Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO). Set realistic milestones and achieve some.

Intellectual Property 260

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

By spending more time educating your board on your business you get more valuable advice from them. Understanding where your VC partner sits in their respective fund and where their fund is in the cycle of its investment lifecycle will help you understand your VCs behavior. In his spare time he raised nearly $30 million.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board CTO Hire Fractional CTO Los Angeles 365

rapidrollout.wordpress.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

Web Startup Lessons Advice from a CTO and Entrepreneur Home About Startup Advice: When to Use a Consulting CTO There are not many to be found. He or she might call himself a “consulting CTO,&# “freelance CTO,&# “on-demand CTO,&# “CTO on call,&# “CTO for hire,&# or just a “technology strategy advisor.&#

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Fractional VPE 40

www.entrepreneur.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

What is Sweat Equity Worth? Determining how to value sweat equity is key when negotiating with investors and employees. Entrepreneurs often ask me how to value the sweat equity invested in their startup. But over the years, I have come to realize that sweat equity isn't the same thing as market value for your startup.

Sweat Equity 55

Sweat Equity Equity Fractional CTO CTO 55

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO). Set realistic milestones and achieve some.

Intellectual Property 253

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 253

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2010

Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CIO) and a product lead (CTO). Set realistic objectives and milestones.

Intellectual Property 222

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 222

OnlyOnce

MARCH 22, 2016

We expanded the program later that year with partner companies ReadyTalk, SendGrid, MWH Global, SpotX, and Moz, as I wrote about here. and 7 companies in 6 cities around the world, producing an impressive 80% hire rate. To date, the program has served nearly 50 participants (mostly women, but a couple of stay-at-home dads, too!)

CTO Hire 48

CTO Hire Cofounder Programming Equity 48

SoCal CTO

MARCH 4, 2010

I’ve worked with 30+ early-stage companies in all sorts of capacities (and spoken to many, many more), so I thought it might be worthwhile trying to classify the various ways that I’ve engaged in different technology roles in startups. However, I’m always doing this part-time. But it generally works out well in the end.

Technical Review 170

Technical Review Fractional CTO Technology CTO Hire 170

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Not surprisingly, the list above also is ranked from least to most equity stake in an investment for the investor, relative to the cash they invest. How would one set up such a startup to eventually raise capital from outside VCs, who will be wary of ‘dead equity’ (i.e., equity that belongs to departed cofounders)? The cliffs?

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

The Next Web

OCTOBER 7, 2013

They were referring to non-founder engineers, most commonly the first hire for technology businesses. However, at the very early stage, they are taking as much risk with their future as the founders. Quite frankly, waiting provides more assurance around employment risk without the commensurate sacrifice in equity comp.

Engineer 129

Engineer Dilution Option Pool Vesting 129

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Your highest priority right now is hiring the 1 or 2 people that are going to join your company and make a difference. There’s you and your killer CTO co-founder. I know it’s not single-handed as he has both fantastic partners at Foundry Group and many other community leaders. Community Leaders + Organizers.

Seattle 317

Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

List key partners and resources you will need, and then list your core team as well as their roles. If you don’t yet have a team yet, list the roles you need to hire for. List key partners and resources you will need, and then list your core team as well as their roles. The business model. The importance of a domain name.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

www.metamorphblog.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Here’s how the pitch sounds from the engineer’s perspective: ‘For ten whole percent of equity, you will slave away to build a prototype out of my shitty idea, not have any say in the decision-making process…and oh yeah, you could be fired at any point.’ Date for a bit, then split the equity.

Founder 51

Founder Startup Cofounder Vesting 51

techcrunch.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

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. Nine times out of ten, the meeting ends with them asking me for introductions to VCs. Inevitably, the excuses begin: I need to hire people to build the product.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 84

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

One of the first tough decisions that startup founders have to make is how to allocate or split the equity among co-founders. Another common “failure to start” situation I see is one where the “idea person” insists that the idea is 90% of the value (and 90% of the equity). Sacrifice and time commitment.

Equity 228

Equity Intellectual Property Cofounder CTO Hire 228

www.quora.com

JANUARY 16, 2011

Someone who is egotistical enough to call themselves a rockstar, yet humble enough not to want 99% of the equity? If you are a creative guy with a good head for business looking for an engineering partner, send me a summary of your idea and business plan, and I'll do the implementation!" This person does not exist.

Developer 42

Developer Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder 42

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2012

One of the first tough decisions that startup founders have to make is how to allocate or split the equity among co-founders. Another common “failure to start” situation I see is one where the “idea person” insists that the idea is 90% of the value (and 90% of the equity). Sacrifice and time commitment.

Intellectual Property 252

Intellectual Property Equity Cofounder CTO Hire 252

Austin Startup

MARCH 7, 2018

janryan (@janryan) | Twitter Kerry Rupp Kerry is a Capital Factory Mentor and founding partner of True Wealth Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in women-led companies in the sustainable consumer and consumer health verticals. Joe Beard joined Perot Jain as a Partner in 2015.

Technical Cofounder 48

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Fractional CTO CTO 48

www.quora.com

JANUARY 16, 2011

Smart teams understand quickly that all three skills are essential - if you can't recognize the need, you won't be able to hire for it or value it. Four developers who have the ability to take on the following roles while cranking out an awesome product in the early stages. The former focussed on biz.

Technical Review 51

Technical Review Startup CTO Hire Cofounder 51