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MenuWhat are the best books and blogs a tech CEO should read?
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Mashable is the best blog a tech CEO should connect with. There are literally hundreds of books to sort through and you need to find books specific to what you are doing and what you will connect with.
For a first-time startup CEO, I'd very much recommend reading --
Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business: Matt Blumberg
There are several books that you take up for reading.
1. "The Creator's Code: The Six Essential Skills of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs" by Amy Wilkinson: This book is based on in-depth interviews with more than 200 entrepreneurs. Through her research, Wilkinson identified six disciplines we need to master to transform our ideas into real-world success.
2. "EntreLeadership" by Dave Ramsey: In this book, Ramsey explains how to work on your business instead of in it. He argues your company is only as strong as its leaders, and your team will never grow beyond you. " Highly recommend -- especially if you're in business for yourself.".
3. "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't" by Jim Collins: Five years of research, 28 companies, and thousands of interviews allow the reader to learn what it really takes for a company to be exceptional.
You can read more here: https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/books-every-aspiring-ceo-should-read
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
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How much equity should I ask as a C-level executive in a new startup ?
As you may suspect, there really isn't a hard and fast answer. You can review averages to see that a CEO typically becomes a major shareholder in a startup, but your role and renumeration will be based on the perceived value you bring to the organization. You value someone's contribution through equity when you think that they will be able to add long-term benefits, you would prefer that they don't move company part way through the process, and to keep them from being enticed by a better salary (a reason for equity tied to a vesting arrangement). Another reason is when the company doesn't have salary money available but the potential is very strong. In this situation you should be especially diligent in your analysis because you will realize that even the best laid plans sometimes fall completely short. So to get the best mix, you have to be very real about the company's long-term growth potential, your role in achieving it, and the current liquidity necessary to run the operations. It should also be realized that equity needs to be distributed. You cannot distribute 110% and having your cap table recalculated such that your 5% turns into 1% in order to make room for the newly hired head of technology is rather demotivating for the team. Equity should be used to entice a valuable person to join, stay, and contribute. It should not be used in leu of salary that allows an employee to pay their bills. So, like a lot of questions, the answer is really, it depends. Analyzing the true picture of your long-term potential will allow you to more easily determine the correct mix.DH
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Business partner I want to bring on will invest more money than me, but will be less involved in operations, how do I split the company?
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How much equity should I give an engineer who I'm asking to join my company as a co-founder? (He'll be receiving a salary, too, and I'm self-funding)
You will find a lot of different views on equity split. I haven't found a silver bullet. My preference/experience is for: 1. Unequal shares because one person needs to be the ultimate decision maker (even if it's 1% difference). I have found that I have never had to use that card because we are always rational about this (and I think us being rational is driven because we don't want a person to always pull that card cause it's a shitty card to pull) 2. When it comes to how much equity, I like Paul Graham's approach best: if I started the business by myself, I would own 100% of the equity; if xxx joined me, he/she would increase my chances of success by 40% (40% is just an example) at this moment in time. Therefore, I should give him/her 40% of the company (http://paulgraham.com/equity.html) 3. In terms of range, it could go between (15-49%) depending on the level of skill. But anything less than 15%, I would personally not feel like a cofounder 4. Regarding salary and the fact that you will pay him/her, that's tricky but a simple way to think about it: If an outside investor were to invest the equivalent of a salary at this exact moment into the startup, what % of the company would they get? (this may lowball it if you think the valuation is high but then again if you think you could get a high valuation for a company with no MVP, then you should go raise money) One extra thing for you to noodle on: given you are not technical, I would make sure a friend you trust (and who's technical) help you evaluate the skill of your (potential) cofounder. It will help stay calibrated given you really like this person.MR
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