SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

I was asked by a reader how much equity he should give out to early employees and to service providers in a very early stage startup. Founders vs. Early Employees To help with this discussion, let me start with a definition of "early employee." Same Value for Sweat Equity as Investment Dollars?

Early Stage 391

Early Stage Equity CTO Hire Sweat Equity 391

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

5) High Productivity: Kayak had 148 employees at the end of 2010. That means that Kayak generates roughly $1.15M in revenue for each employee which puts it in the same league as Google and Apple (both >$1M/head). Pre-IPO Funding History: Kayak has raised approximately $235M in VC funding to date. Series B Preferred.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 7, 2017

But employee option pool is important enough that I wanted to briefly expand upon my comment above. While you should expect these sorts of hires to take below market cash comp versus what Google is paying them, this tradeoff needs to be replaced with equity upside.

Equity 94

Equity Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Founder 94

ithacaVC

DECEMBER 13, 2013

There are many reasons for this, but fundamentally, it is impossible to calculate a share price for the investment round unless you have complete agreement on how many shares are outstanding pre-money. The share price is calculated by taking the pre-money valuation and dividing it by the number of shares outstanding pre-money.

Cap Table 67

Cap Table Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Liquidation Preference 67

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

The investors and the entrepreneurs are – or should be – aware that the price of the company’s equity is set by the market – in simplest terms, what an informed buyer is willing to pay.   You can vary both valuation and term-sheet assumptions (in the gray boxes) to assess the impact on the values of the business.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Professor VC

JANUARY 17, 2008

Again, I see nothing wrong with this, although entrepreneurs often prefer convertible debt as it defers the valuation discussion and leaves the Series A price for the venture firm to set. He also said they typically only invest at a $1 million pre-money valuation or less.

Pre-Money Valuation 28

Pre-Money Valuation Angel Investor Angel Groups Valuation 28

www.mattbartus.com

DECEMBER 9, 2012

Let’s say you receive a term sheet for a $1 million investment at a $3 million fully diluted pre-money valuation, and you’re kind of disappointed. You have a 20% option pool, so you know this will take your ownership down from 80% to 60%, and the VC will get 25%. Take a look at the numbers: Pre-Money.

Warrant 40

Warrant Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet 40