Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

Old co-workers or new friends with complementary skills usually make the best partners. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones. The right motivated employees dilemma. Later you need specialists and managers. The founder’s title and role dilemma.

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Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

Of course your friend’s company raised $50 million and offers it’s employees free kombucha and desk massages. And even this can’t stop their employees from fleeing after two years of vesting to move on to the next hot startup. For investors life is no different. You don’t need to be hot.

Software Review 150

Software Review Turkey Portfolio Syndicate 150

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. So, a CEO or CTO, would get a much higher stake than an office manager or a graphic designer, as an example. How do you manage your equity split in your company?

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Cofounder Equity Founder Seed Stage 136

Reid Hoffman

DECEMBER 10, 2020

If I’m going to find out that a set of founders lack integrity, don’t behave like partners, take on unacceptable risks that might harm their customers or society, or simply aren’t the kinds of people I want to spend a decade with, I want to know those facts before I start down the path of evaluating that investment. I think David’s wrong.”.

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Hosting Hockey Stick IPO Silicon Valley 69

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

Board Effect

OCTOBER 28, 2019

Often, this happens because someone has a vested interest such as money, status, knowledge or reputation that places them in a position where the position calls the objectivity of their decision-making into question. A conflict of interest can occur when one party stands to benefit because of their position with another party.

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Non-Compete Government Software Review Vesting 45

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. Sean Seton-Rogers, Partner, Profounders Capital, breaks the conversation into three areas: Control: voting/veto for new deals, share of management company. So assessing fit is critical.

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Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Partner 60

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2019

Old co-workers or new friends with complementary skills usually make the best partners. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones. The right motivated employees dilemma. Later you need specialists and managers. The founder’s title and role dilemma.

Hockey Stick 243

Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event Startup 243

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Leadership & Managing | Tuesdays. LEADERSHIP & MANAGING. Employee Benefits. Managing Creativity. 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 Technology | Thursdays. Finance | Tuesdays.

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Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

www.mattbartus.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

I can’t tell you how often a client calls me up and says something like this: “Matt, we have this great new consultant who is going to make introductions to us to [pick type of business partner]. 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.”

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Equity Vesting Silicon Valley Intellectual Property 40

Hunter Walker

JULY 2, 2022

We have a generation of professionals who grew up on dating apps, where ghosting has been accepted as an annoying, but common, phenomenon,” he [Keith Wolf, a managing director, Murray Resources] said. “I And if there’s a reason that they need to start 2+ months down the road, consider making them an employee sooner.

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Hiring Vesting Early Stage Stock 93

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2014

Old co-workers or new friends with complementary skills usually make the best partners. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones. The right motivated employees dilemma. Later you need specialists and managers. The Founder’s title and role dilemma.

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Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 268

blog.aparttimecto.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Un-knowledgeable - Since it’s just you and your partners, you might not be making the best choices. Communication - Hiring a technical employee early on can sometimes result in a founder developer gap. A development partner is an consulting company that works very closely with you, similar to an internal development staff.

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Equity Vesting 40

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 2, 2018

Dark, dirty and dangerous — mention the 3Ds of old-time manufacturing and HR managers shudder. “Companies and employees who embrace the rapidly transforming digital landscape stand to achieve the greatest success,” says Mike Train, executive president, Emerson Automation Solutions. The largest generation in the U.S.

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United States Baltimore Engineer Software 29

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2017

Old co-workers or new friends with complementary skills usually make the best partners. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones. The right motivated employees dilemma. Later you need specialists and managers. The founder’s title and role dilemma.

Hockey Stick 144

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 144

Early Growth Financial Services

JANUARY 20, 2015

This guest post was contributed by Daniel Peters and Stefan Smith, Partners at Locke Lord LLP. Entrepreneurs founding startup companies are often unaware of a potentially significant tax liability that can rear its ugly head with respect to stock issued to founders and employees.

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Vesting Management Stock Equity 28

www.thedailymuse.com

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

You don’t want a senior partner preparing documents for an incorporation, nor do you want a third-year lawyer negotiating with a seasoned venture capitalist for you. It’s essential to make sure you take reasonable steps to control risk in your interactions with customers, suppliers, users, employees, and the general public. Each other.

Hiring 56

Hiring LLC Intellectual Property Private Equity 56

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2013

Old co-workers or new friends with complementary skills usually make the best partners. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones. The right motivated employees dilemma. Later you need specialists and managers. The Founder’s title and role dilemma.

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Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 245

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

Not being caught up in a corporate management structure gives me the freedom and agility to be at the top of our game. When you are an employee of a company, you are often weighed down by corporate rules, procedures and a chain of command that is never as responsive you need them to be. 8 – Worst Employee Ever.

Entrepreneur 48

Entrepreneur Fresno LLC Community 48

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

If you’re thinking about joining as the director of marketing, product management manager, senior architect, international business development lead, etc. Stock vests for 4 years. Or you have to hit the lottery and be an early player middle management player at Google, Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. Wait a second.

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Stock Options Stock Liquidation Preference Option Pool 418

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

But in business, you want a lot of partners. However, in private markets, there is more room to optimize across all 11 steps of the investing process: firm management , marketing, fundraising , origination , manage relationships, due diligence, negotiation, monitoring, portfolio acceleration , reporting, and. 2) Market .

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Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

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 Employees. Manager or Junior Engineer 0.2 - 0.33.

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Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

Transformify

JULY 16, 2019

I know that you have a very unique experience taking the leap from an entrepreneur to an employee. Many recruiters and hiring managers are avoiding candidates having an entrepreneurial mindset as they are perceived as ‘’ dreamers’’ who will always search for something new somewhere else. Sponsorship.

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Hiring Entrepreneur Vesting Atlanta 61

infochachkie.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Beware The Consultant John Greathouse – Posted in: Cash Flow Management , Launching Venture , Strategic Planning. Basing a consultant’s compensation on the incremental revenue they generate is a great example of a deal that is on The Fringe (for other creative approaches to partnering, see Agreements on The Fringe).

Equity 40

Equity Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Review 40

Up and Running

OCTOBER 14, 2015

Having a good grasp of the local culture can not only help develop your understanding of local customers and customs, but can help avoid any embarrassing or potentially damaging mistakes when dealing with partners and suppliers. See Also: How to Find a Business Partner. For example, it is customary in Germany to use Mr., Mrs., or Ms.,

Global 60

Global Intellectual Property IP Cyprus 60

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I know it’s not single-handed as he has both fantastic partners at Foundry Group and many other community leaders. A key deal not only helps you raise venture capital but it can help attract employees, garner press attention, help with product focus & importantly drive customer adoption and/or revenue.

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Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

intrapreneurs, e.g., the employee of GE who is tasked with launching a new business. Thor Ernstsson is the founder of Alpha UX , a product validation company serving real-time user insights to Fortune 500 product managers. In those cases, the incentives for the founders and early employees are extraordinarily hard to align long term.

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 23, 2023

and here is the usual early-stage trap… First, a brand-new enterprise is often formed from the efforts of several “partners”, each with an expertise valued by the others. It is important to note that each grant to new or existing employees must be approved by the board before issue. Director level employees are typically granted ½%.

Equity 62

Equity Stock Options Vesting Early Stage 62

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

And if trouble withinvestors is one of the biggest threats to a startup, managing themis one of the most important skills founders need to learn. The reason is that employees are investors too—oftheir time—and they want just as much to be able to cash out. Not all the people who work at VC firms are partners.

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Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

Hunter Walker

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Show me the first 20 employees of a startup and I’ll tell you whether it’s going to be successful or not. I was trying to recruit a product manager from Google to transfer over but he told me he’d actually already decided to leave the company to found a startup. Just as soon as they tell their current manager. I did and he was!

Hiring 147

Hiring Vesting Salary Naming 147

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017

Here’s an example: First, a brand-new enterprise is often formed from the efforts of several “partners”, each with an expertise valued by the others. Each grant to new or existing employees must be approved by the board before issue. Director level employees are typically granted ½%. How about the price per share?

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Early Stage Equity Stock Options Vesting 102

discuss.joelonsoftware.com

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

Right now, my business is just myself and a part-time employee who does support, testing, and product usability design. Im confident that this business will be able to compensate these two additional principles along the way, after initial risk of investing their time, and will later reward their vesting with an exit strategy.

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Sweat Equity Equity Angel Investor Affiliate 40

www.chubbybrain.com

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

declined Microsoft’s offer (summer 2000) to be the first enterprise software company with a.NET product (a Microsoft employee came back from a follow-up meeting with Allen and said “He reminds me of a lot of CEOs of companies that we’ve worked with… that have gone bankrupt.”). Go vest yourself.

Software Review 79

Software Review Startup Technical Review Vesting 79

Ben's Blog

APRIL 28, 2010

When my partner Marc wrote his post describing our firm , the most controversial component of our investment strategy was our preference for founding CEOs. Andy Grove was Intel’s third employee (after the two cofounders Robert Noyce and Gordon E. “You’re just a rent-a-rapper, your rhymes are minute-maid. Thomas Watson, Sr.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 78

Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak

MARCH 10, 2011

I then discuss the journey to search for a product distributor who would become my business partner, how and where I found one, as well as the establishment of the e-commerce portal itself. Growth is Not Always Good Most companies want to grow, as did we, but growth should be planned so that it can be managed when you get there.

Technical Review 71

Technical Review PPC Due Diligence Exit Strategy 71

www.metamorphblog.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Doubtful we’d have access to such a rich employee pool any other way. Outcome: last night a Biz Dev guy from Disney/ABC sent me an email asking about partnering with some of their online properties. Vest, young man. Starting a company without vesting your stock is like getting your girlfriend pregnant on the first date.

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Founder Startup Cofounder Vesting 51

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 9, 2020

He also has strongly held ideas about structuring a company to institutionalize these intentions to make sure the next leader, future employees, and the next board will be true to that philosophy. 47:49) Brian on the letter he wrote to employees to announce the layoffs and the response to it. (50:17) 6,000, 7,000 employees.

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Silicon Valley Hosting Cofounder Employee 60