YoungUpstarts

JULY 17, 2020

The startup world is a perfect microcosm for these strange times — even in normal circumstances, a startup is always on a tightrope, one step away from unicorn status or financial ruin. As startups pivot to meet the changing landscape, here are four things to consider: 1. Evaluate and Reallocate Budget.

Startup 287

Startup Wisconsin Stock Options Dividend 287

Up and Running

JULY 2, 2014

Picking the right attorney in your startup is as important as picking the right business partner. My business partner and I made many mistakes in our first tech startup, and so many of them were the result of choosing a lawyer who was a terrible fit. My business partner and I were elated.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence Dilution 118

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

There are certain topics that even some of the smartest people I talk with who aren’t startup oriented can’t fully grok. It’s common cocktail party chatter to hear people confidently pronounce that some well known startup is sure to blow up because, “How could they succeed when they’re not even profitable!”

Stock Options 227

Stock Options Startup Dilution Venture Capital 227

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2009

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. Ask them how much they think such a solution would cost them.

Founder Vesting 365

Founder Vesting Intellectual Property Stock Options IP 365

YoungUpstarts

MAY 7, 2017

Jonmichael Moy has a wealth of experience leading and engaging with startup organizations, and with guiding strategic initiatives at several digital ventures. Moy is eager to pass on his knowledge about tech startups to young entrepreneurs who are just as captivated by the field as he has always been.

Silicon Valley 183

Silicon Valley Technical Review Product Canada 183

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

I never implied that startups are all great and job hoppers are all at fault. Most of what I learned about operating startups I learned from the really tough years at my first company from 2001-2003. That is when no customers wanted to work with Internet startups because we as an industry had burned so many customers.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Hiring Software Review Stock Options 285

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2019

Should You Allow Board Observers on Your Startup Board? Note: This is part of a series on Startup Boards. Often partners like to bring along an analyst or associate both as a way to help train younger staff (it’s an apprentice business) and also to have somebody to follow up on action items. Types of Board Observers 1.

Strategic Investors 255

Strategic Investors Startup Stock Options Venture Capital 255

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

This is part of a series on a Board of Directors at a Startup. High Functioning Startup Boards High-functioning boards have a tight-knit relationship between all members based on mutual trust and admiration. They are able to divide responsibilities and work to gain consensus on tough decisions that every startup inevitably faces.

LP 269

LP Startup Burn Rate Stock Options 269

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. So what does an early-stage company do to avoid the doom and gloom plaguing the world of startups?

Early Stage 115

Early Stage Los Angeles Silicon Valley Cofounder 115

Up and Running

DECEMBER 1, 2015

If you’re giving a large percentage of your company to someone (and yes, two percent is large), you’re entering into a contract that’s really a whole lot like marriage in that it creates a long-term relationship between you and the employee or partner. Make sure you understand all of your options before making any decisions.

Equity 60

Equity Employee Stock Options Vesting 60

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Make sure you take care of these four legal things before launching your startup. There will be additional filing and operation costs for these entities, due to tax, accounting and legal issues. Converting will come at a higher cost. Hammer Out the Details Between Partners. Hammer Out the Details Between Partners.

LLC 168

LLC Startup Stock Options Cofounder 168

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

It’s such a tricky balance between being cost-focused & scrappy versus being impractical with how you spend your time. Great startups have budgets. It turns out that financial reporting (GAAP) doesn’t take into account the only thing that matters to startup survival – cashflow. And so must you.

Operations 150

Operations Metrics Early Stage Non-Compete 150

Scalable Startup

AUGUST 9, 2018

I get approached often by tech startups looking for their first outside funding. This article is based on my experiences and the typical mistakes I see every week in startup land. High growth startup companies need seed money to get things going. Without funding most tech startups will die. high growth. Capital = Growth.

Technical Cofounder 20

Technical Cofounder Silicon Valley Early Stage Cofounder 20

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

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

A detailed financial model that shows your anticipated revenue, costs and profits (Income Statement) as well as your balance sheet and cashflow statements. So junior analysis of your company is also often where initial due diligence goes to die unless you can be sure that the investment partner is also willing to engage.

Cap Table 336

Cap Table Due Diligence Forecast Churn Rate 336

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

Want to start a startup? A typical startup goes throughseveral rounds of funding, and at each round you want to take justenough money to reach the speed where you can shift into the nextgear. Few startups get it quite right. 1 ] A startups life will be more complicated, legally, if any of theinvestors arent accredited.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2010

Often when startups who have raised venture capital need another round of financing they will turn to their existing investors to give them money before raising from outsiders. VC’s money comes from mostly institutional investors called LPs (limited partners). This bonus is often in the form of either a discount (e.g.

Startup 290

Startup Burn Rate Warrant Bankruptcy 290

www.joelonsoftware.com

MARCH 24, 2010

Teamwork skills are excellent at the project, company, and industry-partner levels. However, we will have: Cost of living adjustments for different markets. As the company grows, the initial package of stock options offered to new hires will be lower and lower. Once a year well grant people more stock options.

Software Review 48

Software Review Stock Options Salary Technical Review 48

Agile VC

JUNE 5, 2011

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. The latter typically excludes taxes and non-cash expenses like taxes, depreciation, stock option compensation, etc… Groupon’s Adjusted CSOI is exactly the same but also excludes customer acquisition costs (though these are reported elsewhere). June 5, 2011.

North America 100

North America Chicago Boston Silicon Valley 100

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 12, 2009

Almost all technology startup companies that I work with are C corps. Any company that raises venture financing will need to be a C corp in order to issue preferred stock. However, such flexibility is countered by increased compliance costs due to the application of complex partnership tax rules that also apply to LLCs.

LLC 61

LLC Stock Options Preferred Stock Stock 61

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Thomas Clayton has started and run numerous high-tech startups in Silicon Valley. He is currently CEO of Bubbly, a social media startup backed by Sequoia Capital, SingTel Innov8, and JAFCO. The company is one of the largest VC-backed startups in Southeast Asia, having raised over $60 million in funding.

Silicon Valley 121

Silicon Valley Asia Engineer Stock Options 121

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

This summer, I had the pleasure to be a mentor at the Entrepreneurship Summer School , an elective at London Business School (my alma mater) where students are tasked with testing whether their startup ideas can turn into a fundable business over the course of three months. Are your costs per acquisition going up or down with scale?

Startup 133

Startup Cofounder Warrant Stock Options 133

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Advisor. ); STARTUP. Before Roving Software could receive its first round of financing from professional investors, in early 1999, he had to put all the stock arrangements in writing. That cost him accounting fees, legal fees, and time because the financing round couldnt close until the arrangements were formalized. Newsletters.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 18, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series, “ Startup Lessons.&#. What if you have to make really tough calls on cutting costs, biz dev deals, fund raising and you violently disagree on direction? I believe that you should have a “partner&# or 2 in the company. I believe you should treat them as partners.

Founder 251

Founder Cofounder Equity Stock Options 251

infochachkie.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Be The Beatles Not The Flock Of Seagulls John Greathouse’s Bio ConTraps Part 2 ConTrap Part 3 ConTrap part 4 Startup Children Pt 2 Startup Children Pt 5 Startup Children Pt 3 Startup Children Pt 4 Decision Making 101 Talks: Jason Nazar on how to Persuade. Hands-on startup advice for emerging entrepreneurs.

Equity 40

Equity Silicon Valley Cofounder PR 40

Eric Friedman

JUNE 11, 2019

Typically a startup wants a POC with a LargeCo. Exclusivity – This can be great if you have another partner, or frame things in a way that could leave them out. This keeps the firm and final answer on investing nebulous and entrepreneurs moving the firm in their tracking sheet or CRM around for no reason.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Stock Options Early Stage Agile 68

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 15, 2012

Tech startups need more than a great idea and breakthrough technology - they need a team of committed developers who will stick with them through iteration after iteration. Most tech startups think they can attract developers with cool perks and a promise to ship great code. Share the Partner Feel With Equity.

Developer 130

Developer Equity Ruby Cofounder 130

techcrunch.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Problem was, I seemed to suck at the whole startup thing. Rather, I didn’t have anyone around me familiar enough with startups to tell me that I was doing it all wrong. One of the things I do as a founder of a later stage startup is to meet with early stage entrepreneurs to help them get their companies going. No phone system.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 84

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. The conventional wisdom says a startup CEO should make way for a professional CEO once the company has achieved product-market fit. Rakim, Follow the Leader.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 78

Agile VC

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. I recently wrote a post noting that while the growth cycle of startups has clearly accelerated in the last 5 years, the number of truly monster new businesses (a company ultimately worth $75-100B) remains about the same … it’s a once in a decade sort of thing. February 2, 2012.

IPO 100

IPO South Korea Venezuela Revenue 100

ReadWriteStart

JULY 14, 2011

Paul Palmieri, Co-Founder and CEO of mobile advertising service Millennial Media just gave a really valuable talk at the International Startup Festival in Montreal titled "Investing in Your Influencers." Palmieri talked about how startups can get the most value out of their advisors and friends. Pick your advisors carefully.

Advisory Board 135

Advisory Board Balance Sheet Silicon Valley Cofounder 135

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 11, 2014

That’s exactly my point is you’re up against either startups with funding or just entrenched names that have just been around a long time and have a ton of customers and brand value. That is always true for all startups until they get old, right? Why not get a partner? Jason: Exactly. That is always true.

Technical Cofounder 220

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Review Management 220

venturehacks.com

OCTOBER 21, 2010

Venture Hacks Good advice for startups. SUPPORTED BY Products Archives @venturehacks Books AngelList About RSS The Option Pool Shuffle by Nivi on April 10th, 2007 “Follow the money card!&# – The Inside Man, Three-Card Shuffle Summary: Don’t let your investors determine the size of the option pool for you.

Option Pool 68

Option Pool Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Warrant 68

Ben's Blog

MARCH 17, 2011

Often when I meet with startups, the employees have no job titles. In addition, customers and business partners can also make use of this short hand to figure out how to best work with your company. Andreessen argues that people ask for many things from a company: salary, bonus, stock options, span of control, and titles.

Employee 78

Employee Stock Options Engineer Management 78

Seeing Both Sides

JANUARY 13, 2015

Business Model: Time to get some channel and business partners on board, because adding revenue by adding sales and marketing dollars is going to be expensive - no matter what the early LTV vs. CAC data shows. How can the product be changed to lower the cost of delivery for us and cost of ownership for our customers?

Mezzanine 20

Mezzanine IPO Finance Business Model 20