Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2011

Finding that person is not a hiring challenge, since neither of you really get paid until you both succeed. Yet the smart entrepreneur can still bootstrap the technical team, using one or all of the following evaluation and hiring approaches: Hire an expert consultant for initial interviews and recommendation. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 236

Technical Review Partner Entrepreneur Dilution 236

www.avc.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Employee Equity: How Much? The most common comment in this long and complicated MBA Mondays series on Employee Equity is the question of how much equity should you grant when you make a hire. For your first key hires, three, five, maybe as much as ten, you will probably not be able to use any kind of formula.

Equity 64

Equity Employee CTO Hire Fractional CTO 64

VC Adventure

AUGUST 16, 2020

Despite how much time companies talk about the importance of their employees and, in many cases, how every employee is also an “owner” of their business through their option program, most companies are pretty ad hoc (or down right sloppy) about how they plan for and execute their option program.

Programming 149

Programming Vesting Equity Software Review 149

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

As a startup in this phase you often raise capital, get press, hire staff and everything feels possible. I always push companies to hire “an operationally focused CFO” during this phase because in order to systematize you need somebody who brings economic rigor to decision making. As an early-stage VC I love this phase.

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 9, 2022

Even hiring can be thought of as a subset of adaptability whereby at first you’re hiring generalists that can wear many hats because you simply don’t have the resources to hire individualists (people that are great at very specific things) and as the company grows, you need to adapt that hiring. Quality control?

Cofounder 148

Cofounder Founder Miami Marketing 148

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2022

In addition, strategic functions involve working ON your business, whereas tactical work, done by most employees, is working IN your business. Certainly managers need to be better trained, more sensitive to worker needs, and focused on hiring and training the right people for the right job, rather than treating all as soldiers.

Management 333

Management Dilution Forecast Leadership 333

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 19, 2012

When not approached carefully, growth can destroy value as it outstrips a company’s managerial capacity, processes, quality, and financial controls, or substantially dilutes customer value propositions. The right processes and controls must be put in place and taught to employees. Processes are like recipes for baking a cake.

Dilution 209

Dilution Virginia Management Washington 209

Up and Running

JULY 2, 2014

We had personally invested $70,000 of our own money at this point, and we were hoping to raise at least another $250,000 to help us hire a team, launch our company, and begin to build our product. of our company in exchange for the $300K, and my business partner and I each diluted from 50% ownership down to 33.3%

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence Dilution 118

Up and Running

JULY 1, 2020

While it’s called a business plan, it can be written and utilized to successfully enter a new market, launch a product, or weigh the potential of adding an employee. Executive summary: This short summary quickly informs your employees, lenders, and investors about the nature and benefits of the expansion.

Business Plan 152

Business Plan Forecast Operations Dilution 152

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 30, 2022

6- Recruit and retain employees. So many people are starting their own businesses that employees are becoming scarce. You may find that a previous employee has started his or her own business and created exactly what you need. Cross-training existing employees will help cover staffing shortages in the interim.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Green Technical Review Social Media 124

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 13, 2011

They end up trying to do too much for too many, which dilutes their focus and often the quality of their product or service. You must evolve from being a doer to a manager of employees and then eventually to a manager of managers (a leader). Hiring smart. The problem is that too many entrepreneurs never learn to say ‘NO!’

Indianapolis 219

Indianapolis Minneapolis Kentucky Virginia 219

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 26, 2019

Being focussed on SaaS metrics is not incompatible with valuing employee fulfillment and customer happiness. Telling the truth to customers and employees, especially when it’s difficult, is how you earn trust and loyalty. Find and focus on one reliable distribution mechanism before diluting your time diversifying. Fix that now.

Restful 202

Restful Founder Revenue Acquisition 202

www.instigatorblog.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Changing Equity Structures for Early Startup Employees Tweet Recently someone asked me for advice on how much equity they should give to their early employees. His company had just closed an early round of funding and he wanted to cement the employee relationships. Those first employees will take 0.5-1%

Equity 41

Equity Employee Startup Vesting 41

YoungUpstarts

MAY 6, 2019

By offering the advantages of your company, you will be able to find some great employees. If you are getting funded for the first time, which means that you have not diluted the shares of your company, you will be receiving Series A funding. Hiring more resources. So, hire more people or go for outsourcing to remote workers.

Startup 113

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

Every startup and every big business wishes that all their employees were star performers, but wishing doesn’t make it happen. When hiring or inheriting new team members, it’s important to discuss their strengths, development areas, and blind spots early. Great leaders align the values of work to their team.

Employee 241

Employee Dilution Conversion Developer 241

The Startup Magazine

JULY 15, 2023

We look at various techniques and methods you can use to ensure your firm remains right at the forefront of the industry and continues to please employees and clients. Clients are happier because they get a more robust and effective response, and employees enjoy feeling effective in their roles. Well, this post is for you.

Security 138

Security Artificial Inteligence Differentiation Dilution 138

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 16, 2016

But entrepreneurs face other concerns that compete with this growth focus, including hiring, maintaining current revenue sources and distinguishing themselves from the competition. A happy, healthy organizational culture full of great employees exudes confidence and steadiness as you strive forward. I call it casting vision.

Cofounder 100

Cofounder Balance Sheet Small Business Administration Technical Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

If you hire 6 senior sales reps in January at $120,000 / year salary then you’ve taken on an extra $60,000 per month in costs yet these sales people might not close new business 6 months. If you don’t have a strong balance sheet and can’t hire more people that’s fine — but understand this may lead to slower growth.

Stock Options 227

Stock Options Startup Dilution Venture Capital 227

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

Benefits: Non-dilutive, flexible credit offerings that fit SMB or enterprise SaaS. The mode purpose for funding is (in order of frequency) Sales, Marketing, Market Expansion, Product Development, and Hiring Employees. At least 12 months of customer history, generally 20+ enterprise customers or 200+ SMB customers.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

Duct Tape Marketing

OCTOBER 11, 2023

But what the dilution, if you bring it down to it that even creator entertainers and educators have in common is it's this human element. Christie Horsman (05:43): Yeah, I think the only pitfalls I see when looking for, I think hiring creator influencers to represent your brand is great. Is there a better way?

B2B 80

B2B Marketing B2C Community 80

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2022

A common practice is to hire local employees who know the geographic culture, even though this may well dilute the company culture. This usually marks the end of organic growth, as partnerships and alliances aid growth, but again dilute the focus on culture. Product-line expansion. Efficiency and scale.

Dilution 355

Dilution Startup Merger Flash 355

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 7, 2017

But employee option pool is important enough that I wanted to briefly expand upon my comment above. Employee options pools, typically created at the point of financings, shouldn’t be treated as haggling over dilution, but rather a strategic resource that will help founders build the best team and, by extension, a more valuable company.

Equity 94

Equity Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Founder 94

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 7, 2014

It makes sense to surround yourself with the right team when starting your own business, and this group needs to include a qualified accountant, a sympathetic bank manager and, if appropriate, the very best partners and employees. Advice For The Young At Heart building a team hiring outsourcing'

Dilution 202

Dilution Early Stage Hiring Employee 202

The Startup Magazine

JULY 1, 2022

Equity financing can give you a lot of cash upfront, but it can also dilute your ownership stake in your company. This includes hiring employees, marketing your business, and expanding your operations. For example, debt financing can help you keep control of your company, but it can also put financial pressure on your business.

Technology 138

Technology Venture Capital Finance Startup 138

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Employee Benefits. 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 a 50-employee provider of e-marketing solutions to small and midsize businesses, based in Needham, Mass. "We Business Taxes.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Steve Blank

APRIL 10, 2019

VC’s have just changed the ~50-year old social contract with startup employees. For most startup employee’s startup stock options are now a bad deal. As Venture Capital emerged as an industry in the mid 1970’s, investors in venture-funded startups began to give stock options to all their employees. Here’s why.

Stock Options 334

Stock Options Stock Vesting Common Stock 334

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

An employee walks up to me and says, “Mark, I’m thinking about buying a house. Most employees want cruising altitude, most founders live in take off mode. Dilution / valuation. I wasn’t expecting this much dilution this quickly.” Runway of cash. Would now be a good time to buy a house? ” Yes.

Startup 417

Startup Dilution San Diego Stock Options 417

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 9, 2013

Should you increase your burn rate by adding 2 senior hires who will help you ship faster or sell more but then have less time for fund raising? Should you raise $3 million in stead of $2 million even though it means more dilution so that you will have a longer runway? Or maybe their existence itself will help accelerate fund raising.

Burn Rate 413

Burn Rate Cofounder Dilution Valuation 413

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

You’re thinking about hiring an employee but you sit on the fence too long. Should we delay raising money even though we might take more dilution because we haven’t hit our milestones? Decisions by indecision are those where having not made up your mind early enough your options are constrained or gone altogether.

Dilution 299

Dilution Hiring Partner Employee 299

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2013

Every startup and every big business wishes that all their employees were star performers, but wishing doesn’t make it happen. When hiring or inheriting new team members, it’s important to discuss their strengths, development areas, and blind spots early. Great leaders align the values of work to their team.

Startup 252

Startup Dilution Conversion Developer 252

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 18, 2015

Bloomberg’s article about lower-than-expected financial gains from startup IPOs for midlevel employees stuck in craw this week because there’s a handful of complex issues at play here. 25% of a company and you’re diluted 50-75% before IPO. We need to move to more transparency for employees. Assume you get.25%

Equity 48

Equity Employee IPO Vesting 48

www.payne.org

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Startup Equity For Employees. 3 Dilution. The re-heating of the venture funded tech market has pushed a heat up of the hiring market, and Im getting more calls from friends asking for help understanding startup stock (equity) offers. In a startup, dilution happens, and you just need to factor it in. diluted) terms.

Equity 56

Equity Employee Vesting Preferred Stock 56

keen.io

FEBRUARY 5, 2013

From there, I began googling things like “first employee startup equity” and “startup offer negotiation.” These were the best resources I found: Equity for Early Employees in Early Stage Startups. Startup Equity for Early Employees. We had a big team meeting, with all three founders and all three potential new employees.

Salary 50

Salary Equity Startup San Francisco 50

Andrew Payne

SEPTEMBER 9, 2017

In practice, most equity grants within a company are driven by broad calibrations with existing employees. If an early very experienced developer has 1%, and a less senior dev has 0.5%, those become two reference points for the next dev hire. One-percent of startup A may have a vastly different potential value than 1% of startup B.

Equity 71

Equity Founder Vesting Dilution 71

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 24, 2016

In the end, it’s the cultural aspects of your company that will help you build an empowered and enthusiastic employee base, while allowing you live to your fullest growth potential. If a leadership team truly values its core values, then it is critical to hire other leaders and team members who share those values.

Atlanta 100

Atlanta Dilution Hiring Global 100

Duct Tape Marketing

DECEMBER 17, 2015

The company, Danatec, sold paper-based course materials for corporate trainers to use in safety training of employees. But with fast growth, that promise can be diluted. Your business success is influenced by many different types of people: prospects, customers, employees, funders, suppliers, distributors and even the public at large.

Canada 28

Canada Dilution America Employee 28

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2018

But in short-term you know that LTV is based on optimistic future assumptions and payback periods on acquisition are based on flying into a brick wall if you get them wrong  —  @msuster 5/ Unless you're scaling rapidly don't hire staff too quickly. There's never a perfect time - except now.

Founder 242

Founder Dilution Software Review Later Stage 242