co-founders: hiring and firing

COFOUNDERS, HIRING AND FIRINGJAKARTA FOUNDER INSTITUTE 2013 – SANNY GADDAFI

COFOUNDERS

JAKARTA FOUNDER INSTITUTE 2013 – SANNY GADDAFI

DO YOU NEED COFOUNDERS?

How many?How do you create story together?What skill do you need on the founding team?

LONG TERM COMMITMENT

Background checkVerbal agreementTry itExecute itLawyers are expensive

COFOUNDER CALCULATOR*Which founders are coding most of the site/app?Who had the original idea and told the others?Which founders are working part-time and will join full-time once you get fundingIf this founder left, it would severely impact your chances of raising fundingIf this founder left, your development schedule would be severely impactedIf this founder left, it would probably prevent us from generating revenue quicklyWho comes up with most of the features?Who has a spreadsheet with budget estimates or simulationsSo far, who pays for basic business expenses like printing business cards, web hosting?Who pitches investors?Who is well connected with your target industry, providing introductions to potential customers, journalists and influencers?

* From http://foundrs.com

THE INCENTIVE (EQUITY)Not everybody understand and appreciate itDon’t give it away easilyIt should be earned, not givenMost precious assetIs more expensive than cashDon’t give it to a part-timer contributors

COMMON MISTAKESJumping too fastIssuing too much equityNot imposing vesting restrictionsNot requiring the execution of employment document

HIRING AND FIRINGJAKARTA FOUNDER INSTITUTE 2013 – SANNY GADDAFI

ALWAYS HIRINGDesperate of talentNever, ever stopGive time to learnDo not hire someone nobody knowsStartup is hard, look for passionate and smart peopleYou don’t need managers, you need contributors

CHALLENGESGreat talent are rare and in high demandYou can’t pay well and can’t offer any securityFreelancer earn more than you do

WHAT YOU CAN OFFERSell your dreamGive them status (cheap)Equity (is earned, not given)RespectShow them how they can make impact on the businessBonus pool

WHERE CAN I FIND TALENT?Linkedin (doh!)Twitter (reference mode)Facebook groups (community of developers/marketers/etc)Student associationJob fairBuild relationship with universities that have internship program

FIRING FAST3 months trial, check if the CV is true :pCreate a KPIAsk the employee to create a timelineAlways do a performance review