Startups Startup I work for cutting costs quickly, I am concerned with burn-out and morale taking a hit. |
- Startup I work for cutting costs quickly, I am concerned with burn-out and morale taking a hit.
- App advertising - Where have you seen the best bang for your buck?
- How to keep your shares in a company after you exit ?
- Advice For Startup Founders Seeking A Business Mentor
- How do some seemingly unoriginal ideas get so much funding?
- How to increase DOWNLOADS?
- Convertible Note maturity date.
- When to Apply for Credit Cards
| Startup I work for cutting costs quickly, I am concerned with burn-out and morale taking a hit. Posted: 27 Jun 2018 06:57 PM PDT Just to give you an idea of the size of the company:
I work at a SaaS company as the leader of a department. Last week the co-founders had a meeting with all senior managers, me included, letting us know that we need to cut our monthly cash burn (at least) in half as quickly as possible. They are getting rid of the daily lunches, quarterly bonuses, 6 employees and other misc expenses. They explained that they are going to be trying to raise $X,000,000 before the end of the year. With how the cash burn stands now they would have to give up too much of the company for that much capital, but if we can cut the cash burn in half that increases the valuation of the company and they would not have to give up as big of a chunk. Makes perfect sense to me and I welcome the cuts because I believe in the product, the co-founders and the team. I am confident that these cuts are going to benefit the company and the employees in the long run because:
The concerns I have come around my team. My team is losing 5 out of the 6 people we need to let go. Can't get rid of any devs, need to keep building the product. Can't get rid of anyone in Sales, need to keep increasing MRR MoM. Losing 5 people is a big hit to our capacity and it is going to be a challenge to work this out without increasing churn. I am mostly concerned they are going to see these changes and lose faith/motivation in the company and that the additional work that needs to be offloaded onto them is going to put them at or over capacity and burn them out quickly. What I have done so far to mitigate this as much as possible:
I am writing this post because I have nobody in my life who understands tech startups that I can talk about this to. Do you guys have any advice on keeping the team motivated and happy in their job even though they are losing quarterly bonuses and free lunch every day? The plan is to be completely straight with everybody about why we have to do this and why this is good for the company/employees in the long run, I'm just not sure if my word and the founders' words is good enough. Thanks for reading! [link] [comments]  |
| App advertising - Where have you seen the best bang for your buck? Posted: 27 Jun 2018 10:50 AM PDT Recently launched a lifestyle/gaming app and have started testing out various ad networks (Facebook & Instagram to start). Obviously there are a lot of factors that go into conversion (targeting, ad unit, etc), and I don't expect there to be one answer but I'm wondering where this community has seen the highest returns and retention, specifically in the app marketing space. In my initial tests it would appear to cost about $.30 - $.45 per user conversion download. Bonus question: What is this communities thoughts on affiliate marketing B2C applications vs. more standard ad networks? [link] [comments]  |
| How to keep your shares in a company after you exit ? Posted: 27 Jun 2018 06:48 AM PDT Hi, im not sure if I should post this here. But since all of you are involved in a startup in some way, i assumed i could post here. I was offered a CTO role in a startup against 8% shares (and no salary- which is fine). Im bringing in A.I expertise and overseeing development work with an outsourced team. The contract says that if i leave the company in 2 years, i will have to sell the shares back to the remaining shareholders. Do you know if this is this a common clause in startups ? I dont really plan to exit the company in 2 years but shit can happen.. and if i do leave I would like to keep my shares. That seems fair, since I am working for free now. Can you please advice how to tackle this ? I would really appreciate some advice on this. [link] [comments]  |
| Advice For Startup Founders Seeking A Business Mentor Posted: 27 Jun 2018 07:32 AM PDT If you run a business or are thinking of starting one, you've probably wished for a business mentor at some point. Someone capable of giving you solid advice, backed by been there and done that experience. Unfortunately, there are only so many mentors to go around and competition for their time can be fierce. So how do you go about getting a business mentor? And what should that relationship look like? In this article, I'll explain the process I've used to learn valuable lessons from world class mentors in a variety of different disciplines. Every mentor relationship is different and it's important to be mindful of your desired mentor's situation. But if you play your cards right, I believe anyone can have a world class mentor in their corner. Why is having a business mentor so important? As anyone who's run a business knows, the path to success is anything but a straight line. There's plenty of ups and downs and plateaus along the way. Unfortunately most entrepreneurs spend far too much time and energy trying to get through these plateaus under their own steam. Instead of doing what they should be doing, which is seeking the advice of a mentor. Effective mentoring can be one of the great accelerators of any endeavour. What could've taken you six months of research can be turned into a six minute conversation with the right business mentor. By approaching people that are achieving what you're trying to achieve, you can accelerate your growth and decision making exponentially. What should a business mentor relationship look like? An important element of any business mentor relationship is that the student is intentional about what they need from the mentor. A mentor may one day become a friend, but your relationship should not be built around 'staying in touch'. A student that regularly calls to chat, (out of the fear that they'll be forgotten) may soon be ignored. Your mentor's time is precious and deserves your respect. One way you can respect your mentor's time is by requesting to see them only after you've made sure you couldn't have Googled your question first. Ask yourself: Why is it essential that my mentor assist me with this specific problem? If you can't come up with a compelling answer, consider postponing until you've done some further research. Ideally, a business mentor should provide sage advice to get you over the most significant hurdles of growing your business. They may introduce you to a cofounder or investor, provide feedback on your offering or suggest avenues to scale. They will likely have expertise and experience in the market, business type or industry that you're involved in. How do you get a business mentor in the first place? To get a business mentor, particularly one that doesn't charge, requires positioning yourself as a person of significant value. Put yourself in the shoes of the person you're trying to engage with. What are their biggest challenges, headaches and fears? How can you approach the conversation with a mindset to give, rather than take? You can give in any number of ways. An introduction, a recommendation, your time, your expertise, a smile, entertainment, a referral, an invitation etc. In my experience a true mentor relationship is built up overtime. It comprises of a period of giving with selective and strategic asks made along the way. One of the keys I've found to maintaining these relationships is showing your attentiveness when it's your turn to take. If I'm meeting with a mentor, (seeking their advice around a specific problem) I always take my notebook. Taking notes and being a good student shows that you respect their time, value their opinion and plan on implementing their advice. If you're fortunate enough to meet someone willing to mentor you for free, make a point of referring them business. Any mentor you engage should be someone whose work you admire. Show them that by referring them paid work, whenever the opportunity arises. 6 Keys to consider when approaching a business mentor.
Consider your ability to amplify their message. This post wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention content marketing as a major drawcard in attracting business mentors. An ability to amplify your mentor's message and help others at the same time as yourself is a valuable skill. A successful podcast, YouTube channel, Instagram profile or blog gives you the ability to deliver value to everyone involved. Through Americanised, I've met influential business leaders from several different industries that have offered me their time and expertise. My ability to present and produce content allows me the privilege of meeting many potential mentors under favourable circumstances. It also allows me to offer something unique that not every business owner can offer. Which in large part is why I considered it so valuable. [link] [comments]  |
| How do some seemingly unoriginal ideas get so much funding? Posted: 27 Jun 2018 12:30 PM PDT I'm looking at a startup that lets hotels provide their guests with a cell phone for the duration of their stay that centralizes all hotel services into one central location - concierge chat, in room dining, hotel information, smart room controls, local areas guides, etc., which can be all accessed within the app and provided for the duration of the stay. Perhaps the biggest selling point is the data it provides to the hotel as it also comes with an analytics platform. This startup raised $100M+ of funding, and I don't understand why because I don't see where the value is in this service/product. Can someone enlighten an ignoramus on why seemingly "unoriginal" startups can get so much funding? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 27 Jun 2018 11:05 AM PDT I've been promoting my startup's extension around the Internet and noticed that it normally receives very positive feedback. From the users that have used it, we have an average 9.5 NPM score (the score where people rate from 1-10 how likely they'd recommend this to a friend). All signs point to this being a tool that people actually like to use. But apart from people responding or upvoting, I noticed the actual amount of people that download our product or sign up is very low. Any other startups come across this conundrum? Any tips on how to solve it?
For a little bit of clarity on what our product asks people to do:
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| Convertible Note maturity date. Posted: 27 Jun 2018 08:53 AM PDT So my convertible note investment hit its maturity date and was wondering what happens next. (BTW I will be consulting an atty, just trying to get more info here first) This is the terms: Automatic Conversion. 4.1 Conversion Upon Closing of Subsequent Financing. If immediately prior to the closing of the Subsequent Financing (as defined below) this Note remains outstanding, all of the then outstanding principal amount of this Note, plus all accrued interest hereunder, will, at such closing, be converted automatically (without any further action by the Lender), into shares of an equity security of the Company that is identical (except for the price per share and for terms based on the applicable price per share) to the equity security issued at such Subsequent Financing at a price per share equal to the lesser of (x) sixty percent (60.0%) of the per share purchase price of the Subsequent Financing Securities (as defined below) paid by third-party investors at the time of the closing of such Subsequent Financing and (y) the price per share (the "Price Per Share Cap") for all shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, of the Company ("Common Stock") outstanding immediately prior to the closing of the Subsequent Qualified Financing, calculated on a fully diluted basis assuming the Company's pre-money equity value is Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000) and treating all of the Company's convertible preferred stock, stock options and warrants issued and outstanding immediately prior to the conversion of this Note pursuant to this Section 4.1 as if they had been converted, exchanged and/or exercised for Common Stock immediately prior to such conversion. This is the part about what happens when subsequent financing does not happen (it hasn't) and it matures: 4.3. In addition, in the event that (I) the Company receives a written election from the Majority Lenders on any date after June 12, 2018 requesting that this Note be converted pursuant to this Section 4.3 and that all other Related Notes be converted pursuant to any similar provision of such other Related Notes, (II) the Subsequent Financing has not occurred prior to the conversion of this Note pursuant to this Section 4.3 and (III) this Note remains outstanding, then this Note and all principal and interest payable hereunder shall convert into shares of Series Seed Preferred Stock at 5:00 p.m. on the 30th day following the date that the Company receives such election, such conversion to be in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth below in this Section 4.3. Any conversion of this Note into shares of Series Seed Preferred Stock pursuant to this Section 4.3 shall be at a pre-money valuation of Three million dollars ($3,000,000.00) (calculated on a fully diluted basis after giving effect to the conversion, exercise or exchange of all outstanding securities convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock of the Company and treating, without duplication, all shares reserved for future grant pursuant to any stock option plan or equity incentive plan as if such shares were issued and outstanding). I asked the CEO, his response: "The notes only become due and payable after the Maturity Date if the Majority Lenders call the notes after the Maturity Date. We do not expect the Majority Lenders to call the notes and, therefore, the terms of the Notes provide that they will automatically convert into equity in connection with the closing of a Subsequent Financing, which we are working on."
Re: majority lenders: This Convertible Promissory Note (this "Note") is one of a series of Convertible Promissory Notes (collectively, the "Related Notes") issued or to be issued by the Company at any time and from time to time during the period commencing on the date hereof and ending on June 12, 2015 or such later date as shall be mutually agreed upon in writing by the Company and those persons that are Majority Lenders (as defined below) at the time of such written agreement. For purposes of this Note, the term "Majority Lenders" shall mean, at the relevant time of reference thereto, those holders of Related Notes then outstanding that represent a majority of the principal amount of all Related Notes then outstanding.
Thanks. [link] [comments]  |
| When to Apply for Credit Cards Posted: 27 Jun 2018 07:38 AM PDT Hi all, I have been thinking about starting a business for some time now, and have finally began taking action. I have a name in mind, but have not yet set up any sort of legal entity for the business. Do I need to register as an LLC before I can apply for a credit card? Like I said, I am in the early stages of planning the business so I am the only party involved right now, but in the future I plan to be much larger with many employees. I say that because I want to make sure that because of that, I can't just set up a business card as a sole-propietorship and use my SSN as my EIN for now, since I plan to be an LLC later on. Or could I do that for now, and change it later? Thanks in advance to all the help guys! [link] [comments]  |
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