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The Secret History of Minnesota Part 1: Engineering Research Associates

Steve Blank

The story starts with a company you probably never heard of – Engineering Research Associates. While it seemed like a good idea and had the Navy’s backing, the founders got turned down for funding by companies, investment bankers and everyone, until they talked to John Parker. Why Minneapolis/St. Parker agreed to invest.

Minnesota 303
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Equity for Early Employees in Early Stage Startups

SoCal CTO

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? n = (1.2 - 1)/1.2 =.167.

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Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers

SoCal CTO

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 ?

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Building Your MVP as a Non-Technical Founder

SoCal CTO

I did a presentation this week at Coloft that looked at how Non-Technical Founders can go about getting their MVP built. Examples might be a recommendation engine, search engine, matching engine or something with a complex interface. And the back-end is something that a non-technical founder can manage.

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10 Rosh Hashanah Resolutions for Startup Founders

VC Cafe

The past year was a wild ride for startups and founders, giving a whole new meaning to the ”rollercoaster” aspect of being an entrepreneur. Patrick Collison , self-made billionaire founder of Stripe. Bill Gates , founder of Microsoft. A good way to think about valuation in seed/pre-seed is to reverse engineer the next round.

Founder 187
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5 Keys To A Viable Spending Rate And Cash Management

Startup Professionals Musings

Of course, their answer is that the second intends to get to market faster, but every engine has limits regardless the fuel applied. Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues.

Burn Rate 258
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What is Brand Equity in Marketing? (How to Become Memorable)

ConversionXL

Coca-Cola has brand equity that makes people gravitate towards it. In this article, you’ll understand what brand equity is and how to build it so your audience reaches for your product, service, or solution over the rest. Why brand equity matters now more than ever. Brand equity. It’s the safer bet. Every day in the U.S.,

Equity 94