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 [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Hiring'
What does an employee offer letter look like?
September 29th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Employees, Hiring, Legal Documents
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 [...]
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(Not so) Scary terms in offer letters
September 25th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Employees, Equity, Hiring, IP
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. [...]
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I have a job offer at a startup, am I getting a good deal? Part 2: The company
July 17th, 2008 · 12 Comments · Employees, Hiring
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 [...]
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I have a job offer at a startup, am I getting a good deal? Part 1: The offer
July 16th, 2008 · 21 Comments · Compensation, Employees, Equity, Hiring
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 [...]
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Mike Cassidy: Speed as THE primary business strategy
June 3rd, 2008 · 3 Comments · Case Studies, Hiring, Speed, Starting Up, Strategy
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 [...]
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How well do investors recruit?
January 17th, 2008 · Comments Off · Hiring, Value Add
“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, [...]
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We're Hiring: One (Wo)man Developer Army
June 21st, 2007 · 9 Comments · Hiring
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. [...]
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The Option Pool Shuffle
April 10th, 2007 · 35 Comments · Hiring, Option Pool, Valuation
“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 [...]
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