Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

Thus, stock doesn’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. Unless you have a sizable nest egg, or a working spouse with an income to support you, I would recommend that you consider any stock options as a “bonus,” rather than a key part of your compensation for joining a startup. Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7%

Stock Options 230

Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 230

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

Options are gravy - I lived through the first dot com era where we used stock options as a recruiting tool. If Ventro was worth $8 billion on $2 million of sales surely a paltry $1 billion would suffice. We give out stock options. But I thought I should do a quick post on the topic.

Stock Options 294

Stock Options Stock Valuation Liquidation Preference 294

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

I read commentary or Twitter or blogs and realize that there are also strongly held convictions that there are these evil VCs who do terrible things to mostly altruistic founders. But unlike the popular press reporting of this conflict — 80% of the time it is founder-to-founder conflict and not investor-to-founder conflict.

Cofounder 217

Cofounder Stock Options Equity Technical Review 217

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. What does this mean for startup founders? Here’s the thing most founders miss. Why don’t VCs tell founders this fact? ——-. The Good News.

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2022

Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. Unless you have a sizable nest egg, or a working spouse with an income to support you, I would recommend that you consider any stock options as a “potential bonus,” rather than a key part of your compensation for joining a startup. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Stock Options 343

Stock Options Advisory Board Stock Startup 343

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2015

Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. Unless you have a sizable nest egg, or a working spouse with an income to support you, I would recommend that you consider any stock options as a “potential bonus,” rather than a key part of your compensation for joining a startup. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Stock Options 120

Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market. These people also have the credibility to attract investors.

Technical Cofounder 144

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market. These people also have the credibility to attract investors.

Technical Cofounder 245

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 245

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

SEPTEMBER 29, 2015

.” He explains: Either the founders failed to achieve their goal, or – far likelier – they failed to dream big enough. On his startup’s sale to a larger company, he then laments that the “youthful energy that created so much value was siphoned off.” Companies are constantly changing.

Acquisition 120

Acquisition Technical Review Stock Options Employee 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market. These people also have the credibility to attract investors.

Technical Cofounder 120

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 120

The Next Web

JUNE 15, 2012

After all, cash may be in short supply, but there’s a virtually endless amount of work to be done, from coding and web development, to PR, sales, general operations, or sage advice from an industry veteran. Many young tech startups reserve 15%-20% for employee stock options. It’s a logical solution. Plan upfront.

Equity 116

Equity Stock Options Vesting Stock 116

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. Unless you have a sizable nest egg, or a working spouse with an income to support you, I would recommend that you consider any stock options as a “potential bonus,” rather than a key part of your compensation for joining a startup. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Equity 237

Equity Stock Options Advisory Board Stock 237

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 1, 2018

Formal option plans for some. Some companies, especially those financed by angel or VC investors, have good, formal stock option plans with properly priced options set to reward all employees and managers in the event of a corporate sale. And a lack of plans for others.

Stock Options 192

Stock Options Stock Distribution Programming 192

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2013

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup Founders dilemmas 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 245

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 245

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

In this period (less than 2 years) he has brought on incredibly talented senior execs is sales, marketing, product management, client services, finance, vp engineering and more. It consists of a highly intelligent and opinionated founder – Nick Halstead. In his spare time he raised nearly $30 million. It is really working.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board CTO Hire Fractional CTO Los Angeles 365

Up and Running

DECEMBER 1, 2015

If however you are giving a “normal employee” an incentive stock option plan (more on that later), that’s entirely different. Make sure you understand all of your options before making any decisions. When business owners decide to go down the route of equity compensation, there are two primary options to choose between.

Equity 60

Equity Employee Stock Options Vesting 60

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

He’d wasted a year of his life and had a pile of stock options that weren’t very interesting. But founders need to know how to ask for their advice and when to ignore it. Through advertising or direct sales, these sites harvest intent. Tesla is not. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. You Can’t Sign This Deal. Here’s why.

Fractional CTO 248

Fractional CTO Startup Venture Capital Cofounder 248

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

Clearly the founders and senior executives of a company are the most valuable resources and their time should be maximized on the most valuable tasks. I watched Ophir Tanz achieve much in his early days at the Founder & CEO at GumGum, which has now become quite a large business. I have written about the next phases many times.

Operations 150

Operations Metrics Early Stage Non-Compete 150

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. Should you start a company solo or find co-founders to help you? The co-founder relationship dilemma.

Hockey Stick 243

Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event Startup 243

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2017

Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. Unless you have a sizable nest egg, or a working spouse with an income to support you, I would recommend that you consider any stock options as a “potential bonus,” rather than a key part of your compensation for joining a startup. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Stock 140

Stock Stock Options Advisory Board Startup 140

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 1, 2023

By Daniel Sokolovksy, Co-Founder and CEO, WARP and Troy Lester, Co-Founder and CRO, WARP The dissolution of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was more than just a bank collapse, it was a reality check for both startups and the VCs that fund them. As a founder, ask yourself – does your business actually warrant VC funding?

Early Stage 111

Early Stage Los Angeles Silicon Valley Cofounder 111

YoungUpstarts

JULY 17, 2020

by Juan Pablo Segura, President and Co-Founder of Babyscripts. If possible, offering stock options in lieu of raises or to counteract pay cuts is another way to build security. As the president of BabyScripts, Juan-Pablo has focused his efforts on business development, sales and fundraising.

Startup 285

Startup Wisconsin Stock Options Dividend 285

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

For some aspiring to be tech entrepreneurs, I often suggest a two-step process, as I argued in this post that “ The First Startup Founder You Need to Invest in Is You.” The narrative of this discussion is something like this: I meet a 35-40-year-old founder with two kids and mortgage.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Liquidation Preference Silicon Valley IP 150

The Next Web

AUGUST 12, 2013

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Christian Reber, CEO and co-founder of Berlin-based 6Wunderkinder. I think an issue many talented entrepreneurs and European founders (especially German founders) have is, they don’t think big enough. Many founders don’t deal well with people leaving, but I am probably one of the worst.

Cofounder 119

Cofounder CTO Hire Startup Europe 119

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2014

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup Founders dilemmas 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.

Hockey Stick 268

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 268

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

I recently sat down with Matt Coffin , the founder of LowerMyBills, which sold for $400 million but was very nearly a bankruptcy only a few years early, and talked “startups.&#. Mark: 10% warrant coverage is like stock options. o Everything is for sale but it’s the price that moves the timing.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Warrant Customer Term Sheet 304

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 28, 2009

Our sales forecasts were revised downward – many times. Reach out to the founders, not the staff. We do hand out stock options. Our customers were generally happy but they were pushing us hard for promised features. Our business development discussions took longer than planned. But still we made progress.

PR 331

PR Software Review Ireland Germany 331

Berkonomics

JANUARY 7, 2021

Email readers, continue here…] Often, if not co-founders, this group is rewarded through issuance of stock options from a pool of available options that usually totals 15-20% of the total company’s equity divided among all employees. Dividing equity among those that fill the management gap.

Liquidity Event 96

Liquidity Event Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder Initial Public Offering 96

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2017

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders dilemmas 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.

Hockey Stick 144

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 144

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Before you even get the business off the ground, it’s important to ensure that you and the co-founders (if any) agree on everything. Every startup should have a written founder agreement, which should include the following points: The roles and responsibilities of each member. How the sale of the company is decided.

LLC 145

LLC Startup Stock Options Cofounder 145

Gust

APRIL 9, 2014

The Founder of a company starts by owning all the shares representing ownership of the company. 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.). original post can be found on Quora @ [link] *.

Dilution 150

Dilution Equity Vesting Stock Options 150

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JUNE 27, 2011

ME: Sure, but maybe that competitor would further validate and grow the market, which could increase your sales and make you even more attractive to a buyer! Here’s why: The acquirer knows that you, the founder, are looking for financial freedom. Tony Wright (founder of RescueTime) has a great article about it here.

Sales 235

Sales Term Sheet Stock Deal Structure 235

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2011

Thus, stock doesn’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. Unless you have a sizable nest egg, or a working spouse with an income to support you, I would recommend that you consider any stock options as a “bonus,” rather than a key part of your compensation for joining a startup. Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7%

Equity 234

Equity Advisory Board Stock Options Stock 234

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2018

Public ownerships usually lends prestige and credibility to your sales, marketing, and acquisition efforts, but it may work counter to your vision of saving the world. Most startup founders voluntarily exit or are pushed out, and the fun is gone. Analysts want escalating profits. Public companies bring new expectations of benefits.

Exit Strategy 128

Exit Strategy IPO Initial Public Offering SEC 128

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2010

Thus, stock doesn’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. Unless you have a sizable nest egg, or a working spouse with an income to support you, I would recommend that you consider any stock options as a “bonus,” rather than a key part of your compensation for joining a startup. Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7%

Stock 144

Stock Stock Options Advisory Board Startup 144

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

Your historical trading information including financials and a “customer file” which shows the history of your transactions so that investors can run “cohort” analyses Customer reference, personal references, key team members, compensation, cap table, stock option plan, etc. and then asking to take a brochure home with you.

Cap Table 336

Cap Table Due Diligence Forecast Churn Rate 336

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 20, 2012

The first articles were weirdly hostile with a focus on how OnLive just laid all their employees off in preparation for a sale in order to enrich the founders/investors at the expense of the employees. The founders equity, the investors equity, and the employees equity. Companies fail – all the time.

Recapitalization 136

Recapitalization Stock Options Vesting Equity 136