Are you kidding me! Is it really you, Nick? I love you, man! And stop this charade of "seeking advice" on a startup forum.
10 karma · joined April 6, 2007
Seeking two world class hackers to be my confidantes and co-founders. I have defined the path to success; I need you to translate it into logical components and hack away at it. First release can occur within 4 weeks of your sign-in. We follow the principles of agile dvelopment and the "release early, modify rapidly" mantra.
We will aim for a rapid exit, say 12 months from the date of first release, You will be challenged every step of the way, and this is not for the faint of heart. I will guarantee a minimum $250K exit to each of you, with unlimited upside via your negotiable equity stake.
I have a working model with paying customers. I need you to transform it into a scalable product so that it can meet the overwhelming demand.
And there are other factors. If your compensation becomes a benchmark for the rest of the team, now your company is in real trouble. You can't expect to hire key team members at less than the norm. It just won't happen. VCs know that.
Also, a VC's main job is to put out as much of their committed capital as possible into good deals. Allocating a large part of a preferred equity tranche to fund the maintenance and creation of a solid team is the right thing to do.
And comparing with large companies is not apples to apples. That's a different world; here's an extreme example of that world: http://valleywag.com/tech/greed/the-grotesque-1-salary-251104.php
In the Bay Area, VCs expect and want the founder/CEO to make approximately $150K to $175K per year after the VC round (i.e. Seies A). I have confirmed this by asking VC panels here in Orange County during open-mike sessions.
What should be clearly understood is that you are actually financing a part of that compensation via your significant equity dilution that would result from the new vesting schedule put in place by the VC! You typically can't escape this new vesting if you want VC money...which is why PG's question about how much cash will you take to just walk away from it has real substance behind it.
Your skills: Database guru, VB6 tinkerer (not a typo!), browser-to-hardware connectivity hacker, RoR lover.
One co-founder can complement the other, so you don't have to have all the skills.
My background: 10 years in ecommerce at founder/ceo level. Have developed a working app by hiring coders, and even have paying customers, but ran out of money and went back to investment banking. But the entrepreneural bug bites, and bites real bad. Meanwhile, the app continues to run and generate revenue. A month ago, I came across PG's writings and this forum, and now I am convinced that I was doing it wrong - instead of paying unmotivated coders, I should have brought on two hackers as my partners and co-founders.
Ideally, you should be based in Orange County CA where I am, so we can fully develop the core system in the next few months. We will then apply to YC's fall program, so you must be willing to move to the Bay Area.
While I am confident that YC will accept us (PG's Viaweb experience will create tremendous leverage), there are two other routes we can take - apply for Charles River's $100k-$250K program, or completely bootstrap this and not seek any outside capital.
Your equity is fully negotiable. If you are a true hacker, I need you and you need me. This Steve Jobs is seeking two Wozniaks!
Send me your background info to: me.jobs.r.u.woz at gee male dott comm.