Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2019

Old co-workers or new friends with complementary skills usually make the best partners. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones. Later you need specialists and managers. The founder’s title and role dilemma. Recognize that the best people don’t work for free.

Hockey Stick 243

Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event Startup 243

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

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2014

Old co-workers or new friends with complementary skills usually make the best partners. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones. Later you need specialists and managers. The Founder’s title and role dilemma. Recognize that the best people don’t work for free.

Hockey Stick 268

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 268

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2017

Old co-workers or new friends with complementary skills usually make the best partners. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones. Later you need specialists and managers. The founder’s title and role dilemma. Recognize that the best people don’t work for free.

Hockey Stick 144

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 144

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Leadership & Managing | Tuesdays. LEADERSHIP & MANAGING. Managing Creativity. I advise my clients that you offer stock only after youve searched your heart and soul and cant come up with a way to pay with anything else," says Thomas H. Chip Morse , cofounder and partner with Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton P.C.,

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2013

Old co-workers or new friends with complementary skills usually make the best partners. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones. Later you need specialists and managers. The Founder’s title and role dilemma. Recognize that the best people don’t work for free.

Founder 245

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 245

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 7, 2017

If you take smart money from a good angel or venture organization, the lead investor usually becomes your board member and has a vested interest in your success. And some will willingly work for stock options, an amount to be negotiated based upon time spent and stage of corporate development.

Warrant 97

Warrant Stock Options Vesting Equity 97

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

If you’re thinking about joining as the director of marketing, product management manager, senior architect, international business development lead, etc. Now … these are stock options and not restricted stock so you’ll likely be taxed at a long-term capital gains rate. Stock vests for 4 years.

Stock Options 418

Stock Options Stock Liquidation Preference Option Pool 418

www.thedailymuse.com

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

You don’t want a senior partner preparing documents for an incorporation, nor do you want a third-year lawyer negotiating with a seasoned venture capitalist for you. A junior lawyer at a small firm in a smaller city may charge $150 an hour, while senior partners in big firms in major cities have been known to charge over $1,000 an hour.

Hiring 56

Hiring LLC Intellectual Property Private Equity 56

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 23, 2023

and here is the usual early-stage trap… First, a brand-new enterprise is often formed from the efforts of several “partners”, each with an expertise valued by the others. First you must create a stock option plan using your attorney, which must be registered in many states as a security offering. Here are some rules.

Equity 62

Equity Stock Options Vesting Early Stage 62

Berkonomics

JULY 3, 2010

And some will willingly work for stock options, an amount to be negotiated based upon time spent and stage of corporate development. The one warning: avoid those looking to become partners, asking for larger portions of equity than, say, 5% when they contribute no cash to the enterprise.

Warrant 71

Warrant Stock Options Vesting Equity 71

infochachkie.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Beware The Consultant John Greathouse – Posted in: Cash Flow Management , Launching Venture , Strategic Planning. Basing a consultant’s compensation on the incremental revenue they generate is a great example of a deal that is on The Fringe (for other creative approaches to partnering, see Agreements on The Fringe).

Equity 40

Equity Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Review 40

thinkspace.com

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Manager or Junior Engineer 0.2 - 0.33. Chris Dixon wrote a blog post about “ The one number you should know about your equity grant “ The one number you should know about your equity grant is the percent of the company you are being granted (in options, shares, whatever – it doesn’t matter – just the % matters). CEO 5 - 10.

Equity 62

Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017

Here’s an example: First, a brand-new enterprise is often formed from the efforts of several “partners”, each with an expertise valued by the others. First you must create a stock option plan using your attorney, which must be registered in many states as a security offering. How many options are appropriate for a grant?

Early Stage 102

Early Stage Equity Stock Options Vesting 102

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

And if trouble withinvestors is one of the biggest threats to a startup, managing themis one of the most important skills founders need to learn. Ifyour competitors offer employees stock options that might make themrich, while you make it clear you plan to stay private, yourcompetitors will get the best people.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

Ben's Blog

APRIL 28, 2010

When my partner Marc wrote his post describing our firm , the most controversial component of our investment strategy was our preference for founding CEOs. joined as a General Manager of the Computing Tabulating Recording Company, but renamed the company International Business Machines and turned it into the IBM we recognize today.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 78

Berkonomics

MAY 12, 2010

First you must create a stock option plan using your attorney, which must be registered in many states as a security offering. In other words, you cannot create bargain options at below “market rates.” Inducing a new CEO to come aboard usually means creation of a stock option package of 5-8%.

Early Stage 85

Early Stage Equity Stock Options Vesting 85

Small Business Force

JULY 26, 2013

With employee ownership as part of the overall compensation package, this should enable you to keep early salaries at or below market, helping better manage early cash flow. The most straightforward plan is a stock option plan, where the company issues options for employees to purchase stock at a certain price at some future date.

Employee 37

Employee Stock Options Vesting Stock 37

venturehacks.com

OCTOBER 21, 2010

If you don’t keep your eyes on the option pool while you’re negotiating valuation, your investors will have you playing (and losing) a game that we like to call: Option Pool Shuffle You have successfully negotiated a $2M investment on a $8M pre-money valuation by pitting the famous Blue Shirt Capital against Herd Mentality Management.

Option Pool 68

Option Pool Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Warrant 68

Diego Basch

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

In the words of Fred Wilson: VCs are professional money managers. Typical first-time SV entrepreneurs are not millionaires, so let’s say you have 100k in the bank (maybe you’ve made some money from stock options). I’ll try to explain why. A VC fund typically has a 10-year investment horizon.

Silicon Valley 73

Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Stock Options Vesting 73