White Paper on attracting and retaining talent for your startup. Based on my own experiences in many startups and early stage companies. Topics include: Introduction 3
Insanity & Genius 4
Founders & a Whiteboard 5
Wearing Many Hats 7
First Hires 9
Prototype 10
Beta 11
Pre-Launch 12
Launch / A-Round 13
State of the Team 14
Growing and Growing 15
Startups are Nimble 16
Startups –vs- Corporate Culture 17
Networking 20
Referral Incentives 21
Events 22
Interns & College/Universities 24
Compelling? 26
Who works for a Startup? 27
Early Employees 28
Poaching? 29
Location & Recruiting 31
Flex 32
Compensation 33
Options Value 34
Compensation Plans 35
Retention 36
The Simple Things 39
Family 41
Perks & Bennies 44
Change of Control 47
Flush with Cash 50
Or not 51
About the Author 52
About Pepperwood Partners 53
The Abortion pills for sale in Qatar@Doha [+27737758557] []Deira Dubai Kuwait
Startups: Attracting and Retaining Talent (updated 3/6/13)
1. WHITE PAPER
TAKEAWAYS
Attracting
Talent to •Startup -vs- Corporate
Culture
Startups
•Incentives, Compensation
& Equity
By Patrick Seaman
February 2013 •Retention
All Rights Reserved Revised: February 2013 Page 1
2. Topics in this White Paper
✚ Introduction 3 ✚ Who works for a Startup? 27
✚ Insanity & Genius 4 ✚ Early Employees 28
✚ Founders & a Whiteboard 5 ✚ Poaching? 29
✚ Wearing Many Hats 7 ✚ Location & Recruiting 31
✚ First Hires 9 ✚ Flex 32
✚ Prototype 10 ✚ Compensation 33
✚ Beta 11 ✚ Options Value 34
✚ Pre-Launch 12 ✚ Compensation Plans 35
✚ Launch / A-Round 13 ✚ Retention 36
✚ State of the Team 14 ✚ The Simple Things 39
✚ Growing and Growing 15 ✚ Family 41
✚ Startups are Nimble 16 ✚ Perks & Bennies 44
✚ Startups –vs- Corporate Culture 17 ✚ Change of Control 47
✚ Networking 19 ✚ Flush with Cash 50
✚ Referral Incentives 21 ✚ Or not 51
✚ Events 22 ✚ About the Author 52
✚ Interns & College/Universities 24 ✚ About Pepperwood Partners 53
✚ Compelling? 26
Note: This paper is based on my personal observations and experiences. It is not intended as a blueprint or
roadmap or endorsement of any particular strategy, nor does it reflect the views of Pepperwood Partners.
All Rights Reserved Revised: February 2013 Page 2
3. Introduction
This white paper discusses some of
the unique problems that face
startups, the “phases of life” that they
go through, and how these affect the
recruitment of both core team
members and talent in general.
We’ll discuss startup
✚Culture
✚Recruitment
✚Incentives
2929 Elm Street, Dallas, TX
✚Compensation – original home of AudioNet / Broadcast.com
✚Equity (after Mark Cuban’s spare bedroom)
✚Talent retention
✚Etc.
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4. Insanity & Genius
You have to be somewhat crazy to launch a startup….
“The distance between
insanity and genius is
measured only by success”
-- Ian Fleming
Tomorrow Never Dies – said by Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce)
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5. Founders & a Whiteboard
There are several typical stages
in a startup:
Founders & a whiteboard
In the beginning, someone has a
crazy idea. This crazy person
somehow talks another crazy
person into working with them on
the idea – giving up a big chunk of
their otherwise normal lives.
Courtesy, Rick Jackson
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6. Founders & a Whiteboard
The part about being crazy is not
an exaggeration. Founders –
and the people who follow them
into the fray, must be somewhat
crazy to do what they do. They
are risk takers.
Unhappy with the status quo,
they have a pioneer spirit. Who needs Vegas? I run a startup!
There’s a “Problem” they want to
solve. They’re unwilling to take
the safe and ordinary path, or,
the ordinary corporate career.
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7. Wearing Many Hats
Marketing Engineering
Sales Accounting
Support Operations
Founder
PR Quality
Control
Legal Cook, Bottle
Washer, Janitor
Customer
Creative Service
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8. Wearing Many Hats
The founder(s) and the early team must wear many hats. A startup isn’t
a corporation where a task can be sent off to another department. The
buck, and everything else, start and stop here.
I know of one startup that had a commercial product, and active sale.
They just couldn’t seem to make ends meet. The “CFO” who had been
hired from a corporate background up and quit one day.
The founder looked in the vacated desk and discovered all the checks
the departed financial wizard had not deposited – this had always been
done by another department when he had worked at a big company….
And
Starts!
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9. First Hires
First hires: By now, the founder(s) have
raised some limited friends and family
money and/or Angel Investor money and
hired some talent to do the heavy lifting.
Sometimes this is a contractor(s), but
usually it is another startup junkie – willing to
work for minimal pay plus equity. While Steve Jobs may have needed
to suit-up to get funding, don’t
expect suits and ties from early
hires at your startup!
Leap of faith: The risk-takers, wanting to get in on the ground-floor, and
willing to take the low pay and (usually) no health insurance or other
benefits, often view themselves as rebels. They don’t want a “traditional”
corporate lifestyle, and may leave if the company starts to become too
large. They like the relative independence and less structured
environment.
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10. Prototype
Prototype. The prototype is built,
and the founder(s) use it to
convince more angel investors to
take a risk.
They go on to convince more Top
startup-junkies to join the merry
band. secret
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11. Beta
Beta. The founder(s) convince
otherwise sane people at regular
businesses (corporate types) to
invest their time, and hence money,
in trying the beta product.
Beta users aren’t quite adventurous
enough to leave and start their own
companies – but vicariously
experience a hint of it, just by being By the time the beta comes out, the
beta users/testers. startup is beginning to develop its
own “culture”
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12. Pre-Launch
Pre-Launch. The founder(s)
have now convinced enough
Angel investor(s) or small private
equity investors to contribute
sufficient funds to keep the
dream alive.
Terms like “pre-money valuation”
and “burn rate” are often The merry band is still tiny, but has
attracted multi-talented and colorful
overheard from the founders- team members.
circle, answering to investors. A few of the early AudioNet /
Broadcast.com gang
(courtesy D Magazine)
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13. Launch / A-Round
Launch / A-Round. The
product has proven itself
enough to attract more
substantial investment. The
founder(s) are challenged by
advisors and investors – how
will the company manage The growing
AudioNet /
growth and meet its goals Broadcast.com
gang
and projections? (courtesy
Stan Woodward)
The harried founders pressure employees to provide KPI’s and
reports of all kinds.
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14. State of the Team
Throughout these ✚ Each must wear many hats
(oversimplified) stages, the
✚ Many report directly to the
company might have grown,
CEO/founder(s)
for example, to a dozen or
more people. These are often ✚ Each has much more
people uniquely qualified for responsibility than in normal
this early stage. corporate environment
What does the profile of ✚ Often, these team members are
these early team members strong generalists – good at
look like? multitasking & firefighting -- able
to do many things
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15. Growing and Growing
AudioNet / Broadcast.com just kept growing
(courtesy Stan Woodward)
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16. Startups are Nimble
A word about culture: There is a During the rocket-like growth of
reason why big companies buy Broadcast.com, we often “looked
startups. Startups are able to over our shoulder” expecting
innovate and explore new ideas Microsoft to step on us. Instead,
and markets in a way that big MS partnered with us and
companies cannot. leveraged our network to prove-out
their own media player technology.
Perhaps a sports metaphor would
help. Think of startups as a farm
team system. Successful startups Broadcast.com
create attractive, fresh, young, ultimately
attractive products. That’s why so merged with
many are bought out by larger Yahoo! for over
organizations. $5b.
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17. Startup -vs- Corporate Culture
So, if big companies can’t do
what startups do, why do so
many startups try to recruit
through mainstream recruiting
channels dominated by corporate
(ie: big companies)? I’ve seen
this over and over. A startup
recruits a corporate... Err...
person, and finds out weeks or
months later that he/she doesn’t Wikimedia commons
have a clue about how to work in
a small organization. There are
no “departments” to hand a
problem off to.
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18. Startup -vs- Corporate Culture
Don’t get me wrong. Big
companies are the way they are
for many reasons. They need a
certain amount of inertia. They
can’t afford to run off in multiple STAY
directions, losing focus.
THE
They have a business plan and
their investors require them to COURSE
execute on it.
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19. Networking
Startup founders need to be Many startups are largely
very active networkers. They beneath the radar. Clearly,
need to regularly attend recruiting from them can be
relevant “events” as well as hard if you don’t know they are
local user group meetings, there!
professional and technical
groups/meetings/forums, and
all the other “startups-
anonymous” groups out there.
Founders need to be plugged-
in to their community.
Startup Networking Groups
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20. Networking
✚ http://www.conotes.com
Of course, it goes without
saying that founders should be ✚ http://www.startupers.com
aggressive in quality
✚ http
networking on Linkedin, and ://www.ventureloop.com/ventureloop/
take advantage of relevant home.php
interest groups.
✚ http://www.crunchboard.com/jobs/
Here are some example job ✚ http://jobs.mashable.com/a/all-jobs/
boards that target startups (in list
no particular order): ✚ http://www.startupzone.com/
✚ – just google “startup job board”
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21. Referral Incentives
Startups often offer referral
incentives, such as cash for
referring / recruiting new team
members. If your startup has a
following, offering swag may also
work. Signing bonuses or top
recruits may include cash or
equity, or both.
Some incentives include cash or even stock
Each situation is different, but all options, warrants, or straight-out stock
grants.
require an upbeat and creative
approach. Have fun with it! We gamble that the stock in a startup will
someday be valuable, though many times it
ends up being worth less than wallpaper or …
other paper products.
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22. Events
Sponsoring special events
provide a nice opportunity to
reach out to your collective
network. This can range from
setting up a “mixer” at a local
hot spot and inviting lots of
people to informally hear about
what you’re up-to, to,
specialized events like
hackathons. Willie Nelson event & Broadcast.com. Courtesy Laura Boyd DeSmith
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23. Events
Events like these are an
opportunity to invite people to
get to know you and for old
colleagues to find out what’s STARTUP
new. It is also an opportunity to
share your growing company
culture and attitude.
In many ways, your company is Courtesy American Idol
the one that is “auditioning.”
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24. Interns & College/Universities
College career centers and job boards
can be a great place to recruit interns and
entry level team members – young, fresh
and untainted by Dilbert®-esque corporate
culture.
As you grow, your best interns may stay-
on, or return later as some of your very
best talent.
Build a relationship with local universities
and they’ll begin to trust to send you the
best and brightest.
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25. Interns & College/Universities
My friend Bettina Bennett, of
WhichBox Media, has a summer Einstein Intern Program:
“Einstein Intern” program with the ✚ How can I help you? Attitude
following requirements: ✚ Mac savvy and a wizard with Word, Excel, PPT
✚ Loves widgets, gadgets, iPhone, iPod, iPad, etc.
✚ Excited about all things digital media
✚ Loves research and discovery
✚ Has good communication skills
✚ Is detail oriented and organized
✚ Is a self-motivated and independent thinker
✚ Strives to go beyond what's expected
✚ Excels at multi-tasking in fast, fluid environment
✚ Strong artistic/graphic design/creative skills
✚ Good line and copying skills
✚ Superior oral and written communication
✚ Superb online research skills
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26. Compelling?
Why is working at your startup a compelling thing?
✚Are you on the bleeding edge of your field?
✚Use the latest technology that will help a candidate in his/her next job?
✚Is the “coolness” factor so high that people just “want in?”
Sticking a foosball table in the corner does not cool make. Startups do not
exude job security. People are attracted to startups not because it’s a
career, but because they want to be part of something non-mainstream.
You’ve built a Value Proposition for the product you make – you also need a
value proposition to attract the top talent. You are competing against other
startups and organizations for the talent you want.
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27. Who works for a Startup?
CBInsights reviewed VC
Funded startups back in
2010 and found that
typical founder was a 35-
44 year-old white male
who served as a CEO in
a previous company.
This falls inline with the
following chart of average
startup team member
ages, although these
numbers are for VC
funded startups, not
indies.
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28. Early employees
Your early startup employees (the good
ones) are specialists at working in fast-
moving, unstructured, chaotic
environments. They are geniuses at the
math of Startupville.
Cultivate these people and treat them well.
Many won’t want to stay on after your
company gets big enough for an “HR
Department.”
You’re going to be looking these same
people up for your next startup. Treat them
with respect!
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29. Poaching?
Where do you find talent?
From your competition,
of course. Business
Insider did a study on
LinkedIn, backtracking
Apple employees’
previous employers to
find out where Apple
recruits from.
Looks like Apple loves
HP, IBM and Microsoft!
http://www.businessinsider.com/where-apple-hires-from-2012-4?op=1
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30. Poaching?
As a startup, you probably don’t
have the deep pockets to pay big
salaries and steal talent from the
likes of IBM or Microsoft.
That’s good. You don’t want
corporate-types. You need
people who understand what it
means to work a startup – and
who are willing to take that risk
with you.
So, instead of stealing from the big boys, you need to really know your local
startup community. There are always struggling startups, low on cash. Put
on a straight face and circle the wounded beast like the predator you are at
heart. Just be careful to take only the best cuts.
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31. Location & Recruiting
Startups often end up at a
location that is convenient for
the founder(s). Before setting
the anchor, look at where you
are located with respect to the
talent pool you are recruiting
from.
For example, if you are a tech
startup, where are the
companies you want to recruit
from located? Map, copyright MapQuest
This is a very strategic decision. Locate companies that have the kind of
people you need (competitors, or not) on a map and draw a circle around the
highest concentration. You need to try and be inside that circle.
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32. Flex
Are you providing flexible working
arrangements? While you obviously
need to watch out for people who abuse
the privilege, keep in mind that you’re
often asking people to work below
market rates, for long hours in the
hopes that there will be a long term
liquidity event. That is, if everyone
survives that long. As long as the work
gets done in a timely way, it can pay-off.
Trust, but verify!
The flip side is that there is really no substitute for having your team
together in the same space, sharing the vibe, the energy and working
as, well, as a team. I prefer to have my team physically together!
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33. Compensation
Technical fields are especially price-
competitive. To fill these roles, you need
to look for people who want to use your
startup to push their personal envelope.
Overachievers, who seek the greater
responsibility and relative freedom in
startups as cure to the anathema of a
corporate cubicle.
Make sure you communicate an
understandable picture of the options
pool, and what the total outstanding
shares look like.
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34. Options value
For example, if you are offering a salary that is, say, xx% below
market, and are offering stock options -- are those options going
to conceivably worth *more* than the difference?
I’m serious. Over the years, I’ve seen founders offer
substantially below market salaries and a pittance for stock
options.
That said, you can’t predict an actual value – and you need to
be careful you don’t try to. OTOH, if you offer 1000 options to
offset low wages, how much will those options have to
eventually be worth to make up the difference? Is that
number…. Crazy? Is it believable? Let the employee do the
math themselves, but the numbers had better seem
“reasonable” and within the risk the employee is willing to take.
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35. Compensation Plans
✚ http://theoperationsguy.com/building-
compensation-package-startup-equity-
There are many, many papers, blogs compensation
and articles on how to structure your ✚ http://www.payne.org/index.php/Startup_Equity_F
options pool (just google “startup or_Employees
compensation package”). The following ✚ http://www.quora.com/Startups/What-
links talk to structuring compensation compensation-can-a-CMO-VP-of-Marketing-
packages and equity and benefits. These expect-for-a-late-stage-startup-that-has-closed-
are sample links to give you a feel for series-C-and-is-growing-rapidly
✚ http://www.quora.com/Startup-
some of the questions often asked.
Compensation/Whats-the-typical-salary-for-an-
Keep in mind that there is a huge entry-level-Marketing-PR-Social-Media-position-
difference between a large VC-funded at-a-San-Francisco-start-up
startup with $30m in the bank and a ✚ http://blog.salescrunch.com/how-to-compensate-
small private equity backed startup with at-vp-sales-at-a-tech-startup/
a fraction of that amount available to ✚ http://www.zanebenefits.com/blog/bid/121633/The
work with: -5-Minute-Guide-to-Affordable-Startup-Health-
Insurance
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36. Retention
Whether the economy is up or down,
keeping your team members from jumping
ship when the wind blows is challenging.
Retaining team members with high demand
skills is hard enough. If you happen to be
located in an area experiencing growth, it
gets harder-still.
It is a catch-22. The best people are usually
found where the action is, and where the
action is, is often where the location cost
goes up.
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37. Retention
On the other hand, you can take advantage
of local conditions – such as locations with
high tax rates or costs of living (like
California). If you can offer a great
environment with significantly lower costs
but is a great place to be, you can attract
savvy people.
Facebook is building a
For example, many California-based major office in Austin,
companies have been either moving and Apple already has
operations to Austin and Dallas — or — over 3000 employees
keeping their offices in California, but there.
opening new offices in Texas where the bulk
of growth is taking place.
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38. Retention
Example: It is no secret that it is
more expensive to do business in
California — and the tax situation
reminds me of an old-world hunt,
where beaters walk through the
bush, driving the tigers out into the
open. In the case of California
taxes, driving business out of the
state.
Don’t forget, the tiger bites back. Gutenberg Project
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39. The simple things
Sometimes, it is the simple things that help. If you’re good on everything else,
*knowing* your people counts:
Attention to detail: Knowing when birthdays, anniversaries, etc. are and just
sending a hand-written card is, sadly, rare these days. Bump it up with flowers
or the equivalent – appropriate to the individual.
Extra time off after really pitching in with long days & nights on a project.
Extra vacation days. Pros: This is a popular method that does not require
direct cash, and it can be just the ticket for overworked, overstressed and
burnout-avoidance. Cons: Care needs to be taken when using it. Jealousies
can erupt if not perceived as being applied fairly. Also, extra vacation days can
turn around and bite productivity and even delay product launches at critical
points in your roadmap.
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40. The simple things
Impromptu. Pros: Extra time off doesn’t just mean vacation time.
Impromptu company celebrations– “Hey everyone, take tomorrow off!”, or,
“Wow, great news on closing that big sale, take the rest of the day off!”
can be great ways to relieve stress in improve general morale. Cons: If
you do it too often, it can become expected.
An employee may want to attend a trade or industry conference or event.
Subsidize the trip with time-off or even paying for some portion of the trip.
Keep up with money issues, such as pay freezes or other actions that
may have been necessary earlier, but should be regularly revisited. Be
open with fiscal realities – don’t keep your team members wondering.
Transparency can be your best defense against the rumor mill.
Movie day. Is there a big movie coming out that one or more of your team
really wants to see? Either buy them tickets or even make an event of it –
shut down early and all go to the movie – “I’m buying the popcorn.”
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41. Family
Invite spouse and/or children to lunch or other “company events.” While this
can sometimes be logistically challenging for working parents and school
schedules, the payoff can be honest good wishes if you are able to
“connect” with the spouse and family. Your team member sacrifices a lot to
work for your startup. Establishing good will and support from the spouse
and family can go a long, long way to reducing the stress on your team
member.
This doesn’t have to be a complicated or expensive event – it can be as
simple as a company picnic or other family-friendly outing.
You have a team member who has put in much extra time, long hours, and
been a total rock star. Send flowers or equivalent gifts to the spouse and/or
family!
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42. Family
Simple, simple, simple: Find out when the spouse’s birthday, anniversary,
children’s birthdays are – send a card or cake! Bump it up by enclosing a
gasoline gift card or just a Visa/MC gift card.
Date night. Pay for dinner & a movie (you get the idea) to help your team
member(s) stay happy on the home front. I recall during the early days of
broadcast.com, we had encoder/servers sitting at Mark Cuban’s house in
Dallas. Mark was off to talk to investors in New York, so he paid for my
wife and I to have a nice dinner and spend the night at his house while I
tended to the hardware. It was a nice gesture, which my wife never forgot.
Find a great vacation deal (for cheap) and award tickets for a long
weekend vacation, or, similarly, concert tickets.
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43. Family
Junior Interns. Inviting teenage family members to be a summer intern
can be a great way for parent and child to have a special bonding
opportunity – expanding on the ‘take your child to work’ idea, and turning it
into a real learning experience for them. Of course, some pre-screening is
important – you need to be confident that the teenager is really interested
in doing it, and, that they’ll actually be serious about it. Take it slow and
non-committal to make sure it is really going to work out. If it does, then
everyone wins and you can have fun giving them special recognition.
Gifts for the kids – a gift-card to Game-Stop is the kind of thing kids prize
these days.
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44. Perks & Bennies
Enhance their “space” – upgrade their chair or desk or some other
improvement to their workspace. Similarly, upgrading their computer,
monitor or tablet device or phone, is something they’ll use every day.
Pay an auto detailing service to clean and detail the team member’s car,
while it is sitting in the parking lot (maybe even pitch-in, too!).
On their birthday or work anniversary, have cake and personally narrate a
brief PowerPoint/slide-show that lists and celebrates their
accomplishments and longevity with your organization.
Have a trophy or plaque made that honors the team member and their
accomplishments.
EASY / SIMPLE: Write a nice recommendation for them on their LinkedIn
profile.
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45. Perks & Bennies
Year Book: Many on-demand book printing services exist now that make
it easy to have one or a small number of hardcover or perfect bound
books printed. Create a company “Year Book” that celebrates your
people, your company, and the milestones, accomplishments and
individual contributions. Give them out for a company annual
anniversary, Christmas, or other occasion. Combine it with a company
signing party. Make sure the founder(s) personally sign and write an
individual message of appreciation in each book.
Meals. Bring in or cater occasional breakfasts and/or lunches, and make
them relaxed affairs / mixers.
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46. Perks & Bennies
Alternate job titles. Consider “secret identity” or, simply, fun alternate job
titles. They keep their official title, but you help them choose a more
fanciful title. For example, at WhichBox Media, Bettina Bennett is CEO,
and also “Chief Maverick.” Other examples might be “Legal Eagle” or
“Head Intern” or “Codaholic” or “Java Junkie” – you get the idea.
Telecommuting may or may not work for your organization. In my own
experience, I’m not a big fan of it for startups – you really need the in-
person dynamic. Regardless, I do encourage organizations to be flexible,
especially under special circumstances. For example, if the weather is
bad, or the roads are icy (usually a day or two out of the year, here in
Dallas, at most), I encourage people to work from home.
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47. Change of Control /
M&A (Merger & Acquisition)
Much has been written about the structure of
options plans and vesting. Is the deal fully vested
at issuance, or over time? What are the vesting
triggers?
One of the tricky areas has often involved what
happens on a material change of control in the
organization, including a merger or acquisition.
Some plans have vesting triggers tied to such a
change of control.
Whether the company is expecting a 4-5 year play,
or is on an accelerated trajectory, will impact what
kind of plan really makes the best sense for the
unique requirements of the organization.
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48. Change of Control /
M&A (Merger & Acquisition)
In other cases, there are Change of
Control bonus plans, granting a
contractually agreed upon amount of cash
to be paid to the employee in the event
such a change happens. More
complicated plans may use a formula for
a bonus payout based on the size of the
deal.
Often, these documents are dumped on
the team member with little or no
explanation. “You get x options that vest
on a y formula at a strike prize of z… “
Followed by 50 pages of legalese.
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49. Change of Control /
M&A (Merger & Acquisition)
Transparency is critical here. Those team members who’ve been around
the block may have been stung by other deals in the past. It needs to be
crystal clear to team members what the stakes are – how the deal is set up,
and how it will work in different scenarios and liquidity events. If certain
questions are asked over and over – maybe you need to have your
agreement “improved” to be more understandable.
Beyond these issues, it is normal for most startups to rely heavily on an
options pool (or equivalent) to provide for some degree of deferred
compensation and upside liquidity. Care should be taken here. Regardless
of NDAs, employees will often compare notes. Gross allocation disparities
will often come to light, and it’s usually not good when they do.
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50. Flush with Cash?
Even some of today’s high flying
organizations, flush with cash, find it
difficult to attract and retain top echelon
talent.
For them, it is gourmet cafeterias, free
massages, laundry service, shuttles,
hair cuts, upscale cubicle/work-spaces,
couches, pubs and bars, park-like
campus settings, full-service gyms,
arcades (yes, even foosball), bring-your-
dog-to-work policies, and on and on.
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51. … or Not
Chances are, your startup doesn’t (and shouldn’t)
spend this kind of money. That’s not what your
investors had in mind. Oh, and don’t go and buy a
new car or boat!
You can creatively build a fun and fiscally
responsible environment. The kind of people who
are attracted to companies at this stage of
development will usually appreciate that you’re not
blowing money on frivolities, and instead are
focused on your company and product.
Take pride in what you are able to do, and
listen to your team!
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52. About the Author
Patrick Seaman currently mentors and advises technology startups
and turnarounds at Pepperwood. Most recently Patrick served as the
Chief Operating Officer for Cinsay Inc., and as COO and CTO of the
Software as a Service company, WhichBox Media. Author of the first
major book on online media, Website Sound, Patrick was the first
employee of Broadcast.com (then owned by Mark Cuban) and served
as Director of Technology, VP of International Development, and on
the Board of Directors of Broadcast.com Japan. Broadcast.com sold
to Yahoo! for more than $5 billion.
Patrick Seaman
Patrick currently serves on the Advisory Board of Kraftwurx (3D
Printing), Qples (Digital Coupons) and the University of Texas at
Dallas School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics Advisory Council.
Contact Patrick at patrick@pepperwoodpartners.com,
patrick@patrickseaman.com and
www.linkedin.com/in/patrickseaman/.
All Rights Reserved Revised: February 2013 Page 52
53. About Pepperwood Partners
Pepperwood Partners is a boutique
investment banking advisory firm
headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Pepperwood provides a suite of
investment banking advisory services to Two Lincoln Centre
businesses in the technology, media, 5420 LBJ Freeway, Suite 535
telecom, nanotechnology, energy and Dallas, Texas 75240 USA
+1 214.442.6056
alternative asset sectors. With a strong info@pepperwoodpartners.com
focus on institutional relationships in the
Russian, European, and CIS regions, Learn more at:
www.PepperwoodPartners.com
Pepperwood works with businesses to
achieve capitalization and growth
objectives.
All Rights Reserved Revised: February 2013 Page 53