Category: Entrepreneurship

Last week I started reading Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferris. I’ve been a fan of his for years as his blog and books are excellent. For the video of the week, watch Tim Ferriss: Tools of Titans. Enjoy!

From YouTube: Whether you’re a millionaire-in-the-making or just trying to check off your to-do list every single day, you’re always on the hunt for how to do your best, but where do you even start? Enter Tim Ferris of Four-Hour Work Week, and his latest book Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers. Just for you, Tim picked the brains of 200+ of the most creative, successful leaders from around the world to help you do better every day, including Brene Brown, Malcolm Gladwell, Jamie Foxx, Reid Hoffman, and dozens of others. He asked them actionable questions (What does the first hour of their day look like? What do their workout routines look like and why? What are the biggest time wastes they avoid?) so that you can apply their philosophies to your own life.

Earlier today an entrepreneur asked about thoughts on product pricing. I’ve found that product pricing evolves over the life of the startup based on a number of factors including competitive dynamics, target markets, corporate strategy, and overall value to the customer. Here are a few more specific ideas around pricing:

• Product Pricing Properties – Price based on value and align it so that as the customer gets more value, they pay a corresponding amount
• Product Pricing Doesn’t Matter Pre Product/Market Fit – Charge something, even if it’s small, so as to get higher quality feedback
• Published Prices Aren’t Always the Main Business Model – Consider potential indirect ways to make money that aren’t as obvious
• Pardot’s Pricing Progression Through the Years – Read a case study to see how pricing evolved over five years

Pricing should be treated like everything else in the startup: an iterative element that warrants regular experimentation and improvement.

What else? What are some more good resources on product pricing?

Over the last year couple years I’ve helped several startups after they’ve raised a modest seed round and searched for product/market fit. In every case, the entrepreneurs were too optimistic, drove product development hard, and fell well short of their revenue goals. Fundamentally, the mistake is believing that once investors write the check, everything is going to go according to the spreadsheet model. That never happens.

Here are four reasons startups need to stay lean after the seed round:

1. Product Development is Never Finished – Entrepreneurs always cite product development as the main focus for the seed round. Only, with a small seed round, adding one or two engineers seriously increases the burn rate. Product development is never finished, so know that product/market fit comes with having the most fit, not the most features.
2. No Repeatable Sales Process – A handful of unaffiliated customers is far from a repeatable sales process. Building a repeatable sales process is harder, and slower, than expected, so plan accordingly.
3. Plan for 24 Months – Most entrepreneurs burn through whatever capital is raised in 12-16 months, as they’re optimistic and see opportunity. Instead, make the money last 24 months so that there’s more runway to course correct. It’s always easier to ramp up than it is to ramp down.
4. Scrappy at the Core – Creating a resourceful culture starts on day one. Each round of financing creates an internal tension around how much of that scrappiness needs to let up in search of faster growth. Stay scrappy through the seed round.

Startups needs to stay lean even after raising a seed round. Focus on customers and ensure enough runway to hit the key milestones.

What else? What are some more reasons startups need to stay lean after raising a seed round?

Following up with the post New Car, New House, or New Life Concept for Employee Equity Value, the reality is that almost all employee stock options in startups end up being worthless. Why? Well, 99% of tech startups never hit $1 million in revenue in a calendar year such that there’s no value in the business to begin with. Even then, there a number of reasons why startup stock options are usually worthless. Here are four:

1. Few Exits – Compared to the number of startups out there, and even the number that get funded, there are very few exits. Then, if you look at the exits in the Bay Area vs outside the Bay Area, the number drops even more.
2. More Capital Raised than Exit Price – Even when a company is acquired, if it isn’t acquired for a price substantially more than the amount of capital raised, the stock options are worthless. Investors structure their investment to get their money back first before anyone else in the event of a sale that’s less than the amount of money raised.
3. Leave Before Exit – Most stock option plans require the options be exercised (turned into actual equity) within 30 days of the leaving the company. Only, it costs money to exercise the options (the number of options times the strike price) such that most people don’t do it because they’ll be paying money for something that could very well have no value.
4. Down Round – When a startup raises money at a valuation lower than their last valuation it’s known as a down round. When this happens, common stockholders (e.g. employees, advisors, etc.) are often wiped out (diluted to where there’s really no chance of value).

Stock options, in most cases, should be viewed as icing on the cake. The salary compensation, experiences gained, and general journey should be the core value with stock options as a nice addition.

What else? What are some more reasons why stock options are usually worthless?