel Investor Dilution Equity 180

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2017

CEO brought in to replace the founder, 5 - 10% CTO, CFO, VP of Marketing or Sales, 1.5 - 3% Chief Engineer or Architect, 1 - 1.5% Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7% It never hurts to ask in a job interview what stock options are available, and don’t fall for the offer which promises to “work out the equity terms later.”

Stock 140

Stock Stock Options Advisory Board Startup 140

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

Whether it is credit or equity, funding is very, very tight. You can get cash without diluting your ownership in the company. Because customer financing equals revenue, not equity. As far as customer acquisition is concerned, we discussed, again the power of organic search engine optimization.

Cloud 115

Cloud Silicon Valley Incubator Finance 115

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2013

CEO brought in to replace the founder, 5 - 10% CTO, CFO, VP of Marketing or Sales, 1.5 - 3% Chief Engineer or Architect, 1 - 1.5% Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7% It never hurts to ask in a job interview what stock options are available, and don’t fall for the offer which promises to “work out the equity terms later.”

Stock Options 224

Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 224

keen.io

FEBRUARY 5, 2013

Engineer, arranger, communicator, amateur photographer. For example: Don’t accept equity compensation (stock shares) without knowing the percentage of the company you’ll own. From there, I began googling things like “first employee startup equity” and “startup offer negotiation.” Paul Graham’s Equity Equation.

Salary 50

Salary Equity Startup San Francisco 50

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

” Today I want to talk about how a VC thinks about equity pricing on your round and particularly if you’re coming off of a convertible note. If you’re a solo founder and haven’t built out your team or engineers I’m likely to want 15+%. Then you’ll willing to take more dilution for them.

Pre-Money Valuation 150

Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Post-Money Valuation Dilution 150

The Next Web

OCTOBER 7, 2013

“It kinda sucks to be engineer #1.”. 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. Engineer #1?

Engineer 129

Engineer Dilution Option Pool Vesting 129

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

CEO brought in to replace the founder, 5 - 10% CTO, CFO, VP of Marketing or Sales, 1.5 - 3% Chief Engineer or Architect, 1 - 1.5% Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7% It never hurts to ask in a job interview what stock options are available, and don’t fall for the offer which promises to “work out the equity terms later.”

Stock Options 230

Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 230

www.payne.org

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Startup Equity For Employees. 3 Dilution. 7 Salary vs Equity. The re-heating of the venture funded tech market has pushed a heat up of the hiring market, and Im getting more calls from friends asking for help understanding startup stock (equity) offers. In a startup, dilution happens, and you just need to factor it in.

Equity 56

Equity Employee Vesting Preferred Stock 56

Berkonomics

MARCH 21, 2019

The more you ask for – the more equity you give up. Engineer” your needs if possible so that you give 20-35% to investors on the first professional investor round. To raise $2,000,000, you must give up 50% of the post-investment equity (the current value of $2,000,000 plus the investment of $2,000,000).

Hockey Stick 63

Hockey Stick Liquidity Event Valuation Balance Sheet 63

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2015

CEO brought in to replace the founder, 5 - 10% CTO, CFO, VP of Marketing or Sales, 1.5 - 3% Chief Engineer or Architect, 1 - 1.5% Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7% It never hurts to ask in a job interview what stock options are available, and don’t fall for the offer which promises to “work out the equity terms later.”

Stock Options 120

Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 120

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 25, 2018

It was there that I met Eric Simone (one of the first investors in Bazaarvoice) as well as Josh Baer (one of the first investors in Bazaarvoice through his team building our first solution and getting paid primarily in equity versus cash). I built the eCommerce engine myself and self-funded the business. Groups list on March 15, 2005.

Bootstrapping 48

Bootstrapping Austin Equity Cofounder 48

rapidrollout.wordpress.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

And finally, you may be able to avoid diluting your equity. Preserve your equity by using a consulting CTO to ramp up your company before securing early-stage financing and hiring a permanent technology partner. Increasingly, people who were only available as full-time, equity-position founders or [.] Try Google.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Fractional VPE 40

Brandanew

JULY 11, 2015

Its existing premium customers won’t take it kindly as it dilutes the said image. Brand equity. Brand equity is the value of a brand. So, it is not only the sales but the sheer image that takes the equity to a different level altogether. For example Google started as a search engine. Brand experience.

Virginia 100

Virginia Equity Differentiation Dilution 100

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2010

But don’t pack re-locate to California yet – while Y Combinator is not available in Europe yet, Seedcamp and a few other incubator programs ( HackFwd , The Difference Engine , StartupBootcamp ), not only provide funding, but also give startups a high quality network of mentors and support from graduates of the program.

Elevator Pitch 103

Elevator Pitch Incubator Technical Review Startup 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2010

CEO brought in to replace the founder, 5 - 10% CTO, CFO, VP of Marketing or Sales, 1.5 - 3% Chief Engineer or Architect, 1 - 1.5% Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7% It never hurts to ask in a job interview what stock options are available, and don’t accept an offer which promises to “work out the equity terms later.”

Stock 144

Stock Stock Options Advisory Board Startup 144

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

Plan that you will struggle initially, and this way you won't end up diluting all (or even much) of your startup capital. "It Don't be greedy, share your equity with your key founding members. Even if it is a small percentage, you want to retail your key developers and engineering talent. Don't be optimistic.

Dilution 120

Dilution Equity Hosting Mobile 120

thinkspace.com

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

How to Divide Equity to Startup Founders, Advisors, and Employees. The part that I’d like to zero in on is when you’ve got a high growth company what are some of the best practices out there to distribute equity to the founders, advisors, and employees? Equity for Founders. Equity for Employees. Bookkeeper.

Equity 62

Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

Jason Ball

JUNE 16, 2020

Reverse engineering connections via LinkedIn is also a great way to find a connection — use email for the actual connection though, not LinkedIn. Be careful though — you still need to think about total dilution once the note converts to equity. Your response rate will be much better. Tip 3: Valuation.

Dilution 34

Dilution Valuation Incubator Portfolio 34

David Teten

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

In particular, this model is designed to help all team members understand the impact of dilution on their options. It is particularly valuable for founders because it allows them (and their employees) to assess equity compensation in the form of options paid out to founding team members and other key employees. Financial Model.

Employee 155

Employee IRR Startup Mexico 155

ConversionXL

JANUARY 14, 2020

In each case, an extension to the existing solution was shipped in a search engine–friendly way and now drives a lot of organic traffic, while also improving the product. The answer is given by user intent: If your existing pages already target a clear intent, and the new feature would dilute it, create a new page for it. Quora Spaces.

SEO 159

SEO Framework SCRUM Search 159

Austin Startup

MARCH 7, 2021

In 2019 and 2020, we saw hundreds of millions of dollars in non-dilutive funding go to Texas startups, most of which had never worked with the government before. With science and engineering breakthroughs ingrained in the fabric of Houston’s economy, the region has become a thriving hub of digital technology talent.

Texas 90

Texas San Antonio Houston Dallas 90

K9 Ventures

OCTOBER 10, 2017

Unless every aspect of product development is covered by founders who are only receiving equity, there are other parts of building a product that will require hiring highly qualified people. Q: Does a Pre-Seed require founders to give up more equity in the company? Engineering Capital. Q: How are most Pre-Seed deals structured?

Seed Stage 82

Seed Stage Finance Later Stage Equity 82

The Next Web

OCTOBER 10, 2013

Too dilutive.”. Three of my cofounders are engineering masterminds (with various skillsets.) It’s obvious that a company building an online backup service and its own cloud storage platform requires strong engineering talent. Dilution – bringing on a co-founder likely means you’re splitting your share in half. Too many.”.

Cofounder 143

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Kenya Dilution 143

David Teten

DECEMBER 2, 2019

And of course, effectively all venture capitalists are going to require some equity for their investment. I’m now researching non-dilutive funding for Action Tank , a startup I’m gestating to “Make America Functional Again”. I emphasize my focus here is organizations which are backing for-profit companies and do not take equity.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review SBIR Dilution Silicon Valley 60

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Not surprisingly, the list above also is ranked from least to most equity stake in an investment for the investor, relative to the cash they invest. How would one set up such a startup to eventually raise capital from outside VCs, who will be wary of ‘dead equity’ (i.e., equity that belongs to departed cofounders)? The cliffs?

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

blog.nahurst.com

JULY 19, 2010

This covers one of the most common situations I encounter: For a pre-funding web startup whose team includes only a non-technical cofounder, how much equity should an incoming technical cofounder get? This is an area that varies widely and can significantly impact how much equity a technical cofounder receives (if they take more salary).

Technical Cofounder 43

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Equity Salary 43