Posts Tagged ‘stock option plan’

How to Hire a Superstar Engineer for Your Startup

by Scott Edward Walker on June 2nd, 2011

Introduction

This post was originally part of my “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs).  Below is a longer, more comprehensive version.  Please shoot me any questions you may have in the comments section – or feel free to call me directly at 310-288-6667 (Los Angeles) or 415-979-9998 (San Francisco).  Many thanks, Scott

Question

We launched a consumer internet site about a year ago, and we’re starting to get some really good traction.  We’ve spoken to a bunch of angel investors and they all told us that we need to get an engineer on our team (my partner and I are both business guys and we outsourced the development).  The problem is we’re in Silicon Valley, and we obviously don’t have the money to compete with the big tech companies for talent.  Can you please give us some advice on hiring a superstar engineer and the key legal issues that we should be addressing.  Thanks!

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Issuing Stock Options: Ten Tips For Entrepreneurs

by Scott Edward Walker on November 11th, 2009

Fred Wilson, a New York City-based VC, wrote an interesting post a few days ago entitled “Valuation and Option Pool,” in which he discusses the “contentious” issue of the inclusion of an option pool in the pre-money valuation of a startup.  Based on the comments to such post and a google search of related posts, it occurred to me that there is a lot of misinformation on the Web with respect to stock options – particularly in connection with startups.  Accordingly, the purpose of this post is (i) to clarify certain issues with respect to the issuance of stock options; and (ii) to provide ten tips for entrepreneurs who are contemplating issuing stock options in connection with their venture.  (more…)

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Posted in Entrepreneurship, Startup Issues | 2 Comments »