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    Startups Share your startup - April 2020

    Startups Share your startup - April 2020


    Share your startup - April 2020

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 04:08 AM PDT

    Tell us about your startup!

    /r/startups wants to hear what you're working on! Contest mode is on, so remember to select 'Show All' to see all the replies. If you don't see your post, you probably need to load more comments at the bottom. Also, all posts are sorted randomly, so the sort function doesn't seem to work.

    submitted by /u/AutoModerator
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    Wednesday Social Club - Share What Events You Are Attending This Coming Week

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 06:07 AM PDT

    Welcome to this week's Social Club thread.

    Share what events and meetups you are going to so we can discover new ways to be social together offline and help grow your local community.

    Focus on sharing events that are happening within the next 7 days of this date of this submission. Anything that falls outside of 10 days will be removed, no exceptions.

    No duplicate posts. If you happen to be attending an event that is already posted, leave a comment to inform the community that you will also be there.

    If you are hoping to organize something on your own, outside of an existing event, feel free to use this thread to rally some people together to meet up.

    Please use the following format to share an event:

    Event Name and URL: Location: Event Date: Event Time: Event Description: Event Cost: Discount Code: [if applicable]

    Please use the following format to organize people to meet up together:

    Location: Purpose of getting together: Suggested Places to meet up:

    You can also find more support using instant chat on the /r/startups discord.

    submitted by /u/AutoModerator
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    Starting an online business while living in Vietnam?

    Posted: 02 Apr 2020 01:01 AM PDT

    Hello. I'm an American living in Vietnam and I'm interested in starting an online business.

    I definitely would like to create an LLC, but haven't confirmed the best or affordable way to accomplish this while living abroad.

    There are many posts on Reddit that recommend using a Registered Agent Service such as Harvard Business Services—which also helps with the formation of a business in the state of the Delaware. Or obtaining an e-residence in a country such as Estonia. I have read pros and cons for both which include: requiring to file as a foreign entity, being over charged when you can file certain things independently at lower rates, or in the case of e-residency – experiencing buggy systems or being subject to high withdrawal/distribution fees.

    My permanent residential and mailing address is in Pennsylvania; my mother's address. When creating this company I would be required to have a business address, virtual mailbox (I have found some options), and be able to open a business bank account. Does anyone (preferably American), have experience doing this while living outside the US?

    Additional comments:
    The online businesses I'm interested in are online courses, digital freelance work, etc. that can be done remotely. I had started an online business before in Florida back in 2013; the process wasn't too difficult to register an LLC, an EIN, or setup a bank account. Then again—I was a resident of Florida during that time and not living in Asia, so things were significantly easier.

    submitted by /u/MuyGalan
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    Young Entrepreneur's Tech Startup questions

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 10:35 PM PDT

    I have an app idea that I think has the potential to be big. I'm currently drafting a business plan. I have started two previous companies, but nothing at this level (equity, VC funding, etc.).

    What should I be doing to start? Find a cofounder? (I don't have a coding background so most likely someone with software development expertise). And if so, how do I ensure that they just don't take the idea and run? As I can't really do much because I can't code.

    This is my first time, so basically what I'm asking is what I should be doing in these early stages to set me up to success.

    Thanks for your help!

    submitted by /u/jaxmckiernan
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    SASS Products - Monthly Subscriptions - Enterprise Plans vs Standard Plans - How less, on average, is the per seat Enterprise cost?

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 05:10 PM PDT

    Fully appreciate that this can vary wildy...

    We have all seen the pricing pages with various tiers of price packages for monthly usage and then the Enterprise one says "Contact Us". $20, $65 and Contact Us or $80, $120 and Contact Us....

    Does anyone have intel on what those Enterprise negotiations looks like and where the final, per seat, prices landed relative to their previous, most expensive pricing tier? A single setup fee and then the per seat price? Support packages?

    Is there a rule-of-thumb of 80% or 50%?

    Without a doubt, the product, industry and number of seats in consideration can drastically change this.

    Things like Naviplan or eMoney or any other finance platform would be great - but even experience on non-finance products are welcome.

    We're developing some of our startup business projections for a financial scenario builder and this kind of intel is hard to come by otherwise.

    Thanks

    submitted by /u/jonnylegs
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    Nice read for tech startups: "The End of the Beginning"

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 05:48 AM PDT

    The tech industry loves to talk about 'moats' around a business – some mechanic of the product or market that forms a fundamental structural barrier to competition, so that just having a better product isn't enough to break in. But there are several ways that a moat can stop working. Sometimes the King orders you to fill in the moat and knock down the walls. This is the deus ex machina of state intervention – of anti-trust investigations and trials. But sometimes the river changes course, or the harbour silts up, or someone opens a new pass over the mountains, or the trade routes move, and the castle is still there and still impregnable but slowly stops being important. This is what happened to IBM and Microsoft. The competition isn't another mainframe company or another PC operating system — it's something that solves the same underlying user needs in very different ways, or creates new ones that matter more. The web didn't bridge Microsoft's moat — it went around, and made it irrelevant. Of course, this isn't limited to tech — railway and ocean liner companies didn't make the jump into airlines either. But those companies had a run of a century — IBM and Microsoft each only got 20 years.

    Short article so I would recommend you read it to get the full context.

    https://stratechery.com/2020/the-end-of-the-beginning/

    My conclusion: It's unlikely that Google, FB, MSFT, Amazon will be challenged by any startup unless there are strong regulatory changes. We cannot beat them at their game now, they are too big. The only way these might be beaten is if the game changes in itself i.e. there is a fundamental change in the way we consume technology. This might be the case with AR and VR but even in these cases these companies have an inherent advantage. So maybe the only way for startups is to build on technologies given by these companies i.e. we need to complement them rather than compete with them.

    E.g. Look at two startups which are trying to directly compete with the big guns: Snapchat vs FB and Slack v MSFT Teams. Both these startups have weak long term prospects against their big daddy rivals IMHO. Even if they continue to survive, their profit margins will keep taking a hit while competing with giants who can afford to burn cash. Here is where Peter Thiel's "Competition is for losers" idealogy comes into play as well.

    Feel free to leave comments and refute my conclusions in the comments. Thanks !

    submitted by /u/KingSlayer94
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    What do you think of our pre-launch pricing strategy?

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 04:32 PM PDT

    Hello everyone. Just wanted some feedback on our pricing. This is a tool that informs you of all "walk-ins" to your website so you can have a chat with them. It also gives you info like browsing history, previous visits etc, so that the chat can be more meaningful. As a pre-launch offer, we are giving this out at $5 per month for life. It's free if you refer 3 others who would sign up for this. Appreciate all feedback :)

    submitted by /u/cal3091
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    What would books would you recommend for tactical advice about growing a product from 0 to a 1000 users?

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 04:21 PM PDT

    Hey, so I'm a tech/product person my goal for 2020 was to learn more about the marketing side of things by growing a product I'd built from scratch

    To do this I decided to invest heavily in books about marketing/growth hacking

    So far I've read: 1) Contagious 2) Marketing for dummies 3) Growth hacker marketing

    I've also bought "The 1 page marketing plan" and "How to build a billion dollar app" and plan to read them over the next month.

    I enjoyed reading those books but they were mostly research into what had worked rather than a model that you could follow like hooked ( which I've also read lol)

    So I was just wondering if you had any advice on a book/website/blog that had some tactical/how to/ step by step advice that I could follow.

    Thank you in advance

    submitted by /u/chkslry
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    Do you use a tool to talk to your users?

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 11:31 AM PDT

    Currently brainstorming an idea to productize my approach to talking to users.

    I have a pretty light algorithm for my B2C app which takes an engagement metric into account (in my case how many messages someone has sent) and how long someone has been subscribed and paying, and gives me 3-5 of the highest engaged users every day to reach out to.

    That has been a blessing for me, as I'm not only hearing from the users who press a feedback button or reach out to support, but those silent, satisfied customers as well.

    Wanted to see whether someone is using a tool for user success/user interviews or whether I should go for it...

    submitted by /u/Sig_Luna
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    Which CRM you prefer ?

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 04:45 PM PDT

    Hey guys could you let me know which CRM you prefer and why. Your opinion will help us understand the difference better.

    1. Hubspot
    2. Salesforce
    3. Any other

    Its very confusing to understand and real opinion, suggestions and feedback would help alot.

    Thanks

    Some edits and more information: We are medium size company (200-300), fintech industry, want one tool which solves all our issue, like for eg: CRM, sales process, marketing etc.

    submitted by /u/SHXXVII
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    Medical Device Startups

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 08:21 AM PDT

    Hi everyone, hope y'all are doing safe and healthy during this crazy time.

    I am currently a senior in high school and created a medical device last summer - at the University of Houston under a post-doctorate mentor - that aids in the wound healing process. It became a finalist at a couple national/international high school business competitions and I know it's something I really want to pursue given the increasing global burn care/wound care market size, and the many stakeholders involved.

    So, I filed for a provisional patent as the sole owner of this device, this January on the medical device. My mentor wasn't interested and was leaving to work at NASA.

    My initial prototypes of this device did not come out as how imagined but I filed the provisional patent based on what I expected it would look like.

    Now, I will be heading to the University of Texas at Austin and I am unsure what my next steps should be. I tried contacting a few professors there to be my mentor/adviser, through email, but they told me they cannot work on an outside filed patent or were not interested. I finally joined the research group of a biomaterials professor and eventually plan on asking him how to improve my device when I get there.

    My question is, if I do happen to improve my device at the University Of Texas, will the university try and claim ip or rights on my device if I use their resources to help build my device.

    Another option is to try contacting a local angel network, to try and raise the money and find connections through them to locate a lab + researchers to improve the device, but I know most will either not be interested or take a large chunk of the company. University of Texas does have a few entrepreneurship/startup clubs to help launch startups but not sure how much it will help as I basically need to improve my medical device first. Thanks.

    submitted by /u/Hughjoness
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    What to do after a failed PR campaign?

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 01:43 PM PDT

    I wrote a press release for a product launch, it's directly relevant to coronavirus as the product helps ease traffic for overloaded websites.

    Press release got signed off by all stakeholders, and sent to 20 publications (the only publications who have written about our market). Half had read receipts, one said no, and not a single hit. No retuned follow-ups.

    Should I follow up a second time, go to smaller blogs, find a new angle, post the release on our website? Everyone was hoping for at least a bit of coverage but now it's as if our product never launched.

    submitted by /u/MercurialMadnessMan
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    How to reach out to possible tech co founders on LinkedIn?

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 10:13 AM PDT

    I have compiled a list of senior/full stack engineers who work or have worked at startups with a similar methodology to the startup I'm looking to build. I have mapped out the MVP and am working on how to make the pitch/idea look attractive.

    I'm looking for someone who wants to work on an idea 50/50, who is interested in a side project that would become their full time job, a partnership.

    Do you have any pointers for what to say in the LI direct message? How much/little info to include about the idea? I have done outside research but just wondering if anyone has any pointers or has done it successfully before?

    Thanks!

    submitted by /u/mambono5555
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    Is it wise to let me friend incorporate our business?

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 10:07 AM PDT

    Hello reddit. Recently my friend asked if I wanted to open up a Collison shop with him but he wants to add it to his corporation and add me to the shop as co owner. My question is will him adding it to his corporation handy cap me give him ways of screwing me over

    submitted by /u/brolly777
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    Planning and Managing Layoffs

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 08:32 AM PDT

    Nobody ever wants to do layoffs. Laying your employees off is one of the hardest things you do as a leader. But remember, however badly you feel about it, your issues are small compared to those of the impacted employees. For them, the layoff may cause serious financial and psychological distress. It will also force them into a wrenching emotional disconnect from their friends and colleagues. You think you have it tough, but they have it far tougher. Your duty as a leader is to do everything in your power to give them as many resources as you can and offer them the most dignified exit possible. This will take careful thought and planning, and it may be the most important planning you ever do as CEO.

    Since most people have no idea how to do layoffs well, nor have a resource to help them, this document now exists. I've unfortunately had to do layoffs, and helped others through them, so I want to share some best practices and things to think through as you do a layoff. I'm starting from the point that you've already done everything possible to avoid a layoff and you've gone through the difficult process of figuring out what roles to eliminate. (I say what roles, not who, because that's how you should be thinking about this. It's not a person by person decision, it's a role by role decision.)

    Also note: I am not a lawyer. I am not your HR person. And as I point out below, you absolutely must consult experienced counsel and HR professionals in this process.

    Properly executing a layoff is important in a few dimensions: legally, culturally, and ethically. How you handle a layoff, how you communicate it to the people impacted, and how you manage and lead throughout the process really matters. It matters to the people who are now leaving the business, and it matters to the team that is part of the go-forward plan, and neither group will forget how people were treated. Points to consider as you plan your layoffs:

    Consider a furlough (leave of absence): Depending on your company size, cash management requirements, and benefit plan policies, you may be able to put employees on furlough for three to six to 12 months where their salary (and potentially vesting) stops, but benefits continue. This gives the company time to stabilize finances and re-open the furloughed role, and/or allow the impacted employee ample time to find a new job while dramatically reducing the costs to the employer. If you can do this, it's a huge benefit to the impacted employee. The employee is afforded the optics of still being employed while they conduct a search for a new role (which helps in their search), and they get continued benefits coverage, which is often critical. It also emphasizes the point that this is really a cost-savings decision to save the company and not a performance-related decision. Think about health benefits

    Time it right: If coverage in your employee health benefits plan ends on the last day of the month (most, but not all, do), and you are executing your layoff in the last ⅓ of the month, consider designating the last day of employment for all impacted employees to be the first day of the next month. That gives every impacted employee 30 days to figure out COBRA or get added to a partner's health plan. Leaving employees in the lurch at the end of the month or without any continuing benefits coverage is totally avoidable, so avoid it.

    Treat your employees like adults: I've heard many CEOs who want to offer their employees two weeks of severance but offer three months of coverage for health benefits. This well-intentioned (albeit paternalistic) thinking is wrong. In addition to creating logistical problems, you have no idea what your employees' actual life situations are. Maybe they can get on a spouse's benefits plan, maybe they are young enough to rejoin their parents', maybe they will return to a home country with alternative healthcare options. Just pay them the cash and let them decide how to manage their own affairs.

    Think about severance: Be consistent in your severance policy. Often, severance amounts will be based on tenure (much preferable to basing it on seniority). A common model employers will consider is paying two to four weeks for every year of service, with a maximum of four or eight weeks in total. Many companies won't be able to afford to part with that much cash (especially all at once), and two or four weeks may be all they can do. Offering less than two weeks severance pay is outside the norm, as is offering more than eight weeks. Timing

    Do it once: If you've never conducted a layoff, your first instinct is to lay off as few people as possible. But anyone who has ever done layoffs as a company-saving measure will tell you they wish they had cut deeper. If you're going to take on the massive emotional and cultural impact of letting people go, be sure to create sufficient savings so you and the remaining team have the cash required to get through to the other side of the crisis and survive. Doing multiple rounds of layoffs demoralizes your team and erodes any trust and confidence they have in you.

    Are you notifying them or are they leaving that day: For less experienced leaders managing through this, I recommend the date of notification be the last day the employee has access to most workplace resources including offices, laptop, email, and badge. That doesn't mean they need to leave the payroll system that day (for instance, to continue benefits into the next month), but they are effectively on leave from that moment forward and no longer have to do work and can focus on finding a new job. While it can sound jarring to say "and today is your last day," it's generally better for people because it makes it clear that there is a new normal and it starts right now. It is reasonable to allow employees in certain roles or levels of seniority to continue to have email access for professional or business reasons. Obviously different roles come with different needs. For example, an hourly worker in a call center may not need access to anything from the point of notification forward whereas a business development executive who needs to carefully transition some key relationships to a new owner may justify continued access.

    Still, there's no perfect answer on this one — some employers use a longer notification period to let impacted employees begin their search for a new job while they are still technically employed, essentially trading severance time for notification period time. Figure out what is right for your company based on the kinds of roles being impacted, your culture, the maturity of your workforce, your level of comfort with having impacted employees continue to access systems, and legal requirements.

    Dealing with company property while remote: Because of COVID-19, nearly all workers are now working from home, so you will be unable to collect their company property (laptop, badge, etc.). Be clear that this is still company property and will need to be returned at a future date — either a laptop box with a return sticker will be mailed to them or equipment can be dropped off once health-related shelter concerns are lifted. Make it clear if they are or are not allowed to use their laptop after the notification period. For many employees, this may be their only computer and would be useful in conducting their job search. Remember that with every decision you make in this process you need to err on the side of doing whatever you can to help the impacted employee. That likely means letting them still use their laptop.

    Depending on your IT security policies, you may even decide to allow employees to keep their laptop as a part of their severance, but do that only after you recognize, understand, and accept the financial, security, and intellectual property risks that approach creates for your company. Leverage your board, corporate counsel, and comms team

    Ensure all layoff decisions and processes are approved by your board of directors with counsel present. Strong corporate governance isn't just a checkbox item — the feedback and legal protections you gain by getting your plan formally approved is critical for an executive. If done truly terribly, an executive could be opening themself up to various liabilities or even criminal actions.

    Corporate counsel or external employment law is an absolute. You will need to be current and up to speed on many aspects of the law around who and how you lay people off inclusive of:

    Individuals on visas Adverse impact reporting Cal & Federal WARN Releases in exchange for severance pay 

    Throughout this planning process, confidentiality is an absolute must. However, toward the end of your planning process, be sure to include your Communications lead. They can help you draft and prepare all your internal messaging for all employees, as well as create a plan for any possible press inquiries. Points to consider as you do layoffs: Company communication is critical

    You as the CEO need to own the messaging around this. Employees joined your company because of your vision and you. And now you've failed them. You now need to be the one to own the communication around layoffs and take responsibility for what is happening. And ultimately, it will be your decisions that determine if employees are treated with dignity and compassion. This is where trust and confidence is built or broken.

    As soon as you begin notifications, word of layoffs will travel quickly, so try to complete every conversation as quickly as you can. To the extent possible, avoid one-to-many notifications and try to notify people as privately as possible. It does not matter how many notifications you need to do, it is possible to do them all individually. If your organization is large, you will have to leverage your leadership team to take on some of the notification responsibilities. That means the burden is on you to train and educate your leaders so they do it in a way that exudes deep empathy and consideration for the impacted employees.

    As soon as notifications are complete, you will have to communicate to everyone in your company so they hear the news from you directly, and also so they know notifications are indeed complete (so they don't have to worry about their own status). Assume whatever email you send will be read by those leaving the business and potentially the general public. This should be a previously prepared email explaining the change, the reason for the change, and deep appreciation for the outgoing employees' contributions. Remember, at this point, you are now communicating with the go-forward team. In coordination with IT or HR you will need to have a way to quickly message everyone not impacted in the workforce reduction. In the email you should also announce an all-hands for later that day (ideally) or early the following day so they know they will have an interactive opportunity to hear from you. Waiting too long to assemble the team is a grave mistake. They need to hear from you, and quickly.

    Depending on the size of your organization, you may want to communicate out ahead of the layoff action to all employees. For more on this, listen to this podcast with my colleagues Shannon Schlitz, Operating Partner for our People Practices group, and Alex Rampell, General Partner and repeat founder. For smaller organizations, this is not necessary. How to actually tell someone they are being laid off

    Note: This advice is geared specifically at doing layoffs remotely, but it is applicable to in-person layoffs as well.

    Schedule with common sense: The communication with the impacted employee should include at least two company representatives, ideally one of whom is a trained HR professional, to avoid he-said/she-said scenarios and to maximize legal protections. For more experienced managers, this isn't strictly necessary.

    Be cognizant that sending a calendar invite to an employee for a 20-minute discussion with a manager and HR representative is not very subtle, so don't do that. You can always create a second invitation for the HR person so they aren't on the original 1:1 invite. If you are doing these in an office, make sure events are configured to be "private" so the room calendar for the event doesn't show all the meetings being scheduled in it.

    Don't reuse your Zoom or WebEx "personal meeting room" in back-to-back meetings. Create a new meeting for each conversation.

    Be prepared: It's very smart to have a script prepared in front of you. You can piece it together from what I outline below. It's not uncommon to get flustered or nervous delivering this news. Rehearse with a colleague if you need to. And trust me, you need to rehearse this. And do not stray far from your script. Do not let a thoughtful and compassionate plan be ruined with bad delivery.

    Logistically, have your camera turned on, make sure recording is turned off, and make sure you are in a quiet place without distractions. Do not be driving, etc. Have your electronic document package with all layoff and severance related information ready to go so you can send it while on the call or right after the call.

    Less is more: Since these will be video calls, try to avoid the small talk with whomever is joining the call. You just get to the point, "I have some news to share with you. The leadership team and I have had to make some difficult decisions in order to try and save our business, and as a part of that, we are eliminating your role at the company and you are being laid off." I've always found you literally need to deliver the news twice (in this case, saying "eliminating your role" and "you are being laid off") because many recipients quickly enter a state of shock or dismay.

    And then you just wait. The person needs a moment to process. It might be an awkward silence. That's okay. They may be upset. They may be embarrassed. They may be angry. It may be all of those things at once. But let them process. Then, they will ask you a question. "What does this mean for me?" "When do I stop being paid?" "How many other people are being affected?" "What if I work harder?" "Can I take a pay cut? I need this job."

    Here's how to handle different kinds of questions and reactions:

    • If the question is about logistics (When do I stop being paid? What does this mean?) then you can say, "I know this is a lot. I'm going to be sending you a document that outlines specifically what we will be doing as a part of your exit package and providing additional information and resources for you as soon as we get off the line." Depending on how many of these you have to do, you can talk them through it, but I would suggest not offering to walk through it as they will have a TON of questions. Make sure your paperwork is in order so you can quickly deliver them all the information, and access to all employee resources you can make available.
    • If the question is on another aspect (How many people impacted? What if I work harder? Can I take a pay cut?) or is just venting, the right thing to do is listen and acknowledge them. It is not appropriate to share whom else was impacted on the team. Stick to the script, repeat the talking points, and listen. This is about them and keep the conversation focused on them. It's important to remember: You aren't there to have your mind changed, you aren't creating wiggle room or giving false hope. You are there to deliver information as clearly, and compassionately, as possible. It may be tempting to say "I didn't realize how bad this was going to be, let me see what I can do," but that's false hope. It's terrible and weak. It is much better to deliver the news as it is, and privately work behind the scenes if you truly feel an error has been made and needs adjusting.
    • If the employee becomes overly emotional and is having difficulty composing him or herself, it is okay to end the conversation and tell the employee that you recognize it is an incredibly distressing and major change for them. Be clear you will be happy to continue the conversation once they have had time to process.

    What can you do? What can you say?

    • Be a leader. This is where true leadership shows up. Demonstrate empathy, be a listener, but stand behind the company's decisions. If you are doing the notification, but you didn't make the decision, you cannot say you are "just the messenger." It's extraordinarily pathetic to question the decision to lay someone off as you are laying someone off. If you truly felt that way, you should have opted out of being the person doing the notification.
    • You can certainly say "I know this news is hard to hear. It's normal to have questions that come to you later that aren't top of mind right now, and I want to make sure you reach out to me or our HR team when you have them. We want to be available to you as you have questions and do whatever we can to help you."
    • You can say "I know this is a lot to take in, but you will get through this."
    • If appropriate, make clear that you or someone at the company would be willing to be a reference for them when they are considering job opportunities.
    • Make it clear what the transition is for them, literally. "As of today, you are no longer required to come to work or do work, and your access to email and company resources will be restricted. If we miss anything, please recognize you have a responsibility to not use company resources. We will be keeping you on payroll until the 1st of the month so that your health benefits continue for the following month" (or whatever your policy is).
    • A note on IT logistics: Often employees will ask "What about all the personal items I have on my system? How can I get this information back?" While they shouldn't have personal data on their corporate machine, the reality is almost everyone does. I always err on the side of assuming good intentions and allowing people time to get their files in order and back them up somewhere. Since these notifications are all being done over video and employees have their laptops with them, logistically you likely have less control over this anyway.
    • Understand what Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) are available in your benefits plan and make sure you have the documents, links, and resources ready to send to an employee so they can take advantage of all resources that they may not be aware of. This is critical, even if it's the last bullet point. Your benefits plan, and the government, have many programs available. Know what they are and be organized in how you share them. You must do every possible thing to make this less terrible for the impacted employees.

    How do you get an F?

    • Do not make this about you. Do not, at any time, tell them how hard it is for you to give them this news, or how agonizing it was to make this plan. You still have a job, they do not. This is not hard for you, it's just unpleasant. Not having a job is hard. I remember once hearing a manager say "this has been such a hard day for me" to people in an all-hands after he conducted a layoff and I will never forget the person who said it and I will never work with that person again. Do not be this person. Even thinking about this person now just makes me angry.
    • Do not make jokes or be lighthearted. This is not a lighthearted thing. Even if you're nervous and trying to diffuse the tension. Even if it's an awkward silence. Just be quiet and listen. Leave room for the person to process the news.
    • Do not tell them they will be fine. Do not tell them they will find a better job. You don't know if that is true. Do not be prescriptive about their future. Do not tell them you will help them find a job (you may offer to try and help, but you cannot guarantee that you will find one for them, and I find the no-guarantee offer to help comes out sounding very weak).
    • Do not blame others. Do not blame the virus. Do not blame the market. Do not blame your board or investors. Just own it.
    • Do not ask them "Are you okay?" because that phrasing is about making you feel better for delivering terrible news and has nothing to do with you supporting the employee. You can definitely ask if there's something they need.
    • If you are genuinely concerned for their safety and wellbeing, or believe they are a danger to themselves or others, you need to tell them that's what you are observing, and then you need to be prepared to call someone close to them (and tell them you are doing that) and/or emergency services.
    • You get an F if you fail to have legal or HR review those impacted prior to notification to make sure you aren't disproportionately impacting specific protected groups (race, gender, etc.). This is especially important in larger organizations where the creation of the list of who is being impacted may have been delegated further down the organization.
    • You get an F if you don't lay out your day and have a prepared communications plan (built and reviewed with HR and Comms) such that throughout the day you are largely going through a pre-planned, scripted, and practiced set of motions. Without that, you will screw it up, and then you'll get an F.

    There's no way around this: If you have to do a layoff, it's going to be one of the worst days of your career. But not as bad as it will be for your impacted employees. You hired someone who worked hard and due to no fault of their own is now losing their job, at a time when losing a job is terrible. However, if you conduct your layoffs with both compassion and clarity, you will ease the burden on your employees and help them begin the process of transitioning to their next role while building trust and confidence with the team that remains.

    One last thing based on some comments from draft readers (HR pros, CEOs, etc.): What about pay cuts instead of, or as a part of, layoffs? This sounds good in theory and often helps the team in the short-term feel better about sharing the pain collectively, but it has side effects. First, your financial analysis will tell you it does very little to reduce your cash burn unless your company has hundreds of people (then it is worth considering, as it may save some roles from being impacted). If you only do 10% or 20% pay cuts, it doesn't materially impact the overall weighted cost of a full-time employee. Second, it risks hurting morale significantly. Within two or three pay periods, when people start to see their reduced paycheck, they will often start to look elsewhere for work (assuming they can, otherwise they'll just be annoyed). That said, for founders, executives, the broader leadership team, and people making over a certain amount of money, pay cuts can be an important symbolic gesture. In those cases, I'm supportive of pay cuts — but the gesture is generally symbolic — it's not really saving meaningful amounts of money. For individual contributors, or people paid less than a certain amount, it's not worth doing pay cuts and I would absolutely exclude those individuals if you plan on enacting any pay reductions.

    https://a16z.com/2020/03/31/planning-and-managing-layoffs/ (I'm not affiliated in anyway)

    submitted by /u/julian88888888
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    Anyone here joined Antler?

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:53 AM PDT

    Have any people here been through the Antler program?

    I'm thinking of joining: I'm a fairly senior full stack developer and just feel like doing something different.

    I'm not particularly motivated by their stipend or investment. I'm more motivated by the network and quality of potential co-founders.

    I'm wondering if anyone has anything to say about Antler in Amsterdam or Stockholm? I'd like to hear a frank review.

    submitted by /u/softdevintnlt
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    Where to validate business ideas?

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 06:55 AM PDT

    I have an idea for a business, an online program that helps men become confident enough to approach women in real life and away from online apps, but I'm not sure where to post a survey to validate my idea.

    So far, I've posted on:

    - a few subreddits that will allow (/sample size)

    - a dating advice forum outside of reddit

    Where else should I go to validate my idea?

    submitted by /u/TMLife
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    How to acquire new user registrations?

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 05:21 AM PDT

    I work at a Foodtech startup and we're only local but we have good traction in the state. I was given the job of acquiring a new district with some offices. Our main customers are office employees. I was supposed to set up a booth with HR at one of the offices to increase registrations on the app, but due to Covid-19 my interaction with employees is at 0. I've offered coupons and accommodated a few other items but the conversion still isn't there. What are some ways to increase user registrations at the offices?

    submitted by /u/Clubpenguinfeen
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    Where to look for service contracts? Do you know portals in the USA or the UK where you can advertise your services as well as submit to customer queries?

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 05:05 AM PDT

    I work in a small company and we are looking for ways to scale the business. At the moment we are looking for portals where we can advertise our services from IT (creating mobile applications, websites, web applications) in the USA and UK. I need help in finding the right marketplace where clients advertise their needs and where companies communicate their services. I would appreciate your help.

    If someone is interested in what it looks like in Poland I can also share such information.

    submitted by /u/Striking-Answer
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    Marketplace entrepreneurs or veterans, how was your product able to get your first users and initially stoke both sides of the marketplace? What tactics did you employ? Did you leverage other known sites / platforms / marketplaces?

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 04:37 AM PDT

    As some context for my post, I'm in the midst of launching my own marketplace app, and I can already sense there is a lot of down and dirty guerrilla work that goes into generating first inertia. It's mind scrambling to know where to start.

    If you were part of launching a marketplace from scratch in any capacity, had slivers of success, heard of great stories from colleagues, or learned what not to do, it would be wonderful to hear your experiences to inspire other marketplace founders!

    submitted by /u/marktuff
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    Serious: What is the point of doing a startup when you can earn $500k/year risk-free at FAANG?

    Posted: 01 Apr 2020 01:59 AM PDT

    By this analysis, you can have a net worth of $4,000,000 by the age of 37 and earn $500k per year risk free working as an L5 engineer at Google.

    And after that, you can always consider a startup since you've got a safety net.

    I don't think people should even attempt a startup unless an exit of $20,000,000+ is realistic within the next 5-10 years.

    The advice of:

    "You don't get rich renting out your time" is BS.

    You can be a multi-millionaire just by working a secure job.

    submitted by /u/ptrenko123
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