Sunday, May 06, 2012

If Business Takes the Startup Path

When you start a business, there are two well defined paths. One is the startup path with angel investors and venture capital. The other is self-funded, but that is a subject for later.

Assuming you want to take the startup route, in the past couple of weeks there have been two excellent posts about how to structure the company. This question has bothered me since I started my software business in 1978. First, was this article in PandoDaily by Dan Shapiro: "Founders Should Give Their Stock Back: Why Vesting is in Your Startup's Best Interest". He provides a well thought out suggestions for vesting schedules.

Second were notes from Peter Thiel's Startup Class from Blake Masters. Again discussion of vesting and equity in a startup. "It's not ideal to have founders who are fully vested from the outset."

APP IDEA: I'd love to see an app along the lines of Sid Meier's Civilization, where you build a startup. It could reenforce the principles of these vesting articles. Just like Civilization where your first few moves has an enormous impact on your success, so should the startup app.