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2024/12/24 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
12/24   

2013/7/27-8/23 [Industry/Startup] UID:54715 Activity:nil
7/27    We are really in a bubble:
        http://steveblank.com/2011/03/18/new-rules-for-the-new-bubble
        \_ "it’s the beginning of another bubble" according to this
           Stanfurd guy. I like how he puts real profits in quotes, like
           this:
                And unlike the last bubble, this bubble’s first wave of IPO’s
                will be companies showing “real” revenue, profits an\
d customers             in massive numbers [..]
                will be companies showing “real” revenue, profits and customers
                in massive numbers [..]
           I think as long as the IPOs have "real" profits, it isn't a bubble.
           Yet.
2013/4/23-5/18 [Industry/Startup] UID:54661 Activity:nil
4/23    Suppose you used to work at Awesome Corp that got acquired by
        Monsanto Corp. You're embarrassed about it and people now hate
        you by association. Should you put Monsanto on your resume? Or
        is it better to leave it out completely?
        \_ Awesome Corp 2008-present (acquired by Monsanto in 2010)
        \_ http://www.quora.com/Engineering-in-Silicon-Valley/Whats-the-best-way-to-hide-an-embarrassing-company-on-your-resume
        \_ Monsanto is a great corporation, responsible for feeding
           millions who would otherwise have gone hungry. Why wouldn't
           you want such an awesome corp on your resume?
2024/12/24 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
12/24   

2013/3/1-26 [Industry/Startup] UID:54615 Activity:nil
3/1     Can someone explain to me why Groupon is a tech company?
        \_ It's similar to how Amazon and eBay are tech companies.
           \_ Amazon and eBay are *NOW* tech companies, they didn't
              start that way. Groupon started off as a marketing
              company, and their "technology" isn't getting any better
              than a bigger and bigger opt-in email spam system.
2013/2/14-3/26 [Industry/Startup] UID:54604 Activity:nil
2/14    Media company reporter lies to get more viewers, gets caught:
        http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/14/elon-musk-lays-out-his-evidence-that-new-york-times-tesla-model-s-test-drive-was-fake
        \_ Did the Big Oil pay the reporter to do that?
2013/1/16-2/17 [Industry/Startup, Finance/Investment] UID:54582 Activity:nil
1/16    Fred Wilson says you should focus on the cash value of your
        options, not the percentages:
        http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2010/11/employee-equity-how-much.html
        \_ Or at least, so says a VC trying increase his profit margin...
        \_ A VC wants to keep as much of the stock for themselves (and give
           as little to employees as possible).  That maximizes their return.
           The VCs also control the valuation process.  When he says your
           option grant should be based on the valuation, do you think he's
           saying that because he has the best interests of the rank and file
           engineers at heart?  His suggestion also means that your equity
           and your salary will be proportional.  One of the biggest
           bargaining points in startup salary negotiations is trading off
           salary versus options (I'm not saying one direction or the other
           is a good idea, just that it's an example of reality conflicting
           with this guy's suggestion)
        \_ If "you" is a founder then yes:
           "Giving out equity in terms of points is very expensive"
2012/12/21-2013/1/24 [Industry/Startup, Finance/Investment] UID:54568 Activity:nil
12/21   http://techcompanypay.com
        Yahooers in Sunnyvale don't seem to average 170K/year.
        \_ Googlers average $104k/yr? Uh huh.
           \_ what is it suppose to be?
              \_ link:preview.tinyurl.com/a36ejr4
                 Google Sr. Software Engineer in Sunnyvale averages $193k in total pay,
                 according to Glassdoor. This is about right. Perhaps they mean all
                 Googlers, including Janitors and Bus Drivers.
                 Google Sr. Software Engineer in Sunnyvale averages $193k in
                 total pay, according to Glassdoor. This is about right.
                 Perhaps they mean all Googlers, including Janitors and Bus
                 Drivers.
                 \_ Gee, I'm a Principal SW Engineer at a startup and I'm
                    making only $128k/yr.
                    \_ Sounds like you're probably relatively young, then.  A
                       lot of this also depends on how much experience you.
                       If you have two employees with identical job titles, the
                       one with 15 years of experience is going to be making
                       much more than the one with 7 (even when they start
                       passing out senior-sounding titles to the younger
                       engineers)
                    \_ How much equity are you getting? That might be worth
                       even more than your salary. I am very senior and
                       working at a startup and making about the same. But
                       also getting lots of equity.
                       \_ When I joined 6 years ago, I got 0.25% ISO which has
                          been diluted to 0.09% at present.  Combining with
                          the bonuses throughout the years, my total ISO now is
                          0.16%.  -- PP, class of '93
                          \_ That's not a lot of equity.  If you're class of
                             '93, you should have enough experience to command
                             a higher salary than that.  .16 isn't a generous
                             enough grant to make up for it.  That's "junior
                             engineer hired after round C" equity.  The next
                             time you switch jobs, ask for a hell of a lot more
                             money (like another $30-40k).
                          \_ Depends on the companies valuation. Any idea
                             what it is worth? 0.16% of $100M isn't that great.
                             0.16% of $1B is awesome. -PP
                             0.16% of $1B is awesome.
                             \_ The equity percentages you should expect are
                                based on what stage you join the company, and
                                how senior you are.  The valuation matters
                                when you cash in, but it doesn't really
                                provide any guidance for evaluating an offer.
                                And to your point, it's even *worse* if the
                                company is worth a billion, because he got
                                ripped off even more.
                                \_ In what world is an option on $160k of
                                   stock worth more than an option on $1.6M?
                                   \_ What I'm saying is that the percent
                                      equity you should expect is independent
                                      of the company's valuation.  If a more
                                      appropriate amount of equity would be
                                      about .5%, then his poor initial
                                      negotiation caused him to miss out on
                                      even more money if the company sells for
                                      one billion than if it sells for $100
                                      million.  I'm obviously not saying .16%
                                      of $100 million is more than .16% of
                                      $1 billion.
                                      \_ I think that you are incorrect. So
                                         does Fred Wilson up there, but then
                                         again he would think that, right? Do
                                         you have a handy dandy chart that tells
                                         people how much equity they should
                                         ask for given the funding round the
                                         company is at and the employees level?
                                         Absent that, most of this is just talk.
                                         \_ At this point, I'm pretty sure I'm
                                            being trolled.  Or you deserve what
                                            you (don't) get.  Want to find
                                            some guidance?  Google it yourself.
                                            You might want to look at typical
                                            capitalization tables while you're
                                            at it.
                                            \_ In other words, you are talking
                                               out your ass and don't want to
                                               admit being caught at it. Cap
                                               tables have nothing to do with
                                               what rank and file (or even
                                               executive) employees should get
                                               in equity compensation.
                                               \_ Oookay, Mr. I Can't Google:
                                                  http://thinkspace.com/how-to-divide-equity-to-startup-founders-advisors-and-employees
                                                  Scroll down to the second
                                                  table, that looks about
                                                  right for round A.  And your
                                                  take on capitalization tables
                                                  is just precious.
                                                  \_ From your own link:
                                                     "The one number you should
                                                      know about your equity
                                                      grant is the percent of
                                                      the company you are being
                                                      granted (in options,
                                                      shares, whatever – it
                                                      doesn’t matter – just
                                                      the % matters)." Oddly
                                                      enough, this guy doesn't
                                                      seem to care much about
                                                      the cap table either.
                                                      \_ The cap table
                                                         describes the larger
                                                         ecosystem, of which
                                                         your option grant is
                                                         a small part.  It is
                                                         not necessary to
                                                         evaluate an offer,
                                                         neither is it
                                                         unrelated.  I directed
                                                         your attention to
                                                         *one table* on this
                                                         page.  I don't care
                                                         about the rest of it.
                                                         If he says "only the
                                                         percent equity
                                                         matters", that's a
                                                         bit naive, as it
                                                         ignores the
                                                         preference the VCs
                                                         have taken.  It was
                                                         true 15 years ago, but
                                                         not now.
                                                         \_ It was the same then
                                                            but they accoplish-
                                                            this via other, more
                                                            nefarious means. At
                                                            least this is up
                                                            front.
                                                   \_ What should it be for
                                                      round B, round C, etc?
                                                      Do you have any insight?
        This is actually quite useful, thanks. _/
        I guess I did all right then, since
        I got this much in a company that
        has just completed it's D round -!PP
                       \_ The game has changed.  You might want to read up on
                          preference in startup term sheets, and why it means
                          that your (common) equity probably won't be worth
                          much (if anything), even if someone does buy your
                          startup.  Example: in the $500 million purchase of
                          Xen by Citrix, the VCs split 380 milllion of the
                          purchase amount, while the rank and file were left
                          splitting $120 million.  So if you're sitting there
                          thinking "I've got .5% equity"...you probably don't.
                          And when the VCs preference (not their investment)
                          covers more than the purchase <DEAD>price...com<DEAD>mon
                          shareholders get nothing.  Working for equity at a
                          startup today is *not* like the 90s.
                          \_ Yeah, I had to learn about this stuff before I
                             accpeted the offer. I am ready to take the risk
                             that I get nothing if the value of the company
                             does not increase. It is in general a bad idea
                             to get a job for a company that is failing, but
                             especially bad if much of your compensation is
                             in equity. I assume that I get 0.5% of the value
                             added *after* I join. Does that seem about right
                             to you? Thanks for the advice.
                             \_ Preference describes the extent to which the
                                preferred shareholders (the VCs) get paid more
                                than the common shareholders (the employees
                                who got options) if and when the place sells.
                                It has nothing to do with whether the
                                valuation is going up or down, though the
                                preference is likely to increase (get worse
                                for you) across a down round (a funding round
                                where the valuation is lower than the previous
                                round's valuation).  However, if you have
                                onerous preference conditions in round A,
                                they'll still be there after round B, even if
                                B is an up round.  In fact, the VCs who come
                                in in round B will get that same preference
                                over you, most likely.
                                The amount of equity you have is the size of
                                your grant divided by the number of shares
                                outstanding.  You should be able to find out
                                both those numbers to evaulate an offer.  Run
                                from any company that won't tell you the
                                shares outstanding.  The percent of equity you
                                have at the time of your offer is *not*
                                guaranteed across time, and *will* go down.
                                Additional shares will get created during a
                                funding round (dilution), which means you own
                                less of the company.  You should expect an
                                additional grant at that time to compensate,
                                but they're unlikely to give you enough to
                                keep you whole.
                                And even if they did, preference means you
                                probably don't really have what you think you
                                have.
                                \_ Here is Fred Wilson's take on the topic.
                                   I think he does a better job of explaining
                                   it than you did.
                                   http://preview.tinyurl.com/alm43rs
2012/8/29-11/7 [Industry/Startup, Finance/Investment] UID:54468 Activity:nil
8/29    Private equity.
        \_ vultures.
        \_ company flippers -- rename logo, change management, hype, sell
2012/5/23-7/20 [Industry/Startup] UID:54399 Activity:nil
5/23    Does your company have an opening for a data-entry position?  Hurry!
        "Jersey Woman Says She Was Fired For Being Too Busty"
        http://www.csua.org/u/wiy (gma.yahoo.com)
        \_ why would you hire a dumb bimbo who can't do anything?
           \_ Daily eye candy, or more.
        \_ This is the kind of woman the phrase butter face was invented for.
2012/4/29-6/4 [Industry/SiliconValley, Industry/Startup] UID:54374 Activity:nil
4/29    My company is a public company and is talking to a private equity
        firm. Is it ALWAYS a bad news when PEs are involved?  -not Yahoo
        \_ Pretty much. This was written for Yahoo! but could be for any
           company being bought up by private equity:
           http://preview.tinyurl.com/4yha2xp -still at Yahoo
2011/12/9-2012/1/10 [Industry/Startup, Finance/Investment] UID:54254 Activity:nil
12/9    A public company (NASDAQ/NYSE) needs to publicly disclose
        important information right? Is there a way to find data that
        shows who owns most of the stocks, when they're dumping (to measure
        their confidence in the company), and how many people are shorting?
        \_ It has been a few years since I took a business organizations
           course, but from what I remember, there isn't a requirement for
           companies to diclose who their major shareholders are b/c this
           can and does change frequently.  You might be able to figure out
           when a major inside shareholder is dumping shares b/c they
           generally have to give notice of intent to sell shares in advance
           of the transaction.  But, there isn't any similar requirement for
           outside sharehodlers.  Shorting is similar, but most companies
           don't allow insiders to short the companies stock.
        \_ Go to http://finance.yahoo.com.  Enter your stock symbol, click "Get
           Quote".  Under "COMPANY", click "Profile".  Under "Key Executives",
           look at the pay and exercised options table.  Then click "View
           Insiders", and look at the "Insider Transactions Reported" table.
           \_ Wow that is really cool THANKS! I'm looking at GOOG out of
              curiosity: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/it?s=GOOG
              I find it funny that John Doerr exercises only 46 at a time.
              This is not what I expect from multi-millionaires. LOL!
              On the side, the page http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=GOOG+Profile
              On the side, the page
              http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=GOOG+Profile
              is wrong-- Neither Larry/Sergey are DOCTORS (they're just PhD
              dropouts) and they exercised more than 0.00 shares.
           \_ All this info comes from the 10-K and 10-Q that companies file. But
              it takes a lot of reading to dig it all out.
              \_ That table is what they exercised this year.
           \_ All this info comes from the 10-K and 10-Q that companies file.
              But it takes a lot of reading to dig it all out.
2011/5/31-7/30 [Industry/Startup] UID:54123 Activity:nil
5/31    Have you ever been in a company where there are many more talkers
        than doers (people who actually... WRITE CODE!!!)? What do you
        do in that situation? What if the management is more impressed
        with talkers than doers? What is that like for you?
        \_ http://ourlighterside.com/stuff/fiscal-crisis
           \_ LOL thanks for the link. Yes this is exactly what
              my company looks like. The CEO is friends with
              everyone who is not coding (they talk a lot).
        \_ yes, i have. just produce. the talkers will come to respect you
           and in time will respect your critical perspectives in
           response to their empty talk. but mainly just produce.
2011/4/6-20 [Computer/SW/Mail, Computer/SW/Unix, Industry/Startup] UID:54078 Activity:nil
4/6     My company is evaluating version control systems. Our two candidates
        are Perforce and Subversion. Anyone worked with both and have good
        arguments one way or the other? (These are the only two options we
        have.) We're most interested in client performance, ease of use, and
        reasonable branching.
        \_ I'll be 'that guy'. If perforce and subversion are optins, why isn't
           git? Having not used perforce, I can't say much about it, but svn is
           grossly insufficient for my branching and checkpointing needs. I
           cannot use svn anymore without git-svn.
           \_ svn+trac = nice.  git-svn+trac = OH THE HORROR.
           \_ Corporate standards. (Yes, it's a stupid reason.) -op
           \_ In what way is svn insufficient for your branching needs? All of
              the claims I see about svn not supporting branching well predate
              the merge support added in svn 1.5. I've not used svn and so am
              not able to tell to what extent that merge support works.
        \_ I have used P4win and the mods P4py and what not.  I thought they
           wre great at core focus, but lousy at being customizeable.  You will
           probably go with Perforce tho since the app looks nice on winboxen.
           git for windows is knida amateur looking.
           \_ There is also P4-Emacs at http://p4el.sourceforge.net which
              I've used for a few years.  -- yuen
        \_ State your eng size. This will be one of the most decisive factors.
           Perforce for 5 employees? FORGET IT.
           Subversion for 1000 employees? FORGET IT.
           \_ Try bugzilla on 1000 employees.  Ugh. the horror.
           I've used p4, svn, and git. All have advantages and disadvantages.
           Use the wrong tool for the wrong size, you'll be bitching all the way.
           What people don't realize is that there is something else much more
           important than what you use-- a code-review process.
           \_ We are a group of about 50 developers right now, with plans to
              expand in the coming years and to manage more of our internal
              tools through version control.
              We do code reviews, although we're currently re-evaluating our
              tool choices there as well. Our options are Crucible and Code
              Collaborator. -op
              \_ Go with SVN.  You sound like small shop.
2011/2/24-4/20 [Politics/Domestic/911, Industry/Startup] UID:54050 Activity:nil
2/23    anyone following the HBGary/Palantir fiasco?
        \_ ArsTechnica: http://csua.org/u/sms
2010/8/9-19 [Industry/Startup] UID:53918 Activity:nil 66%like:53913
8/8     'What are the favorite questions people ask your company whenever
        you say "Do you have any questions?"'
        \_ 'What are the favorite questions people ask your company whenever
           you say "Do you have any questions?"'
        \_ What is the culture like here? How many hours a week do most
           people put in? How many do you? What do you like best about
           working at Company XYZ? What do you like least?
2010/7/21-8/25 [Industry/Startup] UID:53892 Activity:nil
7/21    Finally remembered to log into soda to post... CSUA'er in the news.
        http://www.mercurynews.com/scott-harris/ci_15517047
2010/5/19-6/30 [Industry/Startup] UID:53840 Activity:nil
5/19    I'm working for an early stage startup, and they want to grant me
        stock options.  However, they are claiming that I must either pay
        tens of thousands of dollars to purchase the options at the
        current valuation, or have it be taken as personal income when I
        (eventually) try to cash out.  It seems that both of these
        are terrible choices.  Are there any other ways to deal with
        this sort of situation?  I'd like the capital gains but feel
        that I shouldn't be paying nearly half my after-tax income
        just to purchase the stock that should be an incentive, not
        a liability.
        \ _ Your employers are retards.  leave.
        \_ It sounds like this is either your first experience with stock
           options or your first experience at a startup.  If this is an
           early stage startup and the purchase price and valuation of an
           option are equal, then exercising them is a very, very risky
           thing to do.  Most startups fail.  You can realize no value for
           your options until the shares can be sold (you're not publically
           traded yet -- who are you going to sell your shares to and how
           will you and the buyer determine the value?).  The whole point of
           an option is that you can, at a later date, buy shares for what
           they were worth long ago when you started working there (assuming
           the place succeeds).  It sounds like you are years away from
           needing to worry about this.  You also need to learn about
           Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and how it relates to stock options.
           If the place takes off and the options become worth something,
           seek professional help for a good financial advisor.
           seek professional help from a good financial advisor.
        \_ Read this:
           http://www.fairmark.com/execcomp/nqotime.htm
           \_ This is excellent.  I made about $20,000 on my options using the
              "exercise and sell" option (or cashless sell) as in this article.
              Note that you need to know whether they are NQO or ISO options to
              properly follow this advice, because the tax ramifications are
              different.  For NQOs this article is right on the money.
              \_ That article is moronic.   Who the hell would exercise an
                 option to buy  a share at $10, when the share price *IS*
                 $10?  This was helpful to you?!?  Next he is going to follow
                 it up with a brilliant and insightful article explaining how
                 if you have an option to buy a $10 stock at $11, it is a sub-
                 optimal strategy to exercise and sell.
        \_ The "either ... or ..." that your employer said are usually both
           true for late startups.  For early startups, the current valuation
           at the time of option granting is usually very low.  When I joined
           my early startup, I was granted 0.25% of the company in options, yet
           I could exercise all of it for only $200.  May be your company is
           I could exercise all of it for only $200.  Maybe your company is
           not that early of a startup.
           \_ Your company had a valuation of $80k when you started? That is
              a very early stage start-up indeed.
              \_ There were five engineers including me, and all reported to
                 the CEO.
        \_ Just shut up and pay your taxes when they are due. Also, buy Piaw's
           book.
        \_ I just left my job of 2.5 years.   I was granted a block at
           a certain price when I started, and more ( at a higher price )
           a year later.  This is a startup that has not IPO'd, and
           I think everyone involved would agree they will never IPO.
           They might get bought one day.  So I'm aware that options
           traditionally vest over 4 years.  I was not there for 4 years.
           1 week after I left, I got an email from the CEO saying that
           I could vest all of my options for a check for 17k.  No mention
           of current prices, estimated company valuation, number of
           options already out there, nothing.  From some numbers thrown
           around at me from the old CFO who got fired 2 years ago, I
           estimate I was given options for a little less than .10% of the
           company.  I think the CEO is just trying to get more money for
           his company, but I really can't tell.
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