www.avc.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Employee Equity: How Much? The most common comment in this long and complicated MBA Mondays series on Employee Equity is the question of how much equity should you grant when you make a hire. And the amount of equity you need to grant to accomplish these hires is also an art and most certainly not a science.

Equity 64

Equity Employee CTO Hire Fractional CTO 64

Altgate

JUNE 25, 2012

. —————– Dead equity — equity held by employees and founders no longer working at the company — is a large and growing problem. One who attracted much attention is David Choe, the graffiti artist hired to paint the company’s first headquarters. million.

Equity 44

Equity Vesting Cap Table Technical Review 44

Steve Blank

MAY 19, 2015

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. retaining their existing hires who were working for intern-like salaries with little equity. the company had.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

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. His company had just closed an early round of funding and he wanted to cement the employee relationships. Those first employees will take 0.5-1%

Equity 41

Equity Employee Startup Vesting 41

Altgate

AUGUST 25, 2012

. —————– Dead equity — equity held by employees and founders no longer working at the company — is a large and growing problem. One who attracted much attention is David Choe, the graffiti artist hired to paint the company’s first headquarters. million.

Equity 28

Equity Vesting Cap Table Technical Review 28

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2016

Most founders like to talk about their many months or years of sweat-equity , but cash invested is a stronger commitment. One more key employee or one more investor will probably not turn the situation around. Calculate employee stock option values and vesting times, as well as salary.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2015

Most founders like to talk about their many months or years of sweat-equity , but cash invested is a stronger commitment. One more key employee or one more investor will probably not turn the situation around. Calculate employee stock option values and vesting times, as well as salary. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 120

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Employee Benefits. Should You Share Equity with Consultants? Back in 1997, Randy Parker was staring at a blank whiteboard, wondering where hed find the money to hire the employees and consultants he needed to build his new product. "We But sharing equity can have pitfalls, too. Financing A Small Business.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Gust

APRIL 9, 2014

Equity dilution works when the same pie is divided among more people. Over time, other people receive pieces of equity in exchange for work (employee stock options), money (seed, angel and venture investors), services (attorneys, directors, etc.).

Dilution 150

Dilution Equity Vesting Stock Options 150

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

experiments to build a product, find customers, test business models and hire amazing people. It is not uncommon for startup directors to be more deeply involved in the operations of the business when the company is entering a new market, hiring critical team members or raising capital. This equity will vest over 2-3 years.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 88

www.mattbartus.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Equity for Consultants – Keep it Simple! posted Feb 3 in Equity , People issues. We will grant him/her X% fully diluted shares up front, and every time he/she makes an introduction, he/she will vest in 100 shares.” The most you lose is 1 or 2 months of vesting on the stock. Blog blog archive. Quora Answers.

Equity 40

Equity Vesting Silicon Valley Intellectual Property 40

ReadWriteStart

MAY 3, 2012

Offer Equity Compensation to Team Members: Generate interest in joining your team by giving equity to others with complementary skill sets to yours. With a four-year vesting schedule and a six-month “cliff” or trial period, you can get others to join in on the fun of startup, and make progress without expending cash.

Bootstrapping 137

Bootstrapping Software Review Startup Equity 137

www.thedailymuse.com

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

We’re Hiring. What Start-ups Should Know About Hiring a Lawyer. Hiring and working with a lawyer is often confusing and daunting, especially if you’ve never done it before. What should new entrepreneurs look for when hiring a lawyer? Hiring employees. Get Involved. Meet the Team. Job Search.

Hiring 56

Hiring LLC Intellectual Property Private Equity 56

Andrew Payne

SEPTEMBER 9, 2017

I’ve probably had a thousand or more discussions about startup equity: figuring out how much to offer, negotiating, or advising others. In practice, most equity grants within a company are driven by broad calibrations with existing employees. Also, founders should absolutely implement some form of vesting.

Equity 71

Equity Founder Vesting Dilution 71

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

(And please don’t tell us to hire a lawyer.) Vesting Restrictions. The first deadly mistake relates to vesting restrictions. And if the departing founder has a huge chunk of equity, it is unlikely that the company will find many sophisticated angels or VC’s interested in investing. IP Ownership.

Vesting 89

Vesting Software Review IP Intellectual Property 89

The Next Web

AUGUST 26, 2013

Today, in steps 10-12 I want to discuss with you raising your first round of money, hiring to develop and maintain your company culture, as well as defining your role in the management of your startup. I’ve seen a few businesses where the first investors took huge pieces of equity for very little money. 10-20% for employees.

Management 120

Management Cofounder Startup Bootstrapping 120

www.payne.org

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Startup Equity For Employees. 4 Vesting. 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. From Payne.org Wiki. 3 Dilution. 5 Stock vs Options.

Equity 56

Equity Employee Vesting Preferred Stock 56

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 18, 2015

Bloomberg’s article about lower-than-expected financial gains from startup IPOs for midlevel employees stuck in craw this week because there’s a handful of complex issues at play here. Even in successful companies, most initial equity grants will be worth a few hundred thousand dollars to perhaps $1-2m, when fully vested.

Equity 48

Equity Employee IPO Vesting 48

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2011

Hire your co-founder. Give them a large sum of equity. Vested over 4 years. Involve them in fund raising, hiring, strategy, etc. Most senior employees who join are given 2% if they join early. So trust me when I tell you that you can hire incredibly talented people for 30% of your company. Who gets 30%?

Cofounder 393

Cofounder Founder Vesting Founder Vesting 393

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 2, 2017

It’s hard enough to get a job at a venture capital or private equity firm; it’s even more complex to join as a Partner. Also see Preqin’s Key Due Diligence Considerations for Private Equity Investors. . VC and private equity are very illiquid on both the investing and the personnel side. So assessing fit is critical.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Partner 60

blog.aparttimecto.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Flexibility - You won’t need to commit to something, either cash, equity or involving other people, upfront. Find and hire one or more developers Pros: Implementation Speed - Developers working full time will be much more efficient for you and your product since they’ll be dedicated to your company.

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Equity Vesting 40

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

Hiring is a chapter unto itself, but it deserves to lead off any discussion of context. Compensation decisions obviously affect hiring and retention. They’re looking to be paid properly in the context of the overall salary structure, including cash, benefits, and equity, and to be paid commensurate with performance.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

Feld Thoughts

JANUARY 17, 2013

Assume you hire someone and grant them 10,000 options with monthly vesting of four years with a one year cliff. That means that after one year, they get 25% of their options and then start vesting the remaining options monthly at a rate of 1/48 (208.3 Let me give an example. options / month, or 2,500 / year.)

Stock Options 134

Stock Options Stock Vesting Retention 134

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 28, 2011

This post doesn’t going into general tactical approaches of job offer negotiation, but rather focuses on the fact that with startups a significant part of compensation is related to equity or options. Nearly all startup employees receive a number of options figure in their offer. So the number of shares you receive (e.g.

Startup 121

Startup Equity Vesting Salary 121

Scott Edward Walker

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Set-up vesting schedules for the founders (see post here ) and file 83(b) elections with the IRS (see #3 here ). Split the equity based on prior contributions and expectations going forward, not necessarily equally (see post here ). Button-down IP ownership and assignment issues (see post here ). None of this is rocket science.

Accredited Investor 111

Accredited Investor Stock Options Delaware Silicon Valley 111

venturehacks.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

The Equity Equation. As this nuclear winter of venture hacks continues, I thought you might enjoy our thoughts on Paul Graham’s The Equity Equation. ” Read the rest of The Equity Equation first; it is great. You have to pay market rates regardless of the equity equation. If no, she is a no hire.

Equity 40

Equity Cap Table Valuation RSS 40

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.

Equity 62

Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

The Next Web

JUNE 15, 2012

From Silicon Valley to Peoria, Illinois, cash-strapped startups look for inventive way to finance their business – often handing out equity to employees, consultants, vendors, and other service providers. Pitfalls in sharing equity. While equity can be a great tool for compensating early on, the drawbacks are significant.

Equity 116

Equity Stock Options Vesting Stock 116

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

In brief, a cap acts to place a limit on the conversion price of a convertible note such that investors are guaranteed a minimum number of shares for their bridge loans if the startup does a priced equity round at a high pre-money valuation – “high” meaning above the cap, which is often a heavily negotiated term. (The of MySpace, Inc.

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 23, 2023

Here is the warning: The execution of equity allocations and of a good incentive program using equity is often mismanaged, damaging the corporate capitalization structure and even affecting the outcome of subsequent investment into the company. … Equity is divided between the founders and the business begun.

Equity 62

Equity Stock Options Vesting Early Stage 62

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 16, 2012

Still, I contend that most companies have no idea how to hire, and in the last week, my theory got proved to me several times over. I wasn't hiring, but I agreed to meet him due to his generous offer. It's not even a matter of considering your potential employees carefully. The company who hired the candidate I quoted before?

Hiring 148

Hiring Software Review Technical Review Startup 148

ithacaVC

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

Said another way, if I were interviewing you for a job at a startup and you were title crazed I would never hire you. VP and higher positions are outright entitled to understand exactly the percentage ownership of the company their equity package represents. Equity packages are either stock options or restricted stock.

Startup 40

Startup Stock Options Vesting Equity 40

ithacaVC

JUNE 20, 2011

2. You need (or think you need) a stock option plan: granting stock options (and other forms of equity compensation to employees like restricted stock) should be done under a written equity incentive plan. And each award to a given employee requires a separate grant agreement laying out the terms of the grant.

Stock Options 58

Stock Options Vesting Subscription Agreement Founder Vesting 58

infochachkie.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Instead of hearing from your long lost third-cousin, you will be inundated with an avalanche of ‘congratulatory’ emails, calls and letters from people who want to relieve you of the burden of your hard-earned equity round. Many such ‘congratulations’ will come from consultants. Pyramid Power.

Equity 40

Equity Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Review 40

Scott Edward Walker

OCTOBER 27, 2015

Set-up vesting schedules for the founders (see post here ) and file 83(b) elections with the IRS (see #3 here ). Split the equity based on prior contributions and expectations going forward, not necessarily equally (see post here ). Button-down IP ownership and assignment issues (see post here ).

Intellectual Property 40

Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Vesting Delaware 40

The Next Web

OCTOBER 7, 2013

They were referring to non-founder engineers, most commonly the first hire for technology businesses. Quite frankly, waiting provides more assurance around employment risk without the commensurate sacrifice in equity comp. Startup employees are granted common shares out of something called an option pool.

Engineer 129

Engineer Dilution Option Pool Vesting 129

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

A strong advisor can walk you in the door to the same number of companies as 2–3 new sales hires. As founders, your job includes selling product to customers, stock to investors, and opportunity to employees. You might consider starting with an offer to invest at a low valuation before discussing sweat equity.

Advisory Board 48

Advisory Board Sweat Equity Marketing Vertical 48