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. Early stage burn rates over $50K per month, or a runway of less than six months may indicate an inefficient or desperate startup.

Technical Review 436

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 436

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? Just because it was your idea doesn’t mean you “deserve” 90% of the equity.

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

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. Early stage burn rates over $50K per month, or a runway of less than six months may indicate an inefficient or desperate startup.

Sweat Equity 207

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 207

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 18, 2011

I received an inquiry from a reader of my blog and thought I would provide some thoughts, but would definitely welcome input: I am an unpaid CTO of a small startup. I tried to argue that the equity should be what it was at the time I joined and discussed but there was no formal agreement at that time. Of course, that doesn’t help here.

CTO 167

CTO CTO Hire Equity Vesting 167

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 18, 2011

I received an inquiry from a reader of my blog and thought I would provide some thoughts, but would definitely welcome input: I am an unpaid CTO of a small startup. I tried to argue that the equity should be what it was at the time I joined and discussed but there was no formal agreement at that time. Of course, that doesn’t help here.

CTO 150

CTO CTO Hire Equity Vesting 150

The Startup Toolkit

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

false As a cheatsheet, the “normal” equity structure is: Founder terms: 4 year vesting, 1 year cliff, for everyone, including you. 2.0% ) : 4 year vesting, optional cliff, full acceleration on exit. Getting equity structures right. Cliffs & vesting. Vesting is how we fix that. Advisor terms ( 0.5–2.0%

Vesting 56

Vesting Equity Cofounder Technical Review 56

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. How do you manage your equity split in your company? Is this person taking a salary or not?

Cofounder 136

Cofounder Equity Founder Seed Stage 136

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? Just because it was your idea doesn’t mean you “deserve” 90 percent of the equity. Now comes the reality check.

Cofounder 261

Cofounder Stock Founder Technical Cofounder 261

Up and Running

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Of course, not every equity compensation story is a David Choe Story. If you’re thinking about extending equity to an employee or a vendor (as in the example above), you should know that the topic is multi-faceted. In this article, I’m going to examine: What equity compensation is. Different types of equity compensation.

Equity 60

Equity Employee Stock Options Vesting 60

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Startup owners need to assume a three to five year wait for a liquidity event, such as acquisition or going public, before they can cash out. This is the purpose of a vesting schedule, which issues allocated stock over time. Key founder vesting should have no cliff. More board members is usually not better for the startup.

Stock 240

Stock .Net Vesting Founder Vesting 240

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 9, 2019

Watch out for the most common scam in startup world?—?Sputnik Another red flag is when a SIC member asks for equity in your company upfront, without any performance vesting standards. For example, “give me 5% equity in your company and I’ll give you advice and allow you to use my face on your slide deck to raise money.”

Vesting 72

Vesting Early Stage Seed Capital Equity 72

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?” Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Stock Options 343

Stock Options Advisory Board Stock Startup 343

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. Enterprise. Smartphones. Digital Cameras. Headphones. CrunchBase. Hot topics. Disrupt SF. Rip Empson.

Equity 94

Equity San Francisco Startup Silicon Valley 94

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

It is our startup sector which will drive this innovative progress. Startup founders are our ambitious problem solvers. To generate growth in a startup, it is almost always necessary to raise external capital to run the necessary. In order to understand startup governance, you need to understand risk and reward.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 88

VC Adventure

AUGUST 16, 2020

Some feel that, especially for early employees, options should act as a reward for taking startup risk. Many startups use option packages to compete with the larger current comp packages of bigger, more established businesses. The grant would begin vesting on the employee’s 4th anniversary and will vest monthly over 4 years.

Programming 149

Programming Vesting Equity Software Review 149

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. You have very little money, and you don’t want to give away your equity. Otherwise exit and startup with another idea.

Founder 325

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

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?” Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Equity 237

Equity Stock Options Advisory Board Stock 237

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2016

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. Early stage burn rates over $50K per month, or a runway of less than six months may indicate an inefficient or desperate startup.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2021

Startup owners need to assume a three to five year wait for a liquidity event, such as acquisition or going public, before they can cash out. This is the purpose of a vesting schedule, which issues allocated stock over time. Key founder vesting should have no cliff. More board members is usually not better for the startup.

Vesting 298

Vesting Dilution Stock Founder Vesting 298

Altgate

JUNE 25, 2012

—————– Dead equity — equity held by employees and founders no longer working at the company — is a large and growing problem. Choe opted to forgo a cash payment “in the thousands” for the equity equivalent at the time. Dead equity has always been a significant issue for startups.

Equity 44

Equity Vesting Cap Table Technical Review 44

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2015

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. Early stage burn rates over $50K per month, or a runway of less than six months may indicate an inefficient or desperate startup.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 120

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

View from Seed

DECEMBER 4, 2014

Editor’s note: Understanding how to divide founder equity at a startup can be tricky, even to the point of reaching emotional riffs between founders. Below, Lee Hower offers advice for approaching these equity discussions objectively and properly. Sometimes co-founders put off the equity split question for some time.

Equity 315

Equity Founder Sweat Equity Cofounder 315

ReadWriteStart

MAY 3, 2012

The conflicting (frequently unsolicited) advice startup entrepreneurs too often hear is enough to make you tune it all out. But bootstrapping a startup is not easy, requiring discipline and fortitude, as well as ingenuity. But bootstrapping a startup is not easy, requiring discipline and fortitude, as well as ingenuity.

Bootstrapping 137

Bootstrapping Software Review Startup Equity 137

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.). Uncategorized company equity dilution founder investors startup'

Dilution 150

Dilution Equity Vesting Stock Options 150

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. Having seen these dilemmas derail countless startups, I wish every entrepreneur and prospective founder would read this book." - Eric.

Equity 72

Equity Founder Technical Cofounder Cofounder 72

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 19, 2018

When you’re looking for extra funds, there are typically two options: debt financing and equity financing. It’s important to understand the difference between debt financing and equity financing so when it comes time to get additional funding, you know which is the right fit for your business and how to get it. Equity Financing.

Finance 157

Finance Equity Vesting Dividend 157

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 19, 2019

For equity trading, the general rule of thumb is to start an investment portfolio of at least $1000. Everyone gets to learn something new and shares a mutually-vested interest in success. He began his career as an investment banker, then worked as a consultant to public and private companies before taking on his role with a startup.

Investment Bankers 147

Investment Bankers Technical Review Stock Vesting 147

David Teten

JULY 10, 2019

pre-launch, BIG equity, big peeps involved–ANY TIPS?? Do you have a great team at your seed startup, but your product just isn’t working? Would you like to have a salary from day one that you work full-time on your startup? We are a nonpartisan, bipartisan startup of concerned Americans.

America 60

America Technical Review Advisory Board Due Diligence 60

Agile VC

DECEMBER 4, 2014

As a result, one of the trickier things co-founders tackle is determining the equity split amongst the founding group of individuals. Across both the startups I’ve personally been involved in (PayPal and LinkedIn) and the startups in which I’ve been an investor, I’ve seen a broad range of co-founder equity splits.

Cofounder 255

Cofounder Equity Founder Sweat Equity 255

Altgate

AUGUST 25, 2012

—————– Dead equity — equity held by employees and founders no longer working at the company — is a large and growing problem. Choe opted to forgo a cash payment “in the thousands” for the equity equivalent at the time. Dead equity has always been a significant issue for startups.

Equity 28

Equity Vesting Cap Table Technical Review 28

David Teten

MAY 7, 2019

Do you have a great team at your seed startup, but your product just isn’t working? Would you like to have a salary from day one that you work full-time on your startup? We are a nonpartisan, bipartisan startup of concerned Americans. We agree on an equity split, vesting, and initial compensation structure.

America 60

America Technical Review Advisory Board Due Diligence 60

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

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. You should carefully review all employment-related agreements (e.g.,

Vesting 89

Vesting Software Review IP Intellectual Property 89

www.mattbartus.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Perspectives on issues affecting founders, startups and investors from a veteran startup lawyer in Silicon Valley. Equity for Consultants – Keep it Simple! posted Feb 3 in Equity , People issues. The most you lose is 1 or 2 months of vesting on the stock. A View from the Valley. Blog blog archive. About Matt.

Equity 40

Equity Vesting Silicon Valley Intellectual Property 40

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?” By the way, you will normally only be offered “options,” which vest over a 4-year period after a 1-year “cliff.”

Equity 234

Equity Advisory Board Stock Options Stock 234

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2019

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. You have very little money, and you don’t want to give away your equity. Otherwise exit and startup with another idea.

Hockey Stick 243

Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event Startup 243

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. the better the startup will be.

Equity 41

Equity Employee Startup Vesting 41