What % of a company do you think a CEO should receive as part of his/her compensation package? Assuming they are not part of the founding team? And, what % do you think founders should try to retain after a Series A round?

The biggest question that i’d ask in this scenario is how much more capital do you think the company will require prior to exit (or being independent of traditional venture investments)? Investors typically do an analysis of this type prior to every investment where the investor looks at a range of potential exit amounts after a number of different scenarios of raising capital (good, medium and bad cases for example) and then the investor will make the determination if they’d be happy with that outcome. You should do the same.

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How do you know if a technical team member is ignoring you, is dead, or sick if they work from a distance overseas? How would you recommend getting in contact with them if ...

Answered by David Ullmann – Partner at Minden Gross LLP.

Lots of companies have to deal with these distance issues. Unfortunately there is not much to do now if you have already entered into the contract, unless they will renegot... (more)

We are a team of 2 non-technical founders in Toronto Canada with: wireframes, business plan and interest + validation from potential clients and end users. What would we n...

Answered by Dan Martell – Founder & Investor.

Build a prototype for $10K and get it out there. In parallele find a technical person to join your team full-time .. if you have to give them co-founder status, then do so... (more)

Mark, I am working on a startup in the internet arena and am in the process of working with a few developers on my concept. What tips do you have in finding quality technic...

Answered by Mark MacLeod – Partner, Real Ventures

Depends on whether you want these people to be co-founders. If yes, then no pay until you all can start getting paid. If not, then yes, you need to find some way to pay the... (more)

I am a founder and we are building a Saas model that is scaleable. I have a founding team who are putting in sweat equity but are getting paid a salary as I'm also financi...

Answered by Daniel Burka – Co-founder of Pownce and Milk.

It sounds like you know what you're doing and you're on the right track. I obviously know next to nothing about your business, but it feels like you're being a bit miserly ... (more)

I'm working with a 5 yr old software dev company that has developed their product with proven results for a few relatively large customers. However, they are fresh out of c...

Answered by Raymond Luk – Partner, Year One Labs

Why don't they a) factor their receivables and/or b) finance their R&D tax credits (if they are Canadian)? If AR is high then this shouldn't be a problem. Raising a Series ... (more)

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