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. You need to find the skills or experience you don’t have in business, technology, or money. So the first question I usually get is what percent of the company or equity is that person worth?

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

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

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

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

JANUARY 18, 2011

I have been working full time with two founders for about 10 months on full time basis. During that time one of the founders had mentioned that for the initial agreed time (3 months, equivalent dollars could be translated to 2% of equity but no agreement was reached at that time). Likely this greatly affects cash vs. equity.

CTO 167

CTO CTO Hire Equity Vesting 167

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

Being the leader doesn’t mean more equity, nor does it mean the leader will necessarily be CEO. Young high-tech startups are at constant risk of forgetting that they actually need to sell the wonderful technology they invented. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The industry veteran.

Technical Cofounder 309

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 309

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 18, 2011

I have been working full time with two founders for about 10 months on full time basis. During that time one of the founders had mentioned that for the initial agreed time (3 months, equivalent dollars could be translated to 2% of equity but no agreement was reached at that time). Likely this greatly affects cash vs. equity.

CTO 150

CTO CTO Hire Equity Vesting 150

David Teten

MAY 20, 2016

Our meetup is focused on how to use technology to enhance investing in private markets, including VC, growth, buyout, and distressed. Founders/C-suite executives at technology companies primarily focused on working with investors in private markets. I asked him to write a guest post: Hi!

Private Equity 113

Private Equity Equity Cap Table Venture Capital 113

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 unbounded curiosity for emerging trends, a love for experimentation, and you’re always eager to dive into new products and technologies before others do. You act as an “ invited guest.”. You are hungry.

Technical Review 317

Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage Cofounder 317

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

I was in it for the love of working with entrepreneurs on business problems and marveling at technology they had built. During this era, from 2009–2015, most founders I knew were in it for building great & sustainable companies. Starting in 2009 I began writing checks consistently, year-in and year-out. The tide has gone out.

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

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. A hard look will be taken at the technology maturity, the current development progress, and customer satisfaction with early product shipments. Status of the solution.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 296

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 23, 2023

Reading how she moved in 2021 from CIA ops to a quantum technology company offered insightful career transition advice for those leaving her agency. If you find an A-player CIA officer jumping into a founder role mid-way in their career (or decide to start something yourself,) they’ll probably go on to do great things.

Government 212

Government Advisory Board Salary Sales Cycle 212

VC Cafe

MARCH 1, 2024

Most startups equate the process of fundraising to dating – founders have to typically kiss a lot of frogs until the find the right fit. One of my favourite pieces has been The Abundance Agenda , a deck on how AI will transform consumer technology, packing inside areas of opportunity, or in other words, requests for startups.

Artificial Inteligence 176

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Generative AI 176

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

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

Here’s another from The Startup Magazine Founder Interview Series. Abraham: As a company we truly believe in justice and a DE&I space (diversity, equity and inclusion) and help leaders understand the importance of diversity and inclusion of different cultures, whilst still creating a sense of unity by appreciating the differences.

Leadership 166

Leadership Founder Technical Review Entrepreneur 166

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 unbounded curiosity for emerging trends, a love for experimentation, and you’re always eager to dive into new products and technologies before others do. You act as an “ invited guest.”. You are hungry.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Software Review Hiring Seed Stage 257

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

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

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

SoCal CTO

MAY 27, 2010

I was just interviewed by Frank Peters - Tony Karrer and the Founder-Developer Gap. I received a follow-up question from an early-stage startup about the Founder Developer Gap that I’ve described before and that was part of the interview with Frank. From the technology strategy, you then look at your plan for who will do what.

CTO Hire 170

CTO Hire Developer Founder Startup 170

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

Venture capital is a type of private equity. The downside to venture capital is that the company or individual doing investing generally get equity in the company. One difference between venture capital and private equity deals, in general, is that venture capital focuses on emerging companies. What is Venture Capital Funding?

Venture Capital 144

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Security 144

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Being the leader doesn’t mean more equity, nor does it mean the leader will necessarily be CEO. Young high-tech startups are at constant risk of forgetting that they actually need to sell the wonderful technology they invented. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The industry veteran.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

For example, Bill Gates founded and grew Microsoft, and Michael Dell built a great technology company, both with no outside funding until they went successful enough to go public years later and sell shares to common stockholders. Other founders, even with experience, are forced out by disagreements over strategy or progress.

Cost 267

Cost Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup 267

Austin Startup

OCTOBER 11, 2021

Honor Technology, Inc. , the world’s largest senior care network and technology platform which recently acquired global home care provider Home Instead , today announced it has raised $70 million in Series E funding and $300 million in debt financing. and ultimately our solutions will take care of our own generation when we’re older.”

Technical Review 62

Technical Review Engineer Finance Technology 62

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 21, 2014

No one wants to be *that* founder--the non-technical founder poking around developer meetups asking for a unicorn with a Github account. What you can offer is interestingness, a thoughtful challenge, and a little bit of equity. Venture Capital & Technology' 2) They can be your advocate in technical circles.

Founder 120

Founder Software Developers Software Development Venture Capital 120

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. VCs tout themselves as frontier technology investors, but most are using the same infrastructure tools they have used for the past 20+ years: Excel and recent college grads searching Google.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 15, 2022

It provides the freedom to partner with entrepreneurs and reduce the costs of agency work in exchange for equity in their startup. This allows the studio to retain a larger stake in internally funded startups and gain equity in other startups through partnerships. Build a Talented Team of Technology and Business Professionals.

Incubator 188

Incubator Startup Software Developers Software Development 188

David Teten

AUGUST 20, 2019

Many are reporting that they’re seeing a more diverse pool of applicants than traditional equity VCs… even though virtually none have a particular focus on women or underrepresented founders. I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital.

Revenue 60

Revenue Cofounder Founder Venture Capital 60

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

This is not only sad but incredibly frustrating, because it is so easy to see how a great technology can be developed and commercialized if only - if only the CTO hadn't been impulsive and insecure and brought on a business partner too early in the game. … Lack of confidence? Camaraderie? Perhaps all of the above. I wonder if this is a shift?

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Cofounder CTO Hire Founder 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

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. A hard look will be taken at the technology maturity, the current development progress, and customer satisfaction with early product shipments. Status of the solution.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 379

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

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. Flexible VC 101: Equity Meets Revenue Share. Flexible VC 102: Variations.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Board Effect

APRIL 15, 2024

The profound impact of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is a centerpiece of the stewardship of these organizations; sustained and effective social response and problem solving requires diverse and inclusive governance. Mission-driven organizations strive to serve their communities and constituents with integrity and purpose.

Ireland 52

Ireland Ohio Government Equity 52

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 28, 2012

But when it comes to core technical skills, more and more entrepreneurs are opting to partner with technical co-founders rather than hiring someone for an in-house position. How Innovative Is Your Technology? How Innovative Is Your Technology? We use technology in every business, from online sales and shipping to mobile Web.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Cofounder Founder Software Review 131

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

To most founders a startup is not a job, but a calling. Risk capital takes equity (stock ownership) in your company instead of debt (loans) in exchange for cash. Risk capital takes equity (stock ownership) in your company instead of debt (loans) in exchange for cash. What does this mean for startup founders?

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

They offered desperate founders more cash but insisted on new terms, rewriting all the old stock agreements that previous investors and employees had. Venture capital, like most private equity, is an unregulated financial asset class – anything goes. W hy would any founder agree to this? ” On one hand they’re right.

Cram Down 404

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 404

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

This could be a proportion of the company’s equity or investment; in other instances, it could be a portion of its later-stage profits. Seed venture capital firms can make more significant follow-on investments to keep or increase their equity stake in the company. How does the funding for the seed stage work?

Seed Stage 125

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 125