If you're bootstrapping, pay yourself less and re-invest in the company. If you've raised money, then pay yourself average salary as you aren't subsidizing and getting more stock (for the $$) as an investor would - so once you raised, then it's a shared risk - don't make the financial subsidy a ...
You are thinking about it wrong. Don't think of your organization as a pie. Think of it as a house. When you add an extension (say a new kitchen) to your house, the value of your new kitchen now accounts for a larger *percentage* of your house, more than it did before. But something else al...
The specifics of what an investor might try to look for may vary depending on whether the startup is, say, a daily deals play, a chip company, a mobile app, or a genomics startup. In general, here are the key things being examined with respect to a technical co-founder. Different investors might...
I'd love to hear more. I'm a travel professional with 9 yrs in the industry.
Disclaimer: THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Either options would work great. A few things to consider: 1. Tax consequences of each (this is likely the biggest factor in your decision). 2. Stock grant purchase price is it consistent with your hourly/project rate. 3. I would recommend the stock be issu...
I'm a single founder who was raised angel and venture capital. If your business is compelling enough, you could raise angel funding. But there is little chance you can raise venture funding without a team in-place. It's a negative signal to institutional investors that you haven't been able to...
Type of shares are generally split into two: common/ordinary (depending on the jurisdiction) and preferred. The former are granted to founders and employees (most commonly as options with a right to purchase common/ordinary shares). The latter are generally issued to investors and include special...
Having done over 35 different financing rounds over 7 companies I've built in Silicon Valley - you should be giving up 15%-25% dilution in each round with a plan to never raise beyond a Series-C. Investors get equity for money invested, don't start doing "special deals" or it could poison the we...
Finding the right co-founder is like a marriage. It's not a good idea to jump to bed with whoever comes along. Most investors and accelerators bet for the team that have a previous relationship before. The best option is definitely to spend time in the geographical area you'd like your co-found...
There are many discussions these days about how small business owners struggle to get connected and stay connected with their communities of interest. Whether the priorities are personal or professional, the concerns are the same; where do I go to find and share amongst my peers, relevant and con...