The “how much money do we need” number also is linked to your credibility as founders. If you are first-time founders without a strong track record, you should target raising $250K–$1M in a seed round. If you are the graduate of a top-notch accelerator or have an impressive reputation for success in your field, you can go much higher with your

When hiring someone for a role you don’t understand, try before you buy: make the role a temporary one and use a series of short-term contracts until you get a sense of what you’re looking for.

Fourth, consider setting up a reward program for referrals. If it’s going to cost you $25K to pay a recruiter to fill the position, it’s not crazy to spend some of that on your team instead. Just a word of caution: reward programs can set up some weird dynamics. Your team may suddenly feel like they’re selling their friends out for a bonus instead

Startups don’t outthink their competitors; they outexecute them. The best startups have founders who stay in sync, but work independently. And there’s a single magic ingredient that makes this work: trust.

This number will get you started. And if you remember the discussion from the previous chapter, you can now multiply this amount by 3–5x to get a ballpark of what kind of valuation you’ll probably see when you get a term sheet.

We send the candidate a real job offer. It’s pegged to the 50th percentile (higher than half of salaries at companies our size for that position) and has a generous stock grant. Then we give a little speech. It goes like this: We think you’re a fantastic developer/marketer/glassblower, and we’re really excited to make you an offer. We do it a

Candidates who come in through referrals are more likely to be hired, more likely to last out the year, and more likely to succeed in performance reviews. Referral candidates are simply better candidates.

But if you’re raising a first round of investment from a variety of investors, it could go either way. Conventional wisdom says to push for debt. Some companies will use this as a concession — switching from debt to a priced round as a negotiating tactic. Others will dig on the debt structure and make other concessions instead.

Decisions within 10 business days.