Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2015

Every startup should have at least a couple of outside advisors who are not major investors or family members, anxious to talk to new investors and key new hires. Calculate employee stock option values and vesting times, as well as salary. Any outside advisors or board members available for discussion?

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 120

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 22, 2017

Hire Professional Services. If you’re not ready to hire a bookkeeper or accountant and you have a business partner, share the job of keeping financial records straight. You both have a vested interest in understanding how financially healthy the business is, and sharing bookkeeping tasks will keep everyone up to speed.

Software Review 72

Software Review Startup Vesting Forecast 72

www.thedailymuse.com

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

We’re Hiring. What Start-ups Should Know About Hiring a Lawyer. Hiring and working with a lawyer is often confusing and daunting, especially if you’ve never done it before. What should new entrepreneurs look for when hiring a lawyer? Hiring employees. Get Involved. Meet the Team. Job Search. Break Room.

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Hiring LLC Intellectual Property Private Equity 56

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

And even this can’t stop their employees from fleeing after two years of vesting to move on to the next hot startup. Hire fewer employees until you’re bursting at the seems with work for the ones you have. partners and now principals making investments that number is the right-sized fit for our firm.

Software Review 150

Software Review Turkey Portfolio Syndicate 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

But as with many people who have a vested interest in fast rounds being assembled, they don’t quite get why it is so important that VCs actually take their time. interviewing critical hires at a time where they have 3 other offers. Both are right. founder fighting. lack of traction, lack of downstream financing availability.

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Syndicate Syndication Cofounder Early Stage 356

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2011

You often have very limited perspective on whether this person will continue to be a great partner 2 years down the line, 4 years down the line, 8 years down the line. You’re only going to find out whether they’re TRULY a great partner after you’ve put in years of money, blood, sweat & tears. Hire your co-founder.

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Cofounder Founder Vesting Founder Vesting 393

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 2, 2017

It’s hard enough to get a job at a venture capital or private equity firm; it’s even more complex to join as a Partner. Sean Seton-Rogers, Partner, Profounders Capital, breaks the conversation into three areas: Control: voting/veto for new deals, share of management company. So assessing fit is critical. What should the firm do?

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Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Partner 60

Reid Hoffman

DECEMBER 10, 2020

If I’m going to find out that a set of founders lack integrity, don’t behave like partners, take on unacceptable risks that might harm their customers or society, or simply aren’t the kinds of people I want to spend a decade with, I want to know those facts before I start down the path of evaluating that investment. I think David’s wrong.”.

Hosting 69

Hosting Hockey Stick IPO Silicon Valley 69

The Next Web

AUGUST 26, 2013

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. Both ways are great, I’ve tried both, but personally I wouldn’t try to start something again without partners. 10-20% for employees.

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Management Cofounder Startup Bootstrapping 120

www.mattbartus.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

I can’t tell you how often a client calls me up and says something like this: “Matt, we have this great new consultant who is going to make introductions to us to [pick type of business partner]. We will grant him/her X% fully diluted shares up front, and every time he/she makes an introduction, he/she will vest in 100 shares.”

Equity 40

Equity Vesting Silicon Valley Intellectual Property 40

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

The idea is simple enough: several female VC partners at top funds will hold 1-hour meetings with 40 promising female entrepreneurs looking to get advice on their business and pitch in a friendly, non-judgmental, safe environment. My partner Kara wrote a great post on the topic that you should read. we have a long way to go.

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Founder San Francisco Deal Flow Los Angeles 256

www.informationarbitrage.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

Home About Press IA Capital Partners Archives After 17 years in M&A, Derivatives and Trading, Im spending my time with young entrepreneurs in and around financial technology and digital media. So why do inexperienced (as entrepreneurs), ultra-skilled CTOs fall into the trap of engaging a business partner too early? Lack of confidence?

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire Founder Cap Table Vesting 40

blog.aparttimecto.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Un-knowledgeable - Since it’s just you and your partners, you might not be making the best choices. Find and hire one or more developers Pros: Implementation Speed - Developers working full time will be much more efficient for you and your product since they’ll be dedicated to your company.

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CTO Hire Fractional CTO Equity Vesting 40

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2013

Early partners or co-founders often drop out of the picture early due to disagreements, and you forget about them, but they don’t forget about the verbal or email promises you made. Later, when your venture is trying to close on financing, or even going public, that forgotten partner surfaces, demanding their original share.

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Non-Compete Accredited Investor Startup Cofounder 235

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Back in 1997, Randy Parker was staring at a blank whiteboard, wondering where hed find the money to hire the employees and consultants he needed to build his new product. "We Durkin , managing partner with the Boston -based law firm Lucash, Gesmer & Updegrove LLP. FROM OUR PARTNERS. ); ); ); ADVERTISEMENT. Select Services.

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Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Transformify

JULY 16, 2019

Unique Careers: Jenn Labin on hiring entrepreneurs at heart. ‘’Diversity Hiring’’ series features world diversity and inclusion leaders and their thoughts on diversity recruitment, cultural diversity and equality. Jenn, diversity hiring has many faces, ranging from gender ratios to diversity of thought.

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Hiring Entrepreneur Vesting Atlanta 61

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 10, 2012

Early partners or co-founders often drop out of the picture early due to disagreements, and you forget about them, but they don’t forget about the verbal or email promises you made. Later, when your venture is trying to close on financing, or even going public, that forgotten partner surfaces, demanding their original share.

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Non-Compete Accredited Investor Cofounder Startup 249

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

Getting the first meeting with a VC isn’t easy because each partner at a VC firm gets so many requests for meetings that he/she couldn’t possibly take them all so they tend to prioritize people that were introduced from high-quality sources. I hired a sales coach named Kai Krickle who helped me figure out how to close more deals.

Cap Table 336

Cap Table Due Diligence Forecast Churn Rate 336

Steve Blank

JUNE 15, 2010

Will they tailor your vesting to your contribution as a founder? And some larger funds that specialize in later stage deals may have a partner or two who likes to invest at this stage. Will The VC Tailor Your Vesting to Your Contribution? What startup stage do they typically invest in? Do they “get&# Customer Development

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Founder Vesting Later Stage Early Stage 231

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2017

If you are a chronic procrastinator, or your work partner is one, there is never enough advance notice to get things done without a crisis. Other things, like hiring and firing people, raising money, and building a strategic plan get pushed off until it’s too late. You can’t get things done on time unless you get started on time.

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Vesting Partner Restful Naming 120

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 30, 2018

It may be necessary to find another company to partner with in order to bring your first products to market. Although it might be tempting to look for a well-established manufacturer to partner with, a larger company may not take a startup seriously and won’t have the motivation to work with you on pricing.

Startup 91

Startup Vesting Demand Differentiation 91

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2011

Later, when your venture is trying to close on financing, or even going public, that forgotten partner surfaces, demanding their original share. This problem can be avoided by incorporating immediately after early discussions, and issuing shares to the founders, with normal vesting and other participation rules.

Non-Compete 246

Non-Compete Accredited Investor Entrepreneur Cofounder 246

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 2, 2018

Smith said while the company is not hiring large numbers of people, it is aware that its average worker is 50 and wants to prepare for the future. “It’s a neat idea to walk around and talk to people as business partners. “It’s a neat idea to walk around and talk to people as business partners.

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United States Baltimore Engineer Software 29

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Hire a lawyer to help draft an incentive plan with a vesting schedule that fits your business. Once you get some traction, don’t be surprised when you have to hire a lawyer to file a trademark on your logo because people start imitating it. - Russ Oja , Seattle Windows and Construction, LLC. Client Agreements.

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Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Term Sheet Early Stage 97

www.instigatorblog.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

I gave him similar numbers to what I had been given when I was hiring the first few employees for Standout Jobs. This is especially true when you think of a tech startup, where the first few hires are typically engineers/programmers. Immediately makes them more like owners than employees, and doesn't have the same vesting timeline.

Equity 41

Equity Employee Startup Vesting 41

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 18, 2009

What if the person performs OK, but not great and you need to hire above him? I believe that you should have a “partner&# or 2 in the company. I believe you should treat them as partners. I know that this could be achieved with simple vesting schemes, but there is a rub. Who prevails? To the contrary.

Founder 251

Founder Cofounder Equity Stock Options 251

Berkonomics

APRIL 4, 2024

As soon as any outside money is ingested into the corporation, others have a vested and legal interest in the behavior of officers entrusted with the best use of funds. Then along comes either money or contracts from strategic or financial investors or partners. Start-ups with one founder rarely have or need a board of directors.

Covenant 48

Covenant Software Review Stock Options Vesting 48

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2015

As an industry we need to pay attention to those who are struggling as they build their startups and make sure we pay as much attention to the mental stresses of the job as we do to the business challenges like shipping product, hiring staff and raising money.

Houston 150

Houston Vesting Founder Capital Call 150

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 16, 2018

One partner might want to meet with you while you're "not raising" in order to build the case inside their firm for doing this deal. Keeping close to the vest in this scenario would make it impossible to get the partnership to a yes if you just showed up after running silent.

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Due Diligence Early Stage Term Sheet Vesting 74

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

There were two distinct classes of employee equity (issued by Intermix and MySpace, respectively) with different valuation and vesting situations—and, most significantly, a $125 million valuation cap applied to the buyout of MySpace equity that was triggered by the acquisition of Intermix. Read on for a fuller explanation. of MySpace, Inc.

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Hire Someone to Watch Your Money. In today’s business world, success and influence are in the hands of those who share their ideas, not those who hold them close to the vest. Partners, clients and competitors will appreciate the dialogue and insight and may offer you theirs. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice and then, take it.

Vesting 190

Vesting Security Reputation Entrepreneur 190

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2010

Later, when your venture is trying to close on financing, or even going public, that forgotten partner surfaces, demanding equity. This problem can be avoided by incorporating immediately after early discussions, and issuing shares to the founders, with normal vesting and other participation rules.

Non-Compete 125

Non-Compete Accredited Investor Startup Cofounder 125

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

Everyone is so vested in their businesses. For example, as a lawyer if you are at private firm there are associates and there are partners. I love doing my first hire and implementing strategies and working until 4:00am with your whole team because there is a deadline. Being an entrepreneur is a great equalizer.

Entrepreneur 48

Entrepreneur Fresno LLC Community 48

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

In other cases, they may come from your channel partners or elsewhere. A strong advisor can walk you in the door to the same number of companies as 2–3 new sales hires. This amount should vest over some period of time — 2 years is typical — and should be subject to the completion of concrete goals and commitments.

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Advisory Board Sweat Equity Marketing Vertical 48

The Next Web

OCTOBER 7, 2013

They were referring to non-founder engineers, most commonly the first hire for technology businesses. It is typical for employees to vest their options over four years with a one year cliff, which means a new hire must stay on the company for at least one year to see any shares. How do you feel about that number?

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Engineer Dilution Option Pool Vesting 129

Hunter Walker

OCTOBER 22, 2021

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. It’s very hard to hire something if you don’t know what it looks like. So ahead of hiring, spend time with a few excellent people in their domains.

Hiring 147

Hiring Vesting Salary Naming 147

Up and Running

JANUARY 18, 2016

The importance of this is that it sets the foundations for the many discussions you will have with your funder on all topics from new product launches, to major capital spend, to key hiring decisions. The risks of not getting the right alignment between you and your funding partners can lead to chaos.

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Exit Strategy Vesting Security Bootstrapping 60