Venture Hacks

Thanks to FastIgnite, a startup advisory firm, for sponsoring Venture Hacks this week. This post is by Simeon Simeonov, the firm’s founder and CEO (and formerly a partner at Polaris Ventures). If you like it, check out Sim’s blog and tweets @simeons. – Nivi
The best strategy for not having to fire your co-founders is [...]

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Here is an employee offer letter from Yokum Taku at Wilson Sonsini, published in its entirety, in various formats:
Offer Letter: Microsoft Word PDF Google Docs
The offer letter is also included at the bottom of this post.
If you’re an employee, ask questions if your offer letter varies substantially from this one. Ask questions even if it [...]

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Offer letters are short and easy to read, as far as legal documents go. But they contain some seemingly scary terms that are (1) ubiquitous in Silicon Valley and (2) usually “no big deal”.
We’re not saying that no one has ever gotten into a conflict or lawsuit over these terms—just that it isn’t common. The [...]

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In part 1, we covered some questions you should ask about your offer. In this second part, we’ll cover some things you should ask about the company.
Table of Contents
The Offer (see Part 1)

Can you give me the offer in writing?
How does my compensation compare to my peers in the company?
What are my options worth?
What percentage [...]

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We’ve been answering this question a lot lately:
“I have a job offer at a startup, am I getting a good deal?”
This isn’t a comprehensive answer—just some questions we would ask if we had an offer.
If you don’t understand your offer, get a lawyer. But—right or wrong—most people don’t hire lawyers to review their offer letter.
Table [...]

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Mike Cassidy’s talk on building companies fast is a must-read for all entrepreneurs:

(The slides are here if you don’t see them embedded above.)
Mike founded Stylus Innovation (sold 2 years after launch for $13M), Direct Hit (sold 500 days after launch for $500M), and Xfire (sold 2 years after launch for $110M). Mike is currently the [...]

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“Nearly 100% of the investors interviewed believe that they add value to their portfolio companies. Unfortunately… only 45% of the entrepreneurs interviewed indicated that they believe that was the case.”
— Matthew Louie and Cali Tran,
Harvard M.B.A. Students

Every investor claims to add value. But how much value do they really add? In particular, how well do [...]

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We’re looking for a one (wo)man developer army who wants to work with Venture Hacks to build our next product. It’s in a $25 billion market filled with lame products and unsatisfied customers. This is a founder-level role for the right person.
We’re also offering a $1000 referral bounty if we hire someone you refer.
About Us
Naval [...]

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“Follow the money card!”
– The Inside Man, Three-Card Shuffle
Summary: Don’t let your investors determine the size of the option pool for you. Use a hiring plan to justify a small option pool, increase your share price, and increase your effective valuation.
If you don’t keep your eyes on the option pool while you’re negotiating valuation, your [...]

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