Startup Compensation When You’re Cash Poor

In the early days for a new startup, figuring out fair compensation plans for the founders versus first employees and first non-founder executives is really difficult.  So much of it depends on company risk factors, full-time versus part-time work status, amounts of equity and the upside earnings potential it offers and more.  Basically, it is as much art as science.

This module is intended to introduce some of the “science” aspects of founder and early employee compensation, including a dive into stock option mechanics and associated recommendations.  Some of the content is also included in the Founding Team module in another course.

 Note that many of the suggested articles include links to related articles, some of which are also included elsewhere in this module. Following those links as you encounter them is up to you, including links to articles not specifically suggested for this module.