Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2015

Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. Unless you have a sizable nest egg, or a working spouse with an income to support you, I would recommend that you consider any stock options as a “potential bonus,” rather than a key part of your compensation for joining a startup. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happy to see a new book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The sales professional. Marty Zwilling.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The sales professional.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

With the current volatile economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. This approach is thus not viable for entrepreneurs already out of money. Increased jeopardy and less fun for the entrepreneur. Marty Zwilling.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Offer low cash early, with bonuses or stock options for milestones, to people in your personal network. Marty Zwilling.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

I recently read a post over on VentureHacks titled, “ Top Ten Reasons Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers &# written by Scott Walker (who blogs on legal issues for entrepreneurs ). Forget to get around to setting up that Employee Stock Option Plan and want to be able to give the early guys their options at a low strike price?

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happy to see a recent book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The sales professional.

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Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 120

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

SEPTEMBER 29, 2015

The proper ambition for a tech entrepreneur should be to join the ranks of the great tech companies, or, at least, to create a profitable, independent company beloved by employees, customers, and shareholders. .” He explains: Either the founders failed to achieve their goal, or – far likelier – they failed to dream big enough.

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Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2015

We live today in a golden age of writing and resources for entrepreneurs. Even 10 or 15 years ago, when I first cut my teeth as an entrepreneur, there were very few things to read. It wasn''t meant to be an encyclopedia or a work of theory, but it had one overriding virtue: it was useful to actual practicing entrepreneurs like me.

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Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 1, 2018

Formal option plans for some. Some companies, especially those financed by angel or VC investors, have good, formal stock option plans with properly priced options set to reward all employees and managers in the event of a corporate sale. And a lack of plans for others.

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Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

So, you’ve successfully sold your business and have received enough money from the sale to become financially independent, no longer having to work for a living. Most successful sales of businesses, again especially in the technology arena, enrich younger entrepreneurs and stock-option holders who are under fifty years of age.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2014

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup Founders dilemmas in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Offer low cash early, with bonuses or stock options for milestones, to people in your personal network. Marty Zwilling.

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Berkonomics

AUGUST 17, 2023

Preparing for the game… If you have been following our recent insights, you’ll be up to speed knowing that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2019

With the current strong economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. This approach is thus not viable for entrepreneurs already out of money. Increased jeopardy and less fun for the entrepreneur. Being a public company isn’t cheap or easy.

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Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

I’m a mom, a full-time sales manager, and recruiter. Entrepreneurs need to find a way to get traction (sales) without funding. If entrepreneurs are only pitching to angel groups, they’re only pitching to 6% of the active angels, and 0.4% Wait, you didn’t want to be a sales person? I’m not your average angel.

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Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 31, 2017

So that’s why we are excited about 2018 because there will be more and more entrepreneurs and businesses. Here’s something other entrepreneurs look forward to:: #1- Bring in a new team. I have spent a great deal of time studying the fundamentals of stocks, option trades, goal-setting, and public speaking.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2017

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders dilemmas in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Offer low cash early, with bonuses or stock options for milestones, to people in your personal network. Marty Zwilling.

Hockey Stick 144

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 144

Up and Running

DECEMBER 1, 2015

If however you are giving a “normal employee” an incentive stock option plan (more on that later), that’s entirely different. Make sure you understand all of your options before making any decisions. When business owners decide to go down the route of equity compensation, there are two primary options to choose between.

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Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

After awhile, you ought to be able to go to the whiteboard and diagram the acquisition decision process much like a sales process. Do you wait 7 years until you’ve built enough revenue for a billion-dollar sale? Typically, a VC can force a sale, or even block one. Great entrepreneurs shoot for 20X. Timing is everything.

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SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

He’d wasted a year of his life and had a pile of stock options that weren’t very interesting. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. Through advertising or direct sales, these sites harvest intent. In many of them I get asked similar questions, including the inevitable “what makes a great entrepreneur?” Tesla is not.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

It was a stock option incentive related “expense” but I bet you didn’t know that because in an era where we only read the headlines — they must be a train wreck losing billions. The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. I often ask entrepreneurs to consider, “What’s your objective? Two-f **g-billion!

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

It freed up Ophir to grow out our sales organization, to work more closely with agencies, to innovate on product and to raise capital. It’s the nature of most entrepreneurs, honestly. Another thing entrepreneurs f**k up? Stock option top-ups after a few years are vital retention mechanisms. HR & Legal.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2019

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Offer low cash early, with bonuses or stock options for milestones, to people in your personal network. Marty Zwilling.

Hockey Stick 243

Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event Startup 243

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2017

Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. Unless you have a sizable nest egg, or a working spouse with an income to support you, I would recommend that you consider any stock options as a “potential bonus,” rather than a key part of your compensation for joining a startup. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

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Stock Stock Options Advisory Board Startup 140

Up and Running

JANUARY 4, 2017

See Also: Bplans Quiz: Are You Entrepreneur Material? For an entrepreneur, challenges are almost guaranteed. Successful entrepreneurs know that they cannot do it all. The savvy entrepreneur knows when and what to delegate. Numerous other entrepreneurs—who later became extremely successful—also faced extensive struggles.

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YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 26, 2018

But before it can happen, entrepreneurs need to be aware that the benefits of investment involve assurances, sound business planning and scalability. The best exit from a business is through a trade sale for cash. When trading options get in on the investment bandwagon. Recognizing the biggest benefit of external investment.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2018

With the current strong economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. This approach is not for entrepreneurs already out of money. Increased jeopardy and less fun for the entrepreneur. Being a public company isn’t cheap or easy.

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The Next Web

AUGUST 12, 2013

It’s part three of a series, cross-posted from his own blog , in which he draws on his experience to offer advice for aspiring entrepreneurs in Europe and beyond. If you want to be an entrepreneur, think like an athlete and define your own mission. A marketing/sales machine. Why do you want to build a business?

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

Mark: 10% warrant coverage is like stock options. Icing is the warrant for banks – stock they can buy in future but don’t have to buy so they make their $$ later in the future. o Everything is for sale but it’s the price that moves the timing. On Entrepreneurship: What makes a great entrepreneur?

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The Startup Magazine

JUNE 1, 2023

Be honest with yourself VCs are now going to be looking closer at margins, cost structures and true sales, and product market fit. If you hire a person in HR or sales, are they willing to dabble in other departments or take on roles that they haven’t done previously? Can you produce venture returns in this new economic reality?

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Berkonomics

JANUARY 7, 2021

Think of startups and early stage businesses whose entrepreneurs you know. One: The entrepreneur. First, there is the entrepreneur , the visionary, and force behind the venture from start to finish. That risk deserves reward if there is a profitable sale or even an initial public offering, rare as that event is.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

Your historical trading information including financials and a “customer file” which shows the history of your transactions so that investors can run “cohort” analyses Customer reference, personal references, key team members, compensation, cap table, stock option plan, etc. Some people find this elitist?—?I It doesn’t.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

For some aspiring to be tech entrepreneurs, I often suggest a two-step process, as I argued in this post that “ The First Startup Founder You Need to Invest in Is You.” Of course I’m not suggesting people shouldn’t start a company. If you can and if you want to – you should.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 3, 2014

With the uptick in the economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. This approach is not for entrepreneurs already out of money. Increased jeopardy and less fun for the entrepreneur. Being a public company isn’t cheap or easy.

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The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 20, 2020

It was already hard for entrepreneurs to compete in today’s crowded market and now, with consumer dollars stretched thin, getting your piece of the pie has become even harder. Anything you can do to make products more affordable or position them in a more essential light will go a long way for sales. Consider Alternate Markets.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2014

With the recent apparent successes of several startups in taking their company public (initial public offering) and raising billions of dollars, I’m hearing a groundswell of enthusiasm from new entrepreneurs to follow in their footsteps to fund their companies and become billionaires overnight. Analysts want escalating profits.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2018

Yet I believe the trend will continue flat as entrepreneurs become more aware of other considerations that make the IPO route less and less attractive. Public ownerships usually lends prestige and credibility to your sales, marketing, and acquisition efforts, but it may work counter to your vision of saving the world.

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