Ep. 205 – How to Easily Give Equity to Employees

SIBP-Blog-NEW-2After a serious look at the risks, you’ve decided that the only way to attract the talent you need for your startup is to offer equity in your company as part of the compensation package. There are only two small problems: You don’t know how these kinds of deals work, and you don’t know how to put an equity-tied deal together. How do you even determine how much equity to offer?

In this week’s episode, host and business coach Tom talks about the logistics of providing equity-based incentive programs to employees. As always, Tom is joined by co-host and producer Jason Pyles. Continue reading

Ep. 204 – What You Need to Know Before Giving Equity to Employees

SIBP-Blog-NEW-2Great talent can be expensive. For a cash-strapped startup, offering big salaries and other incentives to attract top talent isn’t always possible. That’s why many companies offer up a slice of the company as part of the compensation package. While this can be a great option in some situations, offering ownership to employees isn’t exactly a risk-free venture. In some cases, it can be a disaster for everyone involved. Continue reading

Ep. 203 – What You Must Know Before You Work With a Startup, Part 2

SIBP-Blog-NEW-3By their very nature, startups are risky. For every handful that succeed, breaking out on their own terms or surviving until an exit deal, dozens will run out of cash and go under. When you’re thinking about leaving a steady, reliable corporate job for a position in the high-risk, high-reward startup world, you need to know exactly what you’re getting into. That means turning the tables during the job interview, and getting some hard facts about how the company is doing financially.

In this week’s episode, host and business coach Tom talks about the important questions about finances and company culture that every startup job candidate needs to be ready to ask. As always, Tom is joined by co-host and producer Jason Pyles.

• Show opening, and recap of the last show

• When startups pull talent from the corporate world (1:30)

• Recap of steps for determining startup fit (4:00)

• Financial security in early-stage companies is never guaranteed (7:00)

• Questions for determining the startup’s fit for your needs (9:00)

  • Are you cash-flow positive today?
  • How long have you been cash-flow positive?
  • How will my compensation effect your cash flow?
  • How much funding have you raised, and who did it come from?
  • How much cash do you have on hand today?
  • What is your current cash burn?
  • What are yours plans for managing a financial dry spell?

• Why these questions matter, why they feel uncomfortable, and why it’s absolutely vital to get a real answer to them from the startup (23:30)

• “If you’re really uncomfortable asking any of these questions … don’t do this, because it’s going to tear you up.” (26:30)

• The real risks of leaving an established company for a startup (27:30)

• Why financial questions are fair-game questions to ask (28:30)

• Other big questions to ask the startup (30:00)

  1. What are the opportunities for compensation and financial gain beyond salary? (Stock options, earned equity)
  2. How high of a priority do you place on providing freedom and flexibility to employees?
  3. How do you keep your teams intellectually and professionally challenged?

• Putting it all together, and determining your fit with the startup (32:00)

• Looking for the obvious mis-alignments (33:00)

• Why good startups want to be asked thoughtful questions by job candidates (34:30)

• Sign off, and how to contact the show

• Call for horror-story hiring questions from listeners

Ep. 202 – What You Must Know Before You Work With a Startup, Part 1

SIBP-Blog-NEW-2Working at a big corporation is always a tradeoff. A large company can do more than simply provide a stable paycheck, it can promise a degree of security and consistency. When the opportunity comes along to roll the dice with your career and take a job with a startup, it’s not always easy to see the tradeoffs.The freedom, flexibility and opportunities that come with working for a smaller, leaner company come with an inherent risk of pivoting, layoffs, long-hours, endless stress and complete failure should things go badly for the business.

In this week’s episode, host and business coach Tom talks about a recent experience guiding his corporate lifestyle-loving friend through the promise and perils of taking a job with a startup. As always, Tom is joined by co-host and producer Jason Pyles. Continue reading