Lara O'Connor Hodgson, Author at ROCK CENTER STARTUP GUIDE

people seated around conference table, at a meeting, discussing how to get value from your board of directors

How to Get More Value from Your Board

How can you benefit from the experience of board members and get more value from your board? In conversations with serial entrepreneurs, we explore ways to reframe your relationship with your board. Learn to maximize their value to your business and strengthen your relationship.

Four empty chairs in a line. The words "Join Our Team, appear across 3 white chairs. One black chair, with no words, appears between "join" and "our." Illustrative of the need to spend more time on recruiting.

Want to Build a Strong Team? Spend More Time on Recruiting—Not Money

Studies show that companies spend more money on hiring today than ever before. Despite the infusion of resources, conventional hiring tactics yield poor results. Shikhar Ghosh talks with six experienced entrepreneurs about how to attract and retain top talent by spending time recruiting outside of conventional channels.

Strategies for Optimizing Wellness & Productivity

What can leaders can do to support employees’ personal wellness without sacrificing productivity? Learn practical behaviors you can implement immediately—and ones to avoid—to create a genuine culture of well-being.

Thinking about Firing Someone? CEOs Share Advice for Framing Your Decision

What do you do when your instinct tells you that someone has the potential to drag your company down? Deciding to let someone go is costly, complicated, and emotionally draining for everyone involved. Five entrepreneurs share tips on deciding to fire an employee—and how to do it in the least disruptive way possible.

3-tiered layer cake with white frosting, upside to illustrate layering value when structuring founder equity

Layering Value—A Different Way of Dividing Founder Equity

Lara Hodgson, co-founder and CEO of NOW Corporation, shares how she and her partners assign value to founder contributions as they change over time and allocate founder equity iteratively.

Two entrepreneurs seated in chairs discusing practical advice for scaling startups

Tips for Scaling Startups from NOW Corp’s CEO

Lara Hodgson, Co-Founder and CEO of NOW Corp, shares practical lessons she learned while scaling 2 startups, including how to build a powerful and passionate founding team, get the most from your board, and maintain balance as you scale.

Searching for a Co-Founder? Lara O’Connor Hodgson on Why Perspective Matters More than Skills

Choosing a partner who can bring a different perspective to the table help you balance the business. Lara O’Connor Hodgson reviews why good co-founder fit rests more on compatible values than complementary skills.

Graphic of blackboard showing handwritten words related to how to think about co-founder equity splits

Co-Founder Equity Splits—Ways to Approach Allocations

How you divide equity reflects your values, directly impacts your co-founder relationship, and influences how your team and investors perceive your startup. Read more to learn methods for dividing equity that align with your values and can minimize conflict between founders.

graphic of 3 people seated around a table, discussing topics before coming to an agreement

3 Topics to Discuss before Writing a Founders’ Agreement

You found a great co-founder. When should you formalize your relationship? You may be tempted to draft a founders’ agreement to demonstrate trust in the partnership, but before you make a legal commitment, make sure you’re aligned with your co-founder in 3 critical areas.

graphic of silohuette of two heads illustrating different ways of thinking: growth mindset and skill sets

How Hiring for Growth Mindsets Can Help Your Startup Scale

As co-founder, CEO and President of her latest venture, Lara Hodgson doubled the company’s growth twice in four years. As she prepares her team to double in size again, she shares her insights on team building and why focusing on mindset is so important.

Graphic image showing circle divided in half, indicating common mistake in structuring equity splits among co-founders.

Structuring Equity Splits to Mitigate Co-Founder Conflict

Before you begin discussing how to divide equity, the smartest thing you can do is to build in mechanisms to make your agreement dynamic. Learn the benefits and drawbacks of common methods.

People seated around a conference table, showing good relationship between CEO and board members.

Ways to Improve Your Relationship with Your Board

Your board makes critical decisions, including whether to enter strategic transactions and whether to hire or fire senior management. Identify and avoid the common mistakes many founders make when interacting and learn ways to strengthen your relationship and leverage their expertise.

Should You Add a Co-Founder?

Having a co-founder dilutes your equity and authority. When does adding a co-founder add more value than hiring an executive with similar skills? Understanding the unique role a co-founder plays can help you determine if and when you need one.

4 Scaling Myths That Could Impact Your Startup

During scaling, the role of CEO differs dramatically from that of an early-stage startup. Your focus will shift from proving your idea works, building your product, and getting others on board, to hiring a competent leadership team, creating processes, and being the face of your startup’s mission and culture.

Man and woman seated at conference table, writing a formal founders' agreement

Reasons to Write a Formal Founders’ Agreement

Research shows that establishing a founders’ agreement prematurely often generates founder conflict—a leading cause of startup death. Can writing a founders’ agreement help you mitigate future conflicts and save your business? Before you rush into an agreement, understand the underlying mechanics and learn how to customize them to strengthen your co-founder relationship.