VC Cafe

OCTOBER 31, 2022

This is largely due to several major stock market crashes and global economic uncertainties. It’s a tough time for a lot of startup founders right now. This is not meant to be a negative post, but rather a temperature check of today’s market environment and the levers founders can pull on to survive this period.

Founder 173

Founder Technical Review Down Round Liquidation Preference 173

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Why do these founders get to stay around? Because the balance of power has dramatically shifted from investors to founders. VCs competing for unicorn investments have given founders control of the board. A pre-IPO board usually had two founders, two VCs and one “independent” member. Technology Cycles Measured in Years.

Founder 245

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 245

The Next Web

OCTOBER 10, 2013

Two more entrepreneurial ventures later, Gleb cofounded online backup provider Backblaze to help consumers affordably, automatically, and safely back up their data. What are the pros and cons of starting a business alone versus with cofounders? How many founders are too many? One” – You have to have a cofounder.

Cofounder 143

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Kenya Dilution 143

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

When an entrepreneur first incorporates a business, they may find themselves the proud owner of 10 million shares of common stock, commonly called founder’s shares. Make sure the government waits for a stock sale to collect taxes. Spread stock issuance over an earning period. Key founder vesting should have no cliff.

Stock 240

Stock .Net Vesting Founder Vesting 240

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. It just means that the cofounders trust one of their own and are willing to follow. The industry veteran. The financial suit.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

Agile VC

DECEMBER 4, 2014

I like to say that “there are only co-founders” — it’s extraordinarily rare for a successful business to have just a sole founder. But not all co-founders are equal in terms of title, ownership, responsibilities, and so forth. Sometimes co-founders put off the equity split question for some time.

Cofounder 255

Cofounder Equity Founder Sweat Equity 255

ReadWriteStart

JULY 5, 2023

Recently, the medical diagnostics company Neko Health, which was co-founded by Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify, was successful in acquiring €60 million ($65.4 The private clinics that Neko Health operates, which are stocked with both in-house and commercially available diagnostic tools, are the backbone of the company’s service offerings.

Sweden 126

Sweden Artificial Inteligence Cofounder Technical Review 126

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2016

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. Giving a co-founder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want. Each co-founder should get equity for value, based on these key variables: Lived a key role in a previous startup.

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

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.

Founder 325

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

View from Seed

APRIL 27, 2020

Founders do not have this luxury. Most founders are going through hell right now, and that is not going away any time soon. Others are just starting out, but the financial safety net they thought they had from a spouse’s job or highly appreciated stock options has disappeared. Wait and see. This is scary. Number of Investments.

Cofounder 194

Cofounder Software Review Portfolio Technical Review 194

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 10, 2020

by Zain Jaffer, serial entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Zain Ventures. Zain Jaffer is a serial entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Zain Ventures , an investment firm that invests globally in start-ups, real estate, stocks, fixed income, hedge funds, and private equity. Among the list: the loss of a major client.

Customer 347

Customer Development Team Review Advisory Board Private Equity 347

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 ? And do I fit as a Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO ?

Technical Cofounder 241

Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Equity Sweat Equity 241

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. It just means that the cofounders trust one of their own and are willing to follow. The industry veteran. The financial suit.

Technical Cofounder 144

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 144

Agile VC

DECEMBER 4, 2014

I like to say that “there are only co-founders” — it’s extraordinarily rare for a successful business to have just a sole founder. But not all co-founders are equal in terms of title, ownership, responsibilities, and so forth. Sometimes co-founders put off the equity split question for some time.

Cofounder 173

Cofounder Equity Founder Sweat Equity 173

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. By tying payments to actual revenues, founders and investors remain aligned around the company’s real-time performance, good or bad.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

Thus I was happy to see a new book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. It just means that the cofounders trust one of their own and are willing to follow. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk.

Technical Cofounder 245

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 245

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2014

The first is that it could carry limited inventory in stock because it had limited physical shelf space. So today I’m excited to announce that Upfront Ventures is leading an $8 million round with some amazing co-investors including Founder’s Fund, OATV, Lowercase, High Peaks, Collaborative Fund and many great angel investors.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Software Review Cofounder CTO Hire 380

Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 2, 2011

Jane and Dick, our fearless cofounders of SayAhh, have set up an accounting system and created their first set of financial statements. The founders each have common shares that will vest over four years. They come up with two options: Hire Praveena as an employee and offer her stock options. Time to update the cap table.

Cap Table 133

Cap Table CTO Hire Technical Cofounder Cofounder 133

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2018

If you’re following Tesla, you might be interested to know that Sloan wasn’t the founder of GM. Where are the charitable foundations, business schools, and hospitals named after the founder of GM? The founder of what became General Motors was William (Billy) Durant. What Does GM Have to Do with Tesla And Elon Musk?

Michigan 268

Michigan Cofounder Stock Forecast 268

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

Thus I was happy to see a recent book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. It just means that the cofounders trust one of their own and are willing to follow. The industry veteran. The financial suit.

Technical Cofounder 120

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2021

When an entrepreneur first incorporates a business, they may find themselves the proud owner of 10 million shares of common stock, commonly called founder’s shares. Make sure the government waits for a stock sale to collect taxes. Spread stock issuance over an earning period. Key founder vesting should have no cliff.

Vesting 298

Vesting Dilution Stock Founder Vesting 298

fi.co

DECEMBER 4, 2012

Founder Feedback. Why a 50/50 Split is Almost Never Right for Co-Founders by @DaveParkerSEA. Founder Feedback gives you insights from the startup trenches. Applications to the Seattle Founder Institute are also due this Sunday, February 26th: click here to apply. . -->. -->. -->. Blog. Posted by Jonathan Greechan.

Cofounder 43

Cofounder Founder Silicon Valley San Diego 43

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 3, 2024

” Martin Gonzalez is the creator of Google’s Effective Founders Project, a global research program that decodes the factors that enable startup founders to succeed. 10:03] Would you say that a lack of leadership training is a blindspot for most founders? [12:31] Founders are never one-time founders.

Startup 59

Startup Cofounder Technical Review Founder 59

View from Seed

DECEMBER 4, 2014

Editor’s note: Understanding how to divide founder equity at a startup can be tricky, even to the point of reaching emotional riffs between founders. I like to say that “there are only co-founders” — it’s extraordinarily rare for a successful business to have just a sole founder.

Equity 315

Equity Founder Sweat Equity Cofounder 315

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Should you co-found your company with a software development shop? I’ve talked with a number of software development shops who are eager to get into the business of cofounding companies, i.e., getting product revenue and equity instead of just consulting revenue. What are the terms of their relationship with the founder?

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 4, 2015

By Stephen Tanenbaum, co-founder and CEO of UGallery. I’m a startup founder and I spend more time at the office than I’d like to admit. Instead, my holiday wish list is a mix of unique services and experiences that you can’t fit in a stocking. Stephen Tanenbaum is co-founder and president of UGallery.com.

Founder 100

Founder Arizona Cofounder Technical Review 100

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Jeff Katzenberg has a great track record – head of the studio at Paramount, chairman of Disney Studios, co-founder of DreamWorks and now chairman of NewTV. Tech IPO prices exploded and subsequent trading prices rose to dizzying heights as the stock prices became disconnected from the traditional metrics of revenue and profits.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

John Borchers, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Decathlon Capital, claims to be the largest revenue-based financing investor in the US. RBI structures help to protect the equity of both founders and investors. However, according to Bryce Roberts, co-founder of Indie.VC, only 0.6%

Revenue 60

Revenue Term Sheet Founder Technical Review 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

If your goal is a large national corporation with more than 100 investors, and multiple classes of stock, you might prefer a C-Corp or S-Corp. In fact, this context is your best opportunity to attract a co-founder who has the business skills and interests that are complementary to your technical strengths.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

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. Should founders have anti-dilution rights?

Equity 62

Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 21, 2022

Danish-based startup Inpay was formed after founder Jacob Tackmann Thomsen realized money donated to help orphaned children in Myanmar after 2008’s Cyclone Nargis would lose 5% to fees and take days to arrive. Below are four examples of organizations doing just this, including household names and some more up-and-coming startups.

San Francisco 136

San Francisco Securities and Exchange Commission Myanmar Startup 136

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 19, 2016

By Johan Gunnars, CEO and cofounder of Simpliday. At the end of each week, take stock of all you’ve accomplished — review your list and relish in the tasks you’ve crossed off, appointments you’ve kept, and bits of everyday housekeeping that have helped you to achieve more.

Cofounder 113

Cofounder Product Software Review Stock 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2018

I’ll never forget that great sense of excitement I felt when I incorporated my first business, and realized that I was now the proud owner of 10 million shares of common stock. Of course, initially these founder’s shares were worth essentially nothing, but it doesn’t take much of an imagination to grasp the possibilities.

Stock 129

Stock Vesting Preferred Stock Cofounder 129

Eric Friedman

DECEMBER 27, 2021

4/ Streaming equity – venture funds + employee stock becomes more liquid. This is already happening, but there will be an explosion of rolling funds, operator angels, and micro investors who want to co-invest in friends, companies, and cohorts they are a part of. Maybe the founders are the micro VCs we have been waiting for?

Balance Sheet 97

Balance Sheet Stock Private Equity Option Pool 97

NZ Entrepreneur

DECEMBER 10, 2020

Now, cofounders Paul Simpson and Dominic Sutton are sharing what they learned during the ups and downs of the journey. That’s where the founder thing comes in, whereas the Angels are more focused on growth projections and risk.”. Comparing the MOQs of his product SKUs “saved me running out of stock at Christmas,” Peska told Sutton.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence Startup 103

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2009

These periods of time can leave a founder very vulnerable in the future. Assuming normal valuations at fund raising rounds you’ll be down to 6-12% after you’ve created a stock-option pool and raised capital. But these people seldom make retirement money from the stock options on these companies.

Founder Vesting 365

Founder Vesting Intellectual Property Stock Options IP 365