Gust

DECEMBER 15, 2013

In today’s Internet world, enterprising entrepreneurs have found that they can find out and do almost anything they need, from incorporating the company to filing patents, without expensive consultants, or the cost to hiring and firing employees. Need expensive resources up front. Your company has outgrown you. You need a prototype.

Bootstrapping 183

Bootstrapping Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Technical Review 183

Gust

DECEMBER 22, 2011

This is often referred to in the creative community as a “ work-for-hire agreement.”. IP Assignment Agreements with founders, employees and consultants clarify ownership of all IP created going forward (the work-for-hire concept described above) and cover many other bases related to preservation of IP rights going forward.

Intellectual Property 149

Intellectual Property Technical Review Software Review IP 149

Gust

DECEMBER 29, 2013

Be quick to hire and slow to fire. Hiring after one interview is like hopping a red-eye to Vegas to get married after one date. On the other end of the process, don’t hesitate to pull the trigger fast when a new hire isn’t working, but don’t forget to be human and follow all the steps. Let your accountants manage the expenses.

Startup 183

Startup Intellectual Property LLC Burn Rate 183

Gust

APRIL 9, 2014

Therefore, to avoid dilution to its existing equity holders, all a company has to do is not hire any more employees who get options, or take any more money from investors.

Dilution 150

Dilution Equity Vesting Stock Options 150

Gust

OCTOBER 14, 2012

Don’t hire people who like your ideas all the time. Be quick to fire and slow to hire. Pull the trigger fast when a new hire isn’t working, but don’t forget to be human and follow all the steps. On the other side, hiring after one interview is like hopping a red-eye to Vegas to get married after one date.

Entrepreneur 174

Entrepreneur Forecast Hiring Leadership 174

Gust

AUGUST 22, 2012

” There is no law, other than the word of the manager on duty — who decrees that we could get in with the camera if we paid some ludicrous amount of money to procure a permit on the spot. For example, in an area known for a high crime rate, security guards can be hired and other measures taken.

Technical Review 172

Technical Review Egypt Morocco Russia 172

Gust

DECEMBER 1, 2013

These include: Managers delegate real work. Manage a team rather than work with a team. In a big company, you get used to having an IT team around configure your computer, a personnel specialist for hiring and firing, and a marketing team for strategy. There is a difference. Training courses are required.

Entrepreneur 182

Entrepreneur Burn Rate Salary Lean 182

Gust

JANUARY 13, 2013

Too many startups fail simply by missing the practical elements of money management, time management, and setting priorities. But these won’t help you much finding investors, key executive hires, and pitfalls to avoid in the real world. Take advantage of inside and outside advisers at school. Business networking is key.

Entrepreneur 180

Entrepreneur Seed Money Social Network Business Plan 180

Gust

JULY 29, 2012

Don’t hire any employees. Managing employees is a whole separate discipline, and most true entrepreneurs aren’t very good at it anyway. An example would be getting free office space by agreeing to be the property manager for the owner. You can’t be successful doing something you don’t enjoy. Consultants don’t need any inventory.

Bandwidth 155

Bandwidth Bootstrapping Equity Startup 155

Gust

JANUARY 5, 2014

Don’t assume that only “fast talkers” are good salesmen, or that you can hire a good salesman at the last minute to sell your product. The real job of an entrepreneur is to manage the right variables, with the right level of risk, to get and stay just one step ahead of their competitors. That should be you.

Business Model 171

Business Model Sales Customer Distribution 171

Gust

JANUARY 20, 2013

Top management has to set the expectation and provide the authority to make decisions now. That means hiring help, rather than helpers, and providing the resources they need to stay current. Close the execution gap through real-time transparency. Equip everyone with core skills to solve problems now.

Startup 180

Startup Social Media Cloud Customer 180

Gust

DECEMBER 16, 2011

And, a bit misty-eyed, this old war veteran can actually remember the glory days: Venture capitalists would commit tens of millions for a startup to buy expensive infrastructure; hire sales and marketing teams as products were still being built; and lease out big slugs of office space for the coming hiring spree.

IPO 87

IPO .Net Social Network Mobile 87

Gust

DECEMBER 8, 2013

They should be asking to speak to you if you are a potential investor or a superstar hire. But don’t let management divert you with comments on your failure to understand “the vision and the big picture.” If you talk to them, they better know the answers to the previous questions. Who is a real customer that I can talk to?

Due Diligence 174

Due Diligence Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Burn Rate 174

Gust

DECEMBER 9, 2012

It also means that it’s time to stop micro-managing, hire some of the right people, and start giving up some control. After the initial zigs and zags to get profitable, it is time to formalize and document the processes that worked. Only then can you expand those things that led to your initial success. Scale the business.

Elevator Pitch 163

Elevator Pitch Startup Bootstrapping Entrepreneur 163

Gust

JULY 12, 2012

The legal role of the board is to make strategic and corporate-level decisions, hire/fire the CEO, and represent all of the stockholders of the company. It doesn’t give you more cash compensation, more equity ownership or more direct control over the operating business.

Cofounder 107

Cofounder Founder Warrant Equity 107

Gust

OCTOBER 31, 2011

If your business offers a service, like marketing or management consulting, you are the product. Every partner and employee can kill your success potential in a heartbeat, so don’t take shortcuts on your hiring and training practices. Customers don’t like people who don’t show their passion and love for the job. .

Angel Investor 143

Angel Investor Venture Capital Partner Networking 143

Gust

OCTOBER 2, 2014

Think about it – most entrepreneurs who manage to raise seed money or venture capital usually raise enough money for 12-18 months maximum. You hire them, you own them now. Hire fast, fire faster. Many times it’s less. So at any given point you are likely operating with a maximum of 9 month’s cash. Pottery Barn rule.

Monaco 122

Monaco Cofounder Chicago Mexico 122

Gust

NOVEMBER 23, 2011

The law would have the effect of allowing companies to stay private longer, deferring the significant expense, management distraction and public disclosure of financial and operating data involved in the IPO process. targets the Exchange Act requirement that is reportedly forcing Facebook to go public in early 2012.

IPO 110

IPO Prospectus SEC Intellectual Property 110

Gust

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

Yet when it comes to risk management of user communities – content, community or commerce – failure to be looking around the curve ahead can result in pretty ugly crashes. As it gains traction, every social or consumer internet startup should pause at some point and take stock of risk and abuse issues, viewed as broadly as possible.

Startup 98

Startup Silicon Valley Reputation Community 98

Gust

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

Traditional risk management focuses only on bad risks, and seeks to contain losses. Lowering the risk by hiring the cheapest, or counting on family members, is a bad risk. The challenge with all risks is that they must be proactive, measured, and managed. That way of thinking is simplistic and wrong.

Forecast 188

Forecast Viral Social Network Business Model 188