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.
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How do you assess the offer and navigate a term sheet, ensure you’re getting the best terms, prevent critical misunderstandings, and optimize your level of control and cash upon exit? HBS faculty, serial entrepreneurs and investors identified 3 different angles from which you need to examine terms.
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Most VCs have standard expectations about equity, control, and governance. Having a solid understanding of common terms—and their consequences—at the outset may help you in negotiating.
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Many founders conflate raising a significant amount of venture capital or getting a high valuation as validation of their current business model. But as you scale, past behaviors stop working effectively and often processes are strained and break. How do you avoid the most common scaling mistakes?
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Many startups make fatal mistakes when calculating how much they need to scale. These 3 essential things can help you figure out how much capital you need to raise to scale effectively, without getting overwhelmed by options and opinions, or swayed by offers.
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It’s easy to find templates, checklists, and techniques that promise to improve your pitch. But even the majority of good pitches fail to raise venture capital. What drives investors’ interest? How do VCs make decisions? How can you turn your pitch into a great one that has investors eager to hear more about your startup?
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Just closed a round of financing? Funding carries expectations and one of the most important things you can do is learn how to leverage your board. This guide offers 5 practical tips on how to manage relationships with investors and your board, helping you to avoid common missteps.
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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.
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Asking someone to co-found your business is one of the most critical decisions you’ll make as a founder. How do you identify and choose the right person?
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