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 ? Did they really need a Startup CTO or Developer or both?

Technical Cofounder 241

Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Equity Sweat Equity 241

The Next Web

OCTOBER 7, 2013

That’s what a couple of my friends – engineers at Google and Bloomberg who have been following the rise of startup culture with intrigue – told me recently. They were referring to non-founder engineers, most commonly the first hire for technology businesses. “It kinda sucks to be engineer #1.”. Engineer #1?

Engineer 129

Engineer Dilution Option Pool Vesting 129

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

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. When it comes to equity terms, there are only 3 things to understand: vesting, cliffs, and acceleration. Advisor terms ( 0.5–2.0%

Vesting 56

Vesting Equity Cofounder Technical Review 56

VC Adventure

AUGUST 16, 2020

It strikes me that many founders never really consider this question. Many founders feel that it’s equitable to have everyone share in the upside and feel like owners. Many founders feel that it’s equitable to have everyone share in the upside and feel like owners. Why have an option program to begin with?

Programming 149

Programming Vesting Equity Software Review 149

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

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. Marketing Intern. Office Space.

Equity 62

Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

Mike Arsenault and his two co-founders—all with technical backgrounds—built their MVP while working full time for other SaaS companies. “We We also got lucky and qualified for some startup benefits with companies like Rackspace, who covered our infrastructure costs for the first year,” continues Arsenault. “We spent $1k on their MVP.

Sweat Equity 78

Sweat Equity Software Review Vesting Cofounder 78

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Question My co-founders and I are working on a cool new site, and we’ll be ready to launch in a few weeks. We have no money – so we’re going to do the legal ourselves. (And please don’t tell us to hire a lawyer.) Vesting Restrictions. The first deadly mistake relates to vesting restrictions.

Vesting 89

Vesting Software Review IP Intellectual Property 89

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. When I encounter founders who know how to hire, or founders who are self-aware enough to know it’s an area they want to get better at, it’s a huge plus in our investment decision. Who should I talk to instead?”

Hiring 147

Hiring Vesting Salary Naming 147

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2021

Although every startup is unique, there are certain common avoidable mistakes that can lead to legal complications which jeopardize the long-term success of the business. Here are five of the most common examples: Failure to document a Founder agreement at the beginning. Trouble with the IRS over Founders stock value.

Cost 363

Cost Non-Compete Accredited Investor Cofounder 363

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2011

I covered what I call “the co-founder mythology.&# Either you’re not technical and you think you need a technical co-founder or vice-versa. It is increasingly popular to have “founder dating&# or “startup weekend hackathons&# of some variety or the other. Hire your co-founder.

Cofounder 393

Cofounder Founder Vesting Founder Vesting 393

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2013

My internal compass says that “country-club” entrepreneurs struggle to make as big of an impact because it’s really hard to totally change a system that you’re part of and have a vested interest in. and if you haven’t seen 20 Feet From Stardom , which this founder talks about in his letter to Seth, you must.

Churn Rate 371

Churn Rate Vesting Viral eCommerce 371

www.metamorphblog.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Home About Contact Home About Contact The Metamorphosis Becoming an Entrepreneur, by Matt Mireles Startup Lessons for the Proto-Founder I started SpeakerText in October 2008 during the financial apocalypse. You need a Co-Founder, not an Engineering Bitch. You’ll be the only startup there. No one funded us.

Founder 51

Founder Startup Cofounder Vesting 51

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

Mike Arsenault and his two co-founders—all with technical backgrounds—built their MVP while working full time for other SaaS companies. “We We also got lucky and qualified for some startup benefits with companies like Rackspace, who covered our infrastructure costs for the first year,” continues Arsenault. “We spent $1k on their MVP.

Sweat Equity 50

Sweat Equity Software Review Vesting Cofounder 50

venturehacks.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

Venture Hacks Good advice for startups. SUPPORTED BY Products Archives @venturehacks Books AngelList About RSS How to pick a co-founder by Naval Ravikant on November 12th, 2009 Update : Also see our 40-minute interview on this topic. Picking a co-founder is your most important decision. but it’s manageable. . —

Cofounder 101

Cofounder Founder Technical Cofounder Technical Review 101

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. CrunchBase.

Equity 94

Equity San Francisco Startup Silicon Valley 94

Hunter Walker

JULY 2, 2022

Some Recommendations For Startup CEOs to Help Make Sure Your Team Member Actually Shows Up. Most hiring processes start with an antiquated assumption that companies select people to work for them. Here are a few tips we’ve been giving portfolio founders: Limit the Time Between The Offer and Start Date.

Hiring 93

Hiring Vesting Early Stage Stock 93

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2016

My internal compass says that “country-club” entrepreneurs struggle to make as big of an impact because it’s really hard to totally change a system that you’re part of and have a vested interest in. This is a very predictable phase of the startup journey and a lot of good can come from it. So positive chips are a great signal for me.

Churn Rate 150

Churn Rate Vesting Dilution Europe 150

Steve Blank

MAY 19, 2015

Startups focus on speed since they are burning cash every day as they search for product/market fit. While technical debt is an understood problem, it turns out startups also accrue another kind of debt – one that can kill the company even quicker – organizational debt. And let me tell you about the vision and strategy again.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

The Next Web

AUGUST 26, 2013

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Christian Reber, CEO and co-founder of Berlin-based 6Wunderkinder. Today, in steps 10-12 I want to discuss with you raising your first round of money, hiring to develop and maintain your company culture, as well as defining your role in the management of your startup.

Management 120

Management Cofounder Startup Bootstrapping 120

The Next Web

JUNE 15, 2012

From Silicon Valley to Peoria, Illinois, cash-strapped startups look for inventive way to finance their business – often handing out equity to employees, consultants, vendors, and other service providers. Speed is often of the essence early on in the startup lifecycle, and that often means rushing into casual arrangements.

Equity 116

Equity Stock Options Vesting Stock 116

Up and Running

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Stock options are issued to employees usually through an Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) and include what is called a “vesting period.” The vesting period, often three or four years, frees up a percentage of the options for the employee to purchase the longer they stay at the company. See Also: How to Hire Your First Employee.

Equity 60

Equity Employee Stock Options Vesting 60

www.paulgraham.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Want to start a startup? Its equivalent toasking how to make a startup succeed—if you avoid every cause offailure, you succeed—and thats too big a question to answer onthe fly. 1 ] In a sense theres just one mistake that kills startups: not makingsomething users want. Whats wrong with having one founder?

Startup 108

Startup Software Review Hiring Detroit 108

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

Want to start a startup? A typical startup goes throughseveral rounds of funding, and at each round you want to take justenough money to reach the speed where you can shift into the nextgear. Few startups get it quite right. 1 ] A startups life will be more complicated, legally, if any of theinvestors arent accredited.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

The Next Web

JUNE 21, 2015

We have books specifically for people at startups, a few specific to certain job functions, and a bunch that anyone working in the professional world can learn from. But Product Hunt is becoming an integral part of more and more startups’ launch strategies, so it’s obviously time I get familiar with how the site can be used.

PR 60

PR Startup Software Review Technical Review 60

Steve Blank

JUNE 15, 2010

The role of a founding CEO in a startup searching for a business model is radically different than a CEO building and growing a company. So if you’re the founder of a startup, you may want to consider who you take money from. Is Your VC Founder Friendly? What startup stage do they typically invest in?

Founder 231

Founder Vesting Later Stage Early Stage 231

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

I rarely talk to any startup entrepreneur or VC who doesn’t feel it and somehow long for simpler times despite the benefits we all enjoy from increased enthusiasm for our sector. And even this can’t stop their employees from fleeing after two years of vesting to move on to the next hot startup. Easier said than done.

Software Review 150

Software Review Turkey Portfolio Syndicate 150

Altgate

JUNE 25, 2012

. —————– Dead equity — equity held by employees and founders no longer working at the company — is a large and growing problem. One who attracted much attention is David Choe, the graffiti artist hired to paint the company’s first headquarters. A Significant – and Growing – Problem.

Equity 44

Equity Vesting Cap Table Technical Review 44

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

What are the terms of their relationship with the founder? How would one set up such a startup to eventually raise capital from outside VCs, who will be wary of ‘dead equity’ (i.e., If we believe in founders enough, we should believe in their potential more than what they could be paying us to build the product. The discounts?

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 13, 2015

by Cristian Rennella, founder of Mejor Trato. For me, each new business venture should have between 2 (two) and a maximum of 4 (four) founders for optimal operation. The division of the shares, meaning, what ownership each founder has in the company, should be equal (or as close to equal as possible). Participation.

Delaware 100

Delaware Technical Review United States Vesting 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 22, 2010

This is part of my startup advice series. It’s still important advice for startup founders and something that I’m passionate about. I never hire job hoppers. Yes, if you were a startup CEO I would probably cut you some slack. If they are Google, Facebook and then a startup – you’re fine.

Hiring 392

Hiring Employee Vesting Silicon Valley 392

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I’m inspired by the enthusiasm of the young, emerging startup ecosystem that is here. And I think about the “Seattle issue&# as a metaphor for startups and business in general. I was meeting with a first-time CEO of a very promising young startup recently and offering my advice on what his priorities should be.

Seattle 317

Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

The Startup Magazine

JULY 19, 2020

Many law firms simply use the last name of their founder, or combine multiple names together. Competition can be tough among law firms, so it’s important to hire a developer to build you a website that stands out from the crowd. Hire Capable Staff. This is an excellent idea, especially if your last name is easy to pronounce.

Vesting 148

Vesting Reputation Hiring Community 148

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

Examples: how a market will evolve, what competitors are investing in, whether new marketing campaigns will be successful, or how an important new hire will perform. But I’ve seen little startups, mid-sized companies like WP Engine, and large companies struggle with complexity in decisions even in conditions of relative certainty.

Differentiation 120

Differentiation Framework Restful Software Review 120

Hunter Walker

FEBRUARY 20, 2021

You see, the demand for “startup advisors” were going through a little bit of a boomlet. Anyhow, fast-forward to 2021 and it almost feels like startup advisor roles have fallen a bit out of fashion as everyone scrambles to be an angel investor, a scout or solo capitalist. Great founders are always recruiting.

Advisory Board 151

Advisory Board Equity Vesting Startup 151

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2013

Although every startup is unique, there are certain common avoidable mistakes that can lead to legal complications which jeopardize the long-term success of the business. Here are five of the most common examples: Failure to document a Founder agreement at the beginning. Trouble with the IRS over Founders stock value.

Non-Compete 235

Non-Compete Accredited Investor Startup Cofounder 235