What is Founder Institute Seattle program?
As we open the new semester at the Founder Institute Seattle I’m out meeting with different groups about the program and answering the questions for potential candidates about both the program and where we fit into the Seattle Entrepreneur Ecosystem…As we start our fourth semester in Seattle were very clear on our program goals and
Read MoreRise of the Designer? #SWSEA
I had the chance to participate in the final pitches last night at Startup Weekend Seattle (#SWSEA). There were 15 teams that pitched after working all weekend to build out their ideas and create products. One to the changes they made at this event from previous events was the deliberate effort to recruit designers into
Read MoreKey Metrics (KPIs) for Startup Founders
I recently did a mentor session for the Founder Institute San Diego (thanks to Jeanine Jacobson for asking me to participate). The session was on Revenue, Costs and Profits is here on Scribd.com. First, as always, I want to give a shout out here to Steven Carpenter and his Blog, The World According to Carp
Read MoreFirst Revenue Employee – Base Salary, Commissions, Titles and Stock Options
This is Part 2 for the First Revenue Employee Hire – What’s realistic for Startup. You’ve raised some convertible debt or a small angel round… First, let’s talk about what do you need from your first Revenue Employee. Revenue (duh!) Customer Feedback by selling – not survey You can have an intern survey prospective customers;
Read MoreHow Much Stock Should Advisors Get in a Startup
I wanted to post a link to a Tech Crunch Interview that Rip Empson did with Adeo Ressi from The Founder Institute on How Much Stock to provide a Advisory Board Member for startups. The Founder Institute uses a percentage of each participating company stock for a pool of shares. These shares are split with
Read MoreFirst Revenue Employee Hire – what’s realistic for a startup?
So, you’re hiring your first Revenue Employee for your new startup, Congrats! I’ve called in revenue because sometimes it’s called called Sales, or Business Development (Biz Dev) or Sales and Marketing. But make no mistake, this first hire is about revenue and getting revenue traction. It’s not about “strategizing” about getting revenue. This isn’t about
Read MoreCo-Founders… Where is the line between equality and socialism?
I was asked a question last week about co-founders compensation, specifically around guidance around splitting equity and salary requirements for the early contributors for a new start-up. The person was asking for the benchmark data for percentages to validate the right thing to do between two co-founders and one early employee that had more demanding
Read MoreWhy cheap is worse than free in services pricing
Recently, I had a chance to judge a business plan competition for one of the universities in Seattle. One of the contestants at the event was a services company that wanted to be the “Best (services type) firm in Seattle.” But they also wanted to offer cheap services to showcase their capabilities… (Before I’m perceived as
Read MoreHow not to spend 33,280 hours of your life…
I just wrapped up the third semester of the Founder Institute in Seattle (#SEFI), the second that I’ve completed as the Director. Since the start of the institute in 2009 I’ve also had a chance over that time to mentor in other cities, specifically, Singapore and the Bay Area. Over that time I’ve seen some
Read MoreComments from “A challenge to Seattle VCs: Back 100 seed-stage startups in 24 months”
This is a post from Geekwire.com First, thanks to Marcelo for being a mentor last night at the Founder Institute Seattle, #SEFI. During the Q&A we had some discussion about the post and ongoing discussion. So giving the credit where it’s due… here’s my summary of the discussion. The VC model doesn’t work (or is
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