People Issues | A View from the Valley

Perspectives on issues affecting founders, startups and investors from a veteran startup lawyer in Silicon Valley

Category Archives: People issues

Option Grants: Fully Diluted or Issued and Outstanding?

posted Feb 24 in Equity, People issues, Startups

I’ve recently received a similar question from a few different early stage startups so I thought I’d answer it here. It’s a fairly simple concept but one that seems to cause some confusion.The question is: “When I tell a new hire how many shares he or she is getting, should I tell them the percentage…

How to avoid the top 10 employment mistakes made by startups

posted Feb 18 in Employment, People issues

The California business environment is highly employee-oriented and can be quite unforgiving to the unwary new employer. Additionally, employment law compliance issues are not necessarily intuitive by nature. The cost of even a single employment-related lawsuit can spell a quick end for most startup companies, so avoiding this type of liability is critical. Moreover, you…

Equity for Consultants – Keep it Simple!

posted Feb 3 in Equity, People issues

I can’t tell you how often a client calls me up and says something like this: “Matt, we have this great new consultant who is going to make introductions to us to [pick type of business partner]. We will grant him/her X% fully diluted shares up front, and every time he/she makes an introduction, he/she…