Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

But these look for founders who have a technical or business model insight and a team. Accelerators provide these teams with technical and business expertise and connect them to a network of other founders and advisors. In exchange for attending an accelerator, startups give up 5% to 10% of their company’s equity.

Technical Cofounder 346

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 346

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. The first question I usually get is what percent of the company or equity is that person worth? Giving a co-founder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want. Now comes the reality check.

Cofounder 261

Cofounder Stock Founder Technical Cofounder 261

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. And I tried to evaluate the idea and figure out: What did the founder really need here? Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ? And do I fit as a Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO ?

Technical Cofounder 241

Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Equity Sweat Equity 241

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

Todd Gitlin of Safire Partners was nice enough to compile some data on Start CTO Salary and Equity at Venture Backed Companies for the LA CTO Forum and present last year. The data is a bit tough to deal with via a post, so I've shared it two ways: You can find a PDF with some analysis at: CTO Equity Compensation PDF.

CTO Hire 301

CTO Hire Salary Equity Southern California 301

VC Cafe

OCTOBER 31, 2022

It’s a tough time for a lot of startup founders right now. This is not meant to be a negative post, but rather a temperature check of today’s market environment and the levers founders can pull on to survive this period. What is a founder to do? Tougher times might be coming ahead. Keep your head up!

Founder 173

Founder Technical Review Down Round Liquidation Preference 173

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. So the first question I usually get is what percent of the company or equity is that person worth? Giving a co-founder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want.

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. Another common “failure to start” situation I see is one where the “idea person” insists that the idea is 90% of the value (and 90% of the equity). Pre-existing intellectual property.

Equity 228

Equity Intellectual Property Cofounder CTO Hire 228

David Teten

JANUARY 21, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. This essay is part of a series on alternative VC: I: Revenue-Based Investing: a new option for founders who care about control. III: Why are Revenue-Based VCs investing in so many women and underrepresented founders?

Equity 78

Equity Revenue Cofounder Colorado 78

David Teten

APRIL 1, 2021

I’ve recently advised a number of emerging private equity and VC funds who are wrestling with the question: What are the highest impact steps they can take to support their portfolio companies? . Almost every private equity and venture capital investor now advertises that they have a platform to support their portfolio companies.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Portfolio Equity 78

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

Todd Gitlin of Safire Partners was nice enough to compile some data on CTO Equity and Compensation at Venture Backed Companies for the LA CTO Forum and present last year. The data is a bit tough to deal with via a post, so I've shared it two ways: You can find a PDF with some analysis at: CTO Equity Compensation PDF.

CTO Hire 273

CTO Hire Equity Southern California France 273

SoCal CTO

APRIL 18, 2012

Todd Gitlin of Safire Partners - a go to resource here in LA for recruiting C-level positions at startups - was nice enough to compile some data again this year (see last year's Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data ). Or they are looking at Hiring a CTO and want to see what salary and equity ranges look like.

CTO Hire 294

CTO Hire Salary Equity Los Angeles 294

Board Effect

DECEMBER 29, 2021

We’ll review the challenges with pay equity and offer ways your board can improve it. Racial Equity in Nonprofit Compensation . Racial equity has been an issue in business, society, and nonprofits. Ultimately to achieve pay equity, nonprofits must also achieve racial equity.

Equity 105

Equity Salary Software Review Iowa 105

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 11, 2023

He’s founder and CEO of Greenhouse , a ‘hiring operating system’ for companies which spans recruiting and onboarding tools for enterprises and SMEs. Originally backed by venture capital, in 2021 Daniel worked with TPG , a large private equity firm, to make them the majority investor.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Equity DC Leveraged Buyout 78

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

He gives a wealth of practical advice on building a successful technical startup, including some specifics that I like on what constitutes a dream team of partners: The technical guru. Being the leader doesn’t mean more equity, nor does it mean the leader will necessarily be CEO. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 309

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

Supportive co-founder and executive positions. Every young entrepreneur needs an experienced partner for credibility with investors, and as a trusted cohort for strategy and growth discussions. Often the Boomer is more willing to work for equity, and easily convinced to step aside when revenues reach that next threshold.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

A founder asked me what makes a $2M round “pre-seed”? In smaller funds, ticket sizes tend to be lower, so pre-seed is the only stage where micro funds are able to secure their minimum equity targets. especially if the startup already has a product and revenue?

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

View from Seed

APRIL 6, 2021

You have 4-6 years of professional experience as a technology operator, founder, or investor in New York. You have a deep desire to learn the venture capital business and are ready to hustle to meet the next great founder. However, you will serve as a co-pilot on deals with all four partners, across the geographies we cover.

Technical Review 317

Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage Cofounder 317

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

Nowhere is the politics more difficult than with co-founders, which is why for years I’ve spoken publicly about “ the co-founder mythology.” ” Of course we all go into businesses expecting to be aligned with our co-founders but over time life changes. She started it with a partner, 50-50.

Founder 340

Founder Sacramento Cofounder Technical Review 340

David Teten

JANUARY 23, 2021

I’ve been fortunate to be a Partner at two different VC firms over the past 9 years, and we’ve grown AUM 10X both times. Build the firm as much as possible before you solicit limited partners. . The next best move is to build your core team, e.g., recruit an Advisory Board, Venture Partners, and EIRs. Lastly, gather feedback.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review 78

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2022

In a moment of crisis, you may be tempted to take on the first person expressing interest as a co-founder. If you think about it, you should realize that not everyone is ‘ideal partner material.’ Most of us learn that fact from other partner relationships, like dating and marriage. All decisions will be made jointly.”

Partner 351

Partner Cofounder Sweat Equity Startup 351

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

I had realized that I didn’t have it within me to be as good of a player as many of them did but I had the skills to help as mentor, coach, friend, sparing partner and patient capital provider. During this era, from 2009–2015, most founders I knew were in it for building great & sustainable companies. The tide has gone out.

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 25, 2018

Today, Mark Attanasio gets to flex his full range of expertise and interests as co-founder and Managing Partner of Hillcrest Merchant Partners, a Toronto-based merchant bank focused on early stage and mid market growth companies. One of the advisory areas Hillcrest Merchant Partners works in is electric metals.

Partner 113

Partner Technical Review Management Due Diligence 113

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. So, a fair split, would be closer to 60/40 in favor of the funding founder, when diluted for the cash.

Cofounder 136

Cofounder Equity Founder Seed Stage 136

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

The Founder needs to remember that meetings up to this point have been primarily off-site, with staged demos, and managed personally by the CEO or a small team. Visit reference customers, partners, and vendors. Startup equity investments imply a long-term business relationship, lasting an average of five years.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 296

David Teten

MARCH 14, 2018

Managers of VC funds typically want to grow their business aggressively, just like the founders we back. My Partners at HOF Capital are younger than I am, which means that we have a half-century horizon for the franchise we are building. . This evolves the VC from a server to a router.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Cofounder 60

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2020

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Most founders like to talk about their many months or years of sweat-equity , but cash invested is a stronger commitment.

Technical Review 436

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 436

View from Seed

JULY 6, 2020

You have 4-6 years of professional experience as a technology operator, founder, or investor in New York. You have a deep desire to learn the venture capital business and are ready to hustle to meet the next great founder. . However, you will serve as a co-pilot on deals with all four partners, across the geographies we cover. .

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Software Review Hiring Seed Stage 257

Eric Friedman

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

To help teams answer this question I have collaborated with Steve Schlafman to create a product – an exercise, to be completed by those founders building a company. Today we are launching a way for co-founders and founding teams to understand themselves and each other better. Tapestry.so Tapestry is one of those answers. .

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Founder Software Review Early Stage 78

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2023

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Most founders like to talk about their many months or years of sweat-equity , but cash invested is a stronger commitment.

Sweat Equity 207

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 207

David Teten

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Blue Future Partners, a venture capital fund of funds, recently interviewed me on ESG in venture capital. Starship was launched by the co-founders of Skype. The Boston Consulting Group and MassChallenge , a US-based global network of accelerators, partnered to study why “ women-owned startups are a better bet ”. Why is that?

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Partner Technical Review Cofounder 60

Up and Running

MAY 15, 2014

When I was going through the co-founder “dating” process, I’d found a potential partner through my network who seemed to be perfect. At the end of the month, we’d evaluate the partnership and discuss equity. Finding the right business partner for me. Finding the right business partner for me.

Partner 113

Partner Cofounder Equity Metrics 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

He gives a wealth of practical advice on building a successful technical startup, including some specifics that I like on what constitutes a dream team of partners: The technical guru. Being the leader doesn’t mean more equity, nor does it mean the leader will necessarily be CEO. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

www.startuplessonslearned.com

MAY 4, 2012

Founders Dilemmas: Equity Splits. 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. On average, the founders who keep the most control over their company make the least amount of money. Lessons Learned.

Equity 72

Equity Founder Technical Cofounder Cofounder 72

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2012

One of the first tough decisions that startup founders have to make is how to allocate or split the equity among co-founders. Another common “failure to start” situation I see is one where the “idea person” insists that the idea is 90% of the value (and 90% of the equity). Pre-existing intellectual property.

Intellectual Property 252

Intellectual Property Equity Cofounder CTO Hire 252

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

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Should you start a company solo or find co-founders to help you? The co-founder relationship dilemma.

Founder 325

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. 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. Of the Inc.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78