Hot answers tagged company
10
20% sounds like way too much, considering what you are getting in exchange is unclear. I'd give 20% to someone who is my co-founder and will take a very active role in running the company.
If you want, give 20% with vesting over 4 years. So most likely, you'll get rid of this non-performing academic and all they'll have is 5% (still too much in my opinion).
...
7
The way you're doing things, with a vague verbal understanding, can be hazardous for both parties:
They can easily take your work and try to stiff you. Then if you want to get what you deserve, you'll have to duke it out in court.
If they succeed, and they don't have things worked out with you, it can be a huge liability for them. A perfect example is the ...
6
Looks like you have most of it covered, I'd suggest covering the following topics.
Problem. Good to start here because your solution is irrelevant unless your audience understands the problem that you are trying to solve.
Your Solution.
Product Demo
Differentiation. What's special about your solution? How is it different/better?
Business Model. How are ...
6
You do not need a company to sell iPhone apps. Apple allows individuals to sell apps in the app store. They send you a check, tell the IRS they sent you a check and you pay taxes on that revenue.
When I was in your situation few years back (selling Palm apps) I registered as DBA (Doing Business As i.e. Sole Proprietor) because all I wanted was to sell my ...
6
It's hard to leave a company you founded. I had to because we ran out of money not because I was forced out.
As @rbwhitaker said, the decision is up to you.
The only guidance I will give you is life is really too short to be unhappy. Money cannot replace the utter joy of life. You need to find what gives you joy and do that.
6
What you mean by 'allowed'? I don't think there is any law against using a semicolon or any other special character in a business name. As you point out, many dot.coms do. And there's Yahoo! with an exclamation point. And the Toy'R'Us example already cited.
I'd say that if the semicolon helps accomplish your intent, I don't see why not. Of course, you ...
6
You're really going about it the wrong way. Sure, investors would like to have a set value for your company, but the fact is that, usually, nobody really has a good idea of what the company is worth. So, you put out a value based on what you think the size of the market is and how much of it you think you will capture. The investor will counter that the ...
6
Would depend on the perspective user/customer base. Does it contain people who would likely be offended, or consider such antics childish? If yes, then it would be advisable not to do it. If you were marketing to me, I wouldn't care much about cuss words in the companies name, or somewhere on your website and other literature. But my dad would. You'd ...
5
Don't give anything away if you don't know what you're getting in return. General smoozing without time commitment does not sound concrete enough to me. Either try to get him to commit to a certain activity, or (even better) have them pay for your stock. If they are willing to put their money where their mouth is, you know that they are really interested. ...
5
I no longer work for complete equity on any projects. If you did, then why wouldn't you just build it yourself and own it all yourself? Then if these guys are going to offer marketing and business management, let them work that off for free and you will give them shares.
Working for equity ONLY works when you are also compensated. Take your REGULAR hourly ...
5
Assuming he is fully vested and the stock is not restricted in any way then clearly he owns it and it is his property. Trying to take something away from him against his will is tantamount to theft; the best you can do is buy it from him at whatever price you can agree on.
Your other option is to simply walk away from the company. You state it has no money, ...
5
I went through something similar a couple years ago. I spent two years trying to accomplish the impossible. The company rode its way to an IPO on my back. As soon as the money came in, they set me up to fail and used the excuse to demote me. Soon thereafter they found a way to lay me off. To top it off, a year later they ended up doing the exact same thing ...
5
It's best if the title you present to the world reflects what you actually DO. If it's just you, "Owner" is best. If you have two employees -- say, a book keeper and a web designer -- figure out what you "do" and that is your title. If you're an engineer, "Owner and Engineer" might be the way to go.
You're not going to fool anyone with just the title ...
5
What you are describing is a partnership type of relationship which is a bit similar to that of a Law firm or a consultancy firm (at least the freelance part is).
This type of companies usually have a hierarchical compensation structure when it comes to revenue splitting and positions. The titles and roles may vary a bit but the basic principles should ...
5
I'm in the process of converting from an LLC to a c-corp, so I can give you some perspective:
To start, try searching for sample c-corp bylaws and scan a few pages. Every well-formed c-corp has bylaws -- the laws by which your corporation is governed. Most bylaws are dozens of pages used to describe board meetings and fiduciary duties and so-on.
It's a ...
4
Mostly, it has to do with volume of purchase and logistics.
Most manufactures don't want to waste their time on low volume customers and the logistics of small volume orders is really not profitable for them.
Companies also get an advantage since they don't have to worry about any import/export laws or local customs -- the trading company takes care of it.
...
4
I'm happy to share our process around this. We started by reading a lot of examples of others' Guiding Principles (which include core values and a mission statement), thinking hard about what we want to do and talking about it at the board level. I then constructed some preliminary concepts and spend individually or in pairs with everyone on the team, ...
4
Regarding starting a 'virtual' company: You cannot start a true 'virtual company'. Corporate structures are given by law, and your company will need to have a registered domicile (home address) somewhere. (This could be at the office of an attorney or chartered accountant working for you.)
That said, you should take a look at Foundrs.com. It's a service, ...
4
In my opinion, for getting out there and doing the 'smoozing startup activities', the best person for the job is you: the founder himself. Who better knows your startup and its goals, and who else best stands to personally benefit the most from these activities other than you?
Regarding UX, as a designer, I've always been skeptical of people who label ...
4
Your best bet will be through referrals - generally people you already have established a relationship with in past jobs, etc. All of my initial clients were former employers.
Advertising will work as well, but it will be expensive... and you don't have a name or reputation yet, so you'll still have to work to get people to trust you.
4
Though I've no experience on this, I'd like to take this opportunity to recommend a book I've been reading that was highly recommended for people getting in to start-ups.
It is: Eric Sink on the Business of Software
An absolutely amazing insight to software start-ups and addresses this very issue in one of the chapters. To summarize from the book, put off ...
4
Strategy 1: Dillute the shares. Award yourselves options based on your performance. You have majority ownership so push through an options package.
Strategy 2. Salary. Pay yourselves a lot. From his equity.
Strategy 3: Chicken. If you are the assets in the company. You play a game where you raise capital based on high valuation. If he is in, you are not ...
4
I suppose you haven't launched your busines yet. To avoid future legal battle, here is my suggestion:
Register a new domain name, register your company with the new name. Start your business using this new name.
BUT, keep the ownership of the conflicting name for a year. Just in case that company wants to buy your domain name, you can ask for a price.
4
"Shit my dad says", very successful Twitter account ... probably wouldn't have been as successful if it was "stuff my dad says"
The impact of a profanity can be much more significant.
"we give a shit" has more of an impact then "we care a lot"
So, no it isn't always bad. Doesn't mean it's great, but it's not always a bad idea. I personally enjoy swearing ...
3
Why do you say your situation is not covered by other questions here? As far as I can see, your situation is entirely typical and has been covered in depth.
Also, you know what to do: talk to the "founders" ASAP. It would be a huge mistake to wait until some event happens, like funding or paying customers. Both for legal, tax and many other reasons. Unless ...
3
It is well past time for you to meet with the "founders". By your description, you are one of them. I read that you trust your "go-between" but why is he keeping you separated? It sounds like someone is already taking advantage of you. You need to get at the very least a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) before you do any more work.
3
Companies and especially startups issue new stock all the time. Add a co-founder? Issue 1,000,000 new shares. Hire an employee? Give them 20,000 stock options (that will eventually turn into stock).
Each time the company creates new shares, whatever number of shares you own gets diluted, because as a percentage, you own less of the total.
Sometimes, ...
3
To open your bank account:
Try Citibank's International Personal Banking at 1-813-604-3000. You might need to fax/scan/mail the required documents. It's not easy since 9-11 but it's possible since the US does have a pro-business framework.
To incorporate:
I would incorporate in Delaware as an LLC. Delaware don't have any minimum taxes (unlike California's ...
3
You don't need to create a company now or even after you start marking money from the website as you could run the business as a DBA or a sole proprietorship. If you went that route, you may need to register the business with your local or state government but the fees, if any, should be minimal.
The better question is whether you should form a company to ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
