Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Yet it always amazes me that I can find two different startups, seemingly working on the same problem, with one having a burn rate several times higher than the other. They understand startup realities. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 223

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 223

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about “ the politics of startups ” in which I asserted that all companies have politics, which in its purest sense is just about understanding human psychology. ” Of course we all go into businesses expecting to be aligned with our co-founders but over time life changes. Equity for the future?

Founder 340

Founder Sacramento Cofounder Technical Review 340

SoCal CTO

MARCH 2, 2015

As the organizer of the LA CTO Forum , I get lots of inquiries by job seekers and people looking for CTO / VP Engineering talent. I’ve written quite a bit about aspects of this topic, especially from the perspective of startup founders looking for talent – you can find these in: Startup CTO.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Los Angeles CTO Hire Part-Time VPE 150

David Teten

MAY 20, 2016

My colleague Sebastian Soler, software engineer at ff Venture Capital, is leading the launch of a new Meetup with me. Engineers, product managers, and platform managers building tech solutions for private market investing. I asked him to write a guest post: Hi! We posted on our site a more in-depth overview of ff’s Tech Platform.

Private Equity 113

Private Equity Equity Cap Table Venture Capital 113

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

I've posted quite a few things on the topics associated with being a Startup CTO. Here are some resources that come from other sources: Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering? Lessons Learned: What does a startup CTO actually do? Lessons Learned: What does a startup CTO actually do?

CTO Hire 175

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Startup Equity 175

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

I've posted quite a few things on the topics associated with being a Startup CTO. Here are some resources that come from other sources: Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering? Lessons Learned: What does a startup CTO actually do? Lessons Learned: What does a startup CTO actually do?

CTO Hire 175

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Startup Equity 175

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Final startup grind from msuster. And the folks at Startup Grind have been kind enough to invite me to present this morning in Mountain View on the topic. Quick summary: Be careful not to have too many co-founders. I don’t think VCs care as much about co-founders & economics as people think. figure out roles.

Cofounder 388

Cofounder Early Stage Startup Silicon Valley 388

Austin Startup

OCTOBER 11, 2021

The round brings Honor’s total equity funding to date to $325 million and values the company at over $1.25 We’re looking to triple the size of our engineering and product team within the next year,” said Sandy Jen, co-founder and chief technology officer for Honor. “We Honor Technology, Inc. ,

Technical Review 62

Technical Review Engineer Finance Technology 62

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors. On the other hand, having failed in an earlier startup may be an advantage, if positioned properly, and some learning is evident.

Sweat Equity 152

Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Software Review 152

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. Do you have a Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

Fractional CTO 264

Fractional CTO CTO Hire NDA Technical Review 264

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. Do you have a Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

Fractional CTO 259

Fractional CTO CTO Hire NDA Technical Review 259

David Teten

MARCH 14, 2018

Managers of VC funds typically want to grow their business aggressively, just like the founders we back. Among the sites we have found most helpful with practical guides for founders: Biztree , First Search , Foundersuite , Goodwin Founders Workbench , Guides.co , Inc.com , and StartupRocket. .

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Cofounder 60

techcrunch.com

JUNE 22, 2012

Startup Battlefield. Free Startup Docs: How Much Equity Should Advisors Get? Free Startup Docs: How Much Equity Should Advisors Get? He covers startups, music, social, mobile, health, and education. This is where a lot of founders get stuck. Enterprise. Smartphones. Digital Cameras. Headphones.

Equity 94

Equity San Francisco Startup Silicon Valley 94

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Yet it always amazes me that I can find two different startups, seemingly working on the same problem, with one having a burn rate several times higher than the other. They understand startup realities. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 120

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 120

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?” Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7% 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Stock Options 343

Stock Options Advisory Board Stock Startup 343

Up and Running

AUGUST 30, 2021

Your startup becomes irrelevant. Entrepreneurs have to get really comfortable with rejection, especially as a first-time founder. One way to do this before starting your own business is by working for a startup or small fast-paced company in your field. Work at a startup before building your own. Solve the rest later.

Entrepreneur 132

Entrepreneur Lean Colorado Engineer 132

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Cashflow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Yet it always amazes me that I can find two different startups, seemingly working on the same problem, with one having a burn rate several times higher than the other. They understand startup realities. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 262

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Entrepreneur Salary 262

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

Private equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund and mutual fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. High-frequency trading, algorithmic by its nature, is estimated to account for at least 50% of US equity markets trading volume. . But we’re doing it slowly. VC Firm. $ Pitchbot.vc

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

I recently wrote a post about why I didn’t think early-stage startups should have COOs. What a luxury in a startup to have the number one person in the business get to focus on just strategy? “We’re all equal co-founders and we don’t care about titles.&# Dilute your cash, equity or both.

Operations 292

Operations CTO Hire Startup Early Stage 292

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Depending on the composition of the founding team, you might or might not have near-term holes in certain functions at the exec level – e.g. you’ll most likely need to bring on a CTO/VP of Engineering shortly after the seed round if you don’t have a technical co-founder.

Part-Time VPE 195

Part-Time VPE Seed Stage CTO Hire Forecast 195

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. I love how transparently Danielle lives her startup (& encourages other to join in) because it provides much needed transparency to other startups. ” I highly recommend reading it.

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. From traditional equity VC, Flexible VC borrows the option to pursue and reap the rewards of an outsized exit.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

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?” Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7% 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Equity 237

Equity Stock Options Advisory Board Stock 237

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2011

Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. A large percentage of startups never apply to either. You need to explore more common and more productive approaches for getting your startup moving forward. Self-funding is the preferred source of cash for your startup – if you can do it.

Technical Review 233

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Venture Capital 233

The Equity Kicker

OCTOBER 5, 2015

Last week friend of Forward Partners Douglas Squirrel published a post about Sustainable engineering on The Path Forward in which he advises founders on how to scale their engineering effort.

Engineer 60

Engineer Framework Software Developers Software Development 60

www.entrepreneur.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Entrepreneur Homepage Startups Starting a Business Home How-To Guides Startup Basics Business Ideas Business Planning Startup Financing Success Stories Home-Based Business Starting a Business Play Video How to Take a New Product from Just an Idea to a Business (Video). Startup Basics Does College Matter for Entrepreneurs?

Sweat Equity 55

Sweat Equity Equity Fractional CTO CTO 55

femgineer.com

JULY 18, 2010

HOME About the Femgineer Speaking Engagements Reading List Recruiting Startup Engineers With the startup market taking off, there is always a clamor to find good engineers, developers, and designers. Engineers love to build, solve tough problems, and make progress. Sweat equity or salary?

Engineer 41

Engineer Software Review Startup Technical Review 41

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

Free Template for Great Startup Pitch Decks, Direct from VCs. How to Sell Your Startup’s “Secret” Master Plan at the Seed Stage “Articulating and selling your long run vision is important, but trying to convince those that are deeply skeptical about it is simply a mutual waste of time.” Happy reading!

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2012

Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. A large percentage of startups never apply to either. You need to explore more common and more productive approaches for getting your startup moving forward. Self-funding is the preferred source of cash for your startup – if you can do it.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 257

Steve Blank

APRIL 14, 2013

I just spent a few weeks in Japan and China on a book tour for the Japanese and Chinese versions of the Startup Owners Manual. This left an open playing field for Chinese software startups as they “copy to China” existing U.S. If you’re a software startup competing in China, the words that come to mind are “ruthless and relentless.”

China 323

China Silicon Valley Non-Compete Intellectual Property 323

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 10, 2011

I was invited to Finland as part of Stanford’s Engineering Technology Venture Program partnership with Aalto University. Unique to Finland with its strong cultural emphasis on equality and the redistribution of wealth is a business press that doesn’t understand startups and is overtly hostile to their success.

Finland 324

Finland Naming Russia Government 324

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

Remember that up to this point, the investor has primarily seen and talked to the founder and CEO, and studied written documents. All private equity groups go about due diligence in their own way, but there are a few key areas of focus that entrepreneurs should always expect: Team strength and health. Product or service readiness.

Technical Review 237

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Private Equity 237

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 1, 2010

Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. In reality, there are multiple more productive approaches you should explore in getting your startup moving forward. Yet, I find that startup founders often fixate on one or two sources, often to the detriment of their business. Friends and family.

Technical Review 149

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Venture Capital 149

www.instigatorblog.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Home About Contact My thoughts & lessons learned on startups, entrepreneurship, marketing and other stuff. 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. 1% is just not a lot. 1% is actually worth something!)

Equity 41

Equity Employee Startup Vesting 41

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 20, 2021

Everyone (investors and founders alike) has underestimated the size of the addressable market for tech over the past decade. Over the past 18 months, we have increasingly focused on investing in climate and energy startups. Our top three topics from the year: . 1/ Is 10x the new 3x? 3/ Visions of Web 3.0. And more reading on Web 3.0/crypto:

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review IPO 60

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?” Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7% Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7%

Equity 234

Equity Advisory Board Stock Options Stock 234