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Many Small Stock Grants Over Time Should Be the Rule in Start-Ups

Keith Cline — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:56:54 +0000

Release Date:

Thu, 05/24/2012

Author:

Andy Palmer - Serial Entrepreneur, Advisor, & Investor

Thumbnail:

Teaser:

In my last post, I wrote about how important it is for founders to take a proactive and decisive approach to crafting their ownership models – to the extent of being...

An Alternate Approach

In my last post, I wrote about how important it is for founders to take a proactive and decisive approach to crafting their ownership models – to the extent of being a control freak about it. Getting the correct ownership model in place up front is one of the more important decisions you will make as a founder, and it will guide you through key hiring decisions.

And it doesn't matter how many or how few employees are involved* – it's still important. Do you grant stock up front to new employees? Or do you delay the grants (either through vesting or follow-on grants) over some period of time? There are costs and benefits to various approaches, and many different mechanisms for executing any given approach. Having a great start-up lawyer is key: the best folks I've ever worked with are Mitch Zuklie at Orrick and Marc Dupre at Gunderson.

"Front-loading" stock options – granting large options up front to key employees – has been a popular approach in the past for many start-ups. But I've come to believe that a better approach is to give smaller stock grants up front (with relatively standard vesting of four years total with one-year cliff, then monthly for the last three years); followed by many small grants over time, at least annually but preferably every six months or so.

When you grant options in this way, you essentially create a "ladder" of stock vesting that helps ensure that the rate of vesting for any given highly valued employee is going up consistently during that employee's first five to ten years at your company.

Of course, you can always make exceptions, giving them a large up-front grant. However, I believe that such grants should be the significant exception rather than the rule.

Here's my rationale.

How It Works and Why

With a laddered approach, you're focusing on the RATE of vesting, not the size of the initial grants, to increase the likelihood of retaining superstars over time. Key employees who you want to reward and retain for the long haul enjoy an ever-increasing RATE of vesting: the number of options that vest each month or quarter after they pass their cliffs. This also has the benefit of minimizing the impact of bad hires, who – assuming you are doing your job – will leave the organization before they vest too much and/or will not receive follow-on grants.

The laddered approach has a powerful psychological impact on the employees. They're getting regular feedback on their performance. They FEEL appreciated on a regular basis and their efforts are recognized by the company through ownership, the most valuable form of compensation in mission-driven startups. The sacrifices they are making are often “unnatural acts” of saying no to family, friends and personal comfort in the interest of doing “whatever it takes” to make a company successful. Being recognized with more ownership over time, in my experience, means more to the average start-up employee than most investors can ever appreciate.

Another benefit of this approach is that it can protect you from a common pitfall: inadvertently selecting people who are great negotiators but perhaps not as good at actually doing the work and earning the stock. For example, sales-oriented people tend to view the negotiation as an end in itself, while engineers tend to view the work as what determines value and earns rewards. By appealing to mission-driven people who know that there is more ownership available to those who perform, you'll attract people who are confident and willing to prove themselves and for whom the mission of the company is enough to get them on-board initially.

Some Downsides

This approach does have some downsides. It can require a lot of administrative support and careful expectation-management so that employees don't expect both frequent grants AND large grants regardless of company and individual performance.

Another potential downside is that the strike price of options or the purchase price of restricted stock increases over time. So, the weighted average price for the individual is higher – sometimes dramatically higher during the first five years of a new company’s life cycle. This can be especially hard if you are allowing your employees to exercise their stock early. However, I suspect that most companies would be more than willing to compensate for this by granting a larger quantity of stock for the ultra-high performers. It’s a net-positive-value decision to give top performers a disproportionate amount of stock. The basis for their retention compensation is that they create more value than other people. Therefore, locking them in with more stock is equivalent to fundamentally increasing the value of the stock.

Ultimately, I believe that this approach actually costs the company less in the end.

I believe that the practice of large initial stock grants is nothing more than an artifact – and one that doesn’t optimize growth for the company or the investors. Let’s bury this practice once and for all and use it only as an exception not a rule.

* Except of course for the extreme case where no one gets any ownership other than the founder. If you are looking for examples of those, there are plenty - for example, Kenan Systems and Ab Initio in Boston or Trilogy in Austin.

Andy Palmer is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and advisor to startups in the Boston area. You can find this blog post on Andy's blog post called The Fundable. You can also follow Andy on Twitter (@andyhpalmer) by clicking here.

Software Developer

jpalmer — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:14:07 +0000

Company Name:

GL Advisor

Job Description:

GL Advisor is seeking a .NET software developer to join a project team responsible for designing, developing and maintaining web applications. The developer will be responsible for creating components that will encompass the UI, business layer, and data layer of the applications.
This is an excellent opportunity to join a fast-paced, start-up, team environment with extensive room for professional growth.

Responsibilities:

•Developing web applications using Microsoft .NET platform.
•Developing SQL Server objects (data modeling, stored procedures, etc)
•Developing WCF services using Visual Studio
•Working with other members of the project team to assist in designing and architecting new solutions
•Working with members of the business community to help design the best solutions for business problems
•Support and maintenance of applications including bug fixing, batch job processing, and service management

Requirements:
•Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field
•2+ years current experience developing in Microsoft .NET or Java
•2+ years current database experience, designing relational databases and developing stored procedures
•Experience in financial services industry
•Other nice-to-have skills: Javascript, jQuery, AJAX, CSS

Logo:

Application Email:

jpalmer@gladvisor.com

Location:

Waltham, MA

Desktop Support Engineer

jpalmer — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:09:56 +0000

Company Name:

GL Advisor

Job Description:

GL Advisor is seeking a desktop support engineer to join a team responsible for maintaining, troubleshooting and repairing technical infrastructure including: desktop hardware, operation systems, applications and office systems. Serves as the first line of support for all user IT support issues within an area and works with available resources, hardware and software vendors to provide effective solutions, break/fix and problem resolution. Work as remote hands and onsite resource for other IT departments.
This position is an excellent opportunity to join a fast-paced, start-up, team environment and has extensive room for professional growth.

Responsibilities:

•Setting up new users and workstations
•Configuring e-mail, printing, and file access to network resources
•Troubleshooting computer hardware and office peripherals, including Dell desktops and laptops, printers, monitors, faxes, and IP phones
•Maintaining servers and troubleshooting network and system-related problems
•Experience creating images using Symantec Ghost or other applications
•Independently research and resolve technical problems

Requirements:

•BA/BS or equivalent plus 1-2 years of corporate working experience providing computer hardware and software support.
•An in-depth understanding of Windows XP, Windows 7, Server 2003/2008, and desktop applications such as Microsoft Office.
•Experience configuring computer hardware including network printers
•Knowledge of Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, WINS, and TCP/IP.
•Excellent problem-solving, communication, and customer service skills
•Must be a self starter, highly motivated, and have the ability to work in a fast pasted environment
•Must be organized and have a ability to manage multiple tasks at once

Plusses:
oExperience with Linux
oAvaya VoIP PBX and Voicemail
oSQL Server 2005
oMicrosoft Certifications

Logo:

Application Email:

jpalmer@gladvisor.com

Location:

Waltham, MA

EMC acquires Syncplicity

Keith Cline — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:44:04 +0000

Date:

05/23/2012 (All day)

Teaser:

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) today announced that it has acquired privately held Syncplicity, Inc., a leader in cloud-based file management solutions. Based in Menlo Park, California, Syncplicity provides native cloud-based synch and share capabilities required by enterprise customers. Enterprise synch and share solutions are increasingly required by companies in response to the proliferation of mobile, social and cloud computing. Terms of the transaction were not released.

Source URL:

http://bit.ly/KPD4d2

Company Website:

http://www.emc.com

Logo:

Systems Engineer - Operations

melder9 — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:17:19 +0000

Company Name:

Cogito Corporation

Job Description:

Our company is seeking an experienced systems engineer well-versed in the software lifecycle and the management of complex operational systems.

The ideal candidate has a passion for software and systems; a drive to simplify complexity through thoughtful design; a well-honed understanding of how design affects performance, security, scalability, and usability; and the skill and experience to deliver reliable enduring systems that are a pleasure to use.

Role:

Participate in defining system requirements, designing scalable systems, and choosing technologies.

Integrate, test, release, deploy and maintain products in a live production environment.

Work directly with our client base as an outside post-sales engineer.

Support and manage internal systems and development architecture.

Responsibilities:

Contribute to the systems architecture of network-based products, including large scale back-end data management systems and high-performance computational systems.

Contribute to technology research and choices of subsystems.

Interact and coordinate with sales and directly with clients to understand operational requirements.

Implement, integrate, test, and release end-to-end systems for delivering client value.

Manage operational systems in production.

Manage development architecture and systems.

Qualifications:

Bachelor or advanced degree in engineering or other relevant field.

Experience in software development, testing, and maintenance, including entire software lifecycle.

Experience designing and deploying complex, scalable, and performance-critical software systems.

Experience with network and data security, authentication, and privacy.

Skills:

Excellent organizational and troubleshooting skills.

Ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical individuals.

Ability to maintain servers and network operating systems.

Broad experience with programming languages, including one or more of Java, Ruby, Python, and Perl. C++ is a plus.

Database experience using SQL and/or NoSQL based technologies.

Unix fluency (Linux, BSD, or OSX).

Experience with web development using Rails, Django, or the like is a plus.

Ability and willingness to learn new tools.

Benefits:

Work in a dynamic environment that values talent, creativity, and teamwork.

Gain valuable experience at a young growing company devoted to excellence.

Apply skills and know how to solving challenging and important real-world problems.

Compensation commensurate with experience.

Health care, 401(k) and other employee benefits.

apply to careers@cogitocorp.com

Logo:

Application Email:

careers@cogitohealth.com

Location:

Charlestown MA

TurningArt raises $1.5M in funding

Keith Cline — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:48:40 +0000

Date:

05/23/2012 (All day)

Teaser:

As reported by Scott Kirsner, TurningArt in Boston, MA has raised $1.5M in funding. The round included, NextView Ventures, who participated in the company's previous seed round. TurningArt is a subcription based eCommerce company that provides customers the ability to try artwork in their home before they buy.

Source URL:

http://bo.st/JI5auM

Company Website:

http://www.turningart.com

Logo:

TripAdvisor Q&A: The Future of Travel and the Social Web

Keith Cline — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:37:20 +0000

Article Source:

http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2012/05/23/tripadvisor-qa-the-future-of-travel-and...

Teaser:

TripAdvisor has been thinking about social technologies for a while now. Back in 2006, the Newton, MA-based Web company (NASDAQ: TRIP) rolled out a new social network, called Traveler Network, to help its users connect and share travel reviews with each other. The firm’s CEO and co-founder...

What every entrepreneur can learn from DollarShaveClub.com

Keith Cline — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:17:27 +0000

Release Date:

Wed, 05/23/2012

Author:

Matt Douglas - Founder and CEO, Punchbowl.com

Thumbnail:

Teaser:

A few months ago, the entrepreneur/tech world was rocked by the awesome launch of DollarShaveClub. If you haven't heard of them, or haven't yet seen the launch...

A few months ago, the entrepreneur/tech world was rocked by the awesome launch of DollarShaveClub. If you haven't heard of them, or haven't yet seen the launch video, take a moment to watch this:

What a funny, brilliant launch video. And it took the Internet by storm. As of this post, there have almost 4.6M views of that video on YouTube. And I'm sure many more have seen the video on DollarShaveClub.com

Like many of my peers, I loved the video and I was excited the premise of the company. I shave both my face and my head (yes, bald is beautiful), and have often lamented the extraordinary price of razors. From the outset, it sounded like I was a perfect target customer of DollarShaveClub. I'm tech savvy, shave often, and feel like I'm getting ripped off from the razor companies. Without hesitation, I signed up for the "The Executive," their top-of-the-line razor for $9 per month.

Fast forward a few months. Just a few days ago, I cancelled my subscription. What happened? How did they lose me as a customer? What can all entrepreneurs learn from the launch of DollarShaveClub? Here's a list of a few things:

Your launch really matters: Kudos to Michael Dubin and the team behind DollarShaveClub. They had one of the most talked about launches in recent memory. I loved the video, and I personally shared it with at least 35 people. The video created a firestorm of word-of-mouth marketing, and it propelled the company to early success. And apparently, it only cost $4,500 to produce. A great launch is very, very important to the ultimate success of your product.
Focus on your specific demographic: The video worked in large part because it clearly focused their product on a specific demographic. The humor was just right, and their site didn't try to cater to all people. All of the language on their site appealed to men like me, and they carried their brand throughout the whole experience. Even the buttons on their site made me feel like I was just about to join a club that was perfect for me. (Example: on the 'How it Works' page, the call-to-action button is "Join Your Kind" instead of just "Join.")
Have a plan in place to scale: The folks behind DollarShaveClub must have known they had a winner of a video. I imagine that the first folks they showed it to gave them a clear indication that it was going to spread like wildfire. And yet, their servers weren't prepared for the traffic. Like many others, I tried for days to get into the site. I eventually succeeded in signing up for the service, but not before getting the strong impression that they weren't ready for the launch. That said, in most cases it isn't practical to launch your site with a robust back-end. Even so, DollarShaveClub should have had a plan in place that they could implement in 48 hours. From what I've heard, it took them almost a week to get things stabilized. Folks like me are patient and want new companies to succeed -- but a week is probably too long.
Make 'Sign up' simple: DollarShaveClub does a great job of making the sign up process simple. They allow you to sign up using your Facebook credentials or simply by entering your email address and a password. The whole sign up process makes you feel like you are joining an elite club and the language reminds you that you're making a great decision "Who's the Genius?" Also note that the buttons are tickets -- another subtle nod to the idea that this is privileged admission to an elite club.
Encourage viral sharing: When we started Punchbowl, we knew that sharing the service would be viral due to the nature of invitations and cards (one host sends invitations to 25-30 guests). DollarShaveClub doesn't naturally have this kind of built-in virality, so they were smart enough to build in features that encourage sharing. For example, you can earn free months of the service if your friends sign up. Every time a friend becomes a member, you can earn a free month. They made it simple to share the service over email, Twitter or Facebook. And yet for me, I didn't need any prodding. I earned zero free months, but told lots and lots of people about the service.
But, the best product wins: There are some people who say that the best product "doesn't always win." I think this is true for some industries -- for example, it's widely agreed that Windows OS was not the best product but it was just good enough for business customers. But when it comes to personal care products, for me only the best will do. And herein lies the problem with DollarShaveClub. As I mentioned earlier, I shave both my face and my head regularly. And I simply can't get as good a shave with the top-of-the-line blade ("Executive") from DollarShaveClub. Why? I'm fond of the ProGlide Fusion Power from Gillette. In my opinion, it's simply a better razor. With its power vibrations, I always get a closer shave, without any cuts. Even though I used my "Executive" razor when I needed a quick shave, I never got the same result as I did from my ProGlide Fusion. And so I cancelled my subscription. For now, they lost me as a customer.

Will I ever come back to DollarShaveClub? I don't know. Here are a few things that would cause me to re-consider:

One mistake that DollarShaveClub made with the "Executive" razor was to ship it with only 3 blades per month. When I was using it regularly, I did notice that with a fresh blade, my shave was considerably better. So if they changed the plan to 4 blades per month, I would reconsider. Why? Because then I would be trained to change the blade on the same day each week. And I think that would probably lead to better results.
If they drop the price a little lower, I would probably consider it. I just spent $47 for 15 razors at BJ's. If I use 3 razors a month, that's good enough for 5 months. With the current price of DollarShaveClub ($9/month) it's about the same cost. Price is a small factor for me -- but if the price dropped significantly lower than $9/month I would consider supplementing my ProGlide Fusion with a membership to DollarShaveClub.
I know my wife tried out the "Executive" blades -- if she decided that it was a good option for her, I would re-start my subscription.
One more note worth pointing out: I just logged into my account to see if they implemented anything to try to entice me to join again, and I realized that I'm not able to re-start my account. I'm sure they are working on that feature, but now I know I can't restart my account even if I want to!
I'm eager to see if they add on additional products to their service. I'm not sure what products would make me re-consider, but I'll be watching their progress.

SWAMI SAYS: All entrepreneurs can learn a lot from the fantastic launch of DollarShaveClub. While they had one of the most successful launches in web history, their product failed to live up to its promise (in my opinion). If you're starting a company, what can you do to create a successful launch for your service? And if you're smart enough to dream up a successful launch, will your product deliver? Can you keep your customers for the long-term?

Matt Douglas is the Founder & CEO of Punchbowl.com. You can find this blog post, as well as additional content on his blog called The Startup Swami. You can aslo follow Matt on Twitter (@Mattdouglas) by clicking here.

Web Developer

Keith Cline — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:24:14 +0000

Company Name:

Abine

Job Description:

Would you like to be part of a growing company that is playing a crucial role in the evolution of online privacy? Are you passionate about the chance to use your skills and experience to enable regular people to regain control over their personal information while continuing to browse, Interact, and shop online? Then this is a unique opportunity to join an exciting and innovative company where you will have the chance to:

Work with a small and talented team of innovators
See your work in use and work directly with an engaged user-base
Participate in growth and evolution of a new consumer product
Contribute to growing a consumer-oriented software start-up

About the company

Abine was founded on a simple premise: people want their online privacy back. Focused on creating the one-stop shop for consumer online privacy, we want every day Internet users to defend their personal information online, conveniently and easily. Our security veterans are developing new and exciting ways for people to take back the control that is rightfully theirs. With coverage on LifeHacker, CNET, NPR, WSJ, NY Times, USA Today, funding from two great VC firms, and thousands of active users and counting, Abine is the online privacy company™.

Desired Skills & Experience

4+ years of industry experience
Excellent knowledge of hand-coded (X)HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and the DOM
Strong experience in developing standards compliant, CSS based layouts
Knowledge of JavaScript/UI libraries and their use in implementing AJAX solutions
Must dominate at least one of the following libraries: jQuery, Dojo, YUI
Understanding of SEO and accessibility issues and how they relate to development
Accessibility and 508 compliance a plus
Good working knowledge of the Adobe suite of products is a plus
Strong graphics manipulation/optimization skills using Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. a plus
Strong organizational and estimation skills
Team player and also a good communicator
Ability to thrive under tight deadlines and manage time efficiently
Agency experience or experience working on large branded websites a plus
Experience working with CMS, Portal technologies, and/or backend frameworks a plus, especially PHP, Rails, Drupal

Education

Bachelor’s degree required

Benefits

Competitive Salary
Stock options at Round A series funding
3 weeks of paid vacation
Health and Dental Coverage
Commuter benefit
Unlimited use of white board and gummy bears
Located in Boston’s Innovation District

Logo:

Application Email:

jobs@abine.com

Location:

Boston, MA

Web Designer

Keith Cline — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:21:54 +0000

Company Name:

Abine

Job Description:

Abine's marketing department is looking for a Web Designer to join their team. The ideal candidate will have:

Strong design skills
Have a great use of type, layout and color
HTML
CSS
Ability to work cross-functionally
Desire to early-stage start up
Thrive in an iterative environment
Strong communications skills, written and verbal
Like to be a part of a growing team but can self-manage and work well under tight deadlines

Projects will include, but not limited to, digital marketing, banners, social media, email campaigns and website work. Your style needs to be sophisticated and clean, not cluttered. There may be occasional print projects so ability to build basic print collateral desired.

About the Company

With coverage on TechCrunch, LifeHacker, CNET, NPR, WSJ, NY Times, USA Today, funding from two great VC firms, and hundreds of thousands of active users and counting, Abine is the online privacy company to watch.

You will report directly to the VP of Marketing and be responsible for all in-house design efforts. Abine is an early-stage company where everyone helps out with everything, so we are looking for a team player who will pitch in on projects as needed.

Desired Experience, Skills and Abilities

A BS in Art or Design from a university or art school
3+ years’ experience
Must live in Boston area and be able to be in Fort Point office on a full time basis
Personal user of social media
Ability to effectively manage multiple priorities and ability to take direction from multiple functional areas within a business
A passion for consumer privacy and technology products and services
Desire to be part of a startup environment which is constantly changing and extremely fast paced
Ability to work independently and also as part of a small, dynamic team
Experience working on consumer web brands a plus

Logo:

Application Email:

jobs@abine.com

Location:

Boston, MA

Likelii raises $450K in funding

Keith Cline — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:52:22 +0000

Date:

05/22/2012 (All day)

Teaser:

Likelii, a disruptive supply chain solution for the multi-layered, inefficient wine industry, announced that it has secured $450K in seed funding from Angel investors. Likelii delivers a marketplace supported by a new supply-chain infrastructure that works with the entire supply chain to extend the reach of all players.

Likelii also serves as a digital bridge between consumers and the supply chain through its patent-pending wine recommendations engine.

Seed funding was made by Thierry Maupile and Amit Tiwari. Both investors were early members of management at Starent, a telecommunications start-up that was sold for $3B to Cisco Systems in 2010.

Company Website:

http://www.likelii.com

Logo:

Boston Entrepreneurship Speaker Series: Brian Hayden, Heat Spring Learning Institue

BosEntrepreneur — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:56:08 +0000

When:

Tuesday, June 12, 2012 - 18:30

Location:

Bocoup Loft 355 Congress St Boston MA

Organization:

Boston Entrepreneurship

Summary:

What are the failure rates for start-ups? It all depends on how you define failure:

If failure means liquidating all assets, with investors losing most or all the money they put into the company, then the failure rate for start-ups is 30 to 40 percent
If failure refers to failing to see the projected return on investment, then the failure rate is 70 to 80 percent
If failure is defined as declaring a projection and then falling short of meeting it, then the failure rate is a whopping 90 to 95 percent

(Source: Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, quoting research by Shikhar Ghosh, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School)

We at Boston Entrepreneurship feel failure should be explored and discussed. Failure provides an opportunity to learn. We invite you to come learn from the experiences of a start-up that has experienced failure and has used that failure to rebuild their company.

Brian Hayden, co-founder of Heat Spring Learning Institute, will share his experiences on the rise and fall and rebuilding of Heat Spring Learning Institute. Within 3 years of operations Heat Spring generated $1.3 Million in yearly revenues; however efforts to accelerate growth nearly tanked the company. In year 4, Heat Spring was forced to lay off everybody, including Brian’s father. Operations were stripped down to just the two co-founders.

Over the past two years Brian has brought Heat Spring back to profitability and has looked to new opportunities of growth including the introduction of Cammpus.com, the simplest, easiest way to teach online.

Come learn about the rise and fall and rebuilding of Heat Spring Learning Institute.

Speakers:

Brian Hayden

Website:

http://bemss2.eventbrite.com/

Boston Entrepreneurship Meetup

BosEntrepreneur — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:54:48 +0000

When:

Thursday, May 31, 2012 - 17:00

Location:

Channel Cafe 300 Summer St Boston Ma 02210

Organization:

Boston Entrepreneurship

Summary:

Are you an entrepreneur? Do you work for a start up? Are you just generally interested in entrepreneurship?

Come down to Channel Cafe to have a drink after work in Boston's Innovation District. This is a great opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs, find out what everyone is working on, and possibly find some resources to help you move your idea forward!

This is a casual environment that will encourage sharing of ideas, brainstorming, and collaboration. Most importantly this is a fun way to meet new people.

Find us on Facebook

Find us on Twitter: @bosentrepreneur or @CoreyMarkTurner or @IDBoston

Use #BEM on twitter to talk about the event!

Website:

http://bostonentrepreneurship.com/meetup.php

Travel site Kayak buying tickets for IPO road show; take-off could be impacted by Facebook share price

Keith Cline — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:32:54 +0000

Article Source:

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/innoeco/2012/05/travel_site_kayak_buyi...

Teaser:

Kayak.com, the travel site with its headquarters in Connecticut but most of its employees at its technology office in Concord, Mass., is preparing for its IPO road show, the series of investor presentation that precede an initial public offering. Kayak first announced its plans to go public about...

Boards and Advisory Boards: Different Animals

Keith Cline — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:14:09 +0000

Release Date:

Tue, 05/22/2012

Author:

Christopher Mirabile - Managing Director, Launchpad Venture Group

Thumbnail:

Teaser:

New entrepreneurs show a lot of confusion on the subject of advisory boards and corporate boards of directors. It’s justified; there is some conceptual overlap. But they...

New entrepreneurs show a lot of confusion on the subject of advisory boards and corporate boards of directors. It’s justified; there is some conceptual overlap. But they are very different animals.

Think of it as a superset/subset relationship: a good board will provide some of the advice and guidance of an advisory board, but corporate boards also provide essential corporate governance, oversight and controls which are not the provenance of an advisory board. Corporate boards regularly meet face to face, whereas advisory boards generally do not. Advisory “boards” usually consist of individual advisors who have one-to-one relationships with the CEO and provide guidance and advice through less formal channels.

Once entrepreneurs grasp these distinctions, their first questions are: “Which one do I need, and when do I need it?”

Corporate Boards

In a theoretical world, a company would have a functioning corporate board right from inception. And technically it does under the law of the state in which it is formed, but at the beginning there are usually a bare minimum number of board seats, and they are typically held by the officers. These “day one” boards generally don’t meet and typically do only the minimum paperwork required by law. For a bootstrapping company struggling to build a prototype or find a product market fit, a formal board is functional overkill. Typically, raising outside funds (debt or equity) or gaining meaningful revenue are the triggers for beefing up a corporate board of directors.

Advisory Boards

Advisory boards, on the other hand, can be an essential source of advice, guidance, technical know-how and industry connections from day one. The power of an advisory board is hard to overstate – in some situations, they can absolutely make your company with key customer or introductions or investor connections or critical industry credibility.

Why? Because a good advisory board is more focused on mentorship growth, development and strategy, rather than reporting, governance, controls and the avoidance of downside risk. A great corporate board will try to focus on growth and development too, but as noted, they are not up and running in the early days and even when they are up and running, their governance responsibilities cannot be avoided, and can get in the way or at least take up a fair amount of board time. So in the early days the advisory board is the only game in town for mentorship and advice.

Who are these advisory mentors? There are three kinds of mentor you might consider for your advisory board: (1) industry mentors, who know your industry or technology and can give strategic advice and make introductions; (2) company-building mentors, who have been through the process and can help with the generic issues associated with building a startup; and (3) personal mentors, who are more like life coaches who take an interest in you and your personal growth and help you find your voice as a leader and deal with the sticky situations which inevitably arise.

Which one should you get? Well, why do you need to choose? You need to grow, your company needs to develop, and you need customers, right? You cannot choose amongst those priorities, so why choose only one type of mentor? If you could use the help, find each kind of mentor. Leading as startup is a lonely and overwhelming job, with big ups and big downs. Having some coaches to help you keep your perspective can be invaluable.

How does one go about finding these advisors? Some you’ll already have, even if you didn’t call them an advisory board member by name. They could be former professors, former bosses, relatives with industry connections, other people who know you well. The rest you get by networking. Since they can make an incredibly big difference, pursue great advisors with vigor. Assess where you are weak and need help, then ask everybody you know for suggestions on people who can help. Meet them see if they are a fit – even if they are not, the meeting will probably be helpful, and if its not, it is still valuable networking.

In selecting advisory board members, look for chemistry with you, passion for what you are doing, capability to help, time and willingness. In some cases, there will be an exception for people who are really just lending their name and credibility and don’t contribute much time beyond the very occasional consultation – more on that below. But for the most part, you are looking for people who want to jump in, help out, and be there for you.

Chief Synthesizing Officer. One note of caution: in running around and seeking all this advise, keep in mind that it is just advice. People’s opinions. It’s your company, it’s your vision, and you are the one who has been listening to the customers. Consider the case of new parents. The first couple times they go to the pediatrician, the doctor is undoubtedly the expert – the parents have no idea how to operate their new infant. But after living with their baby for a while and getting to know its quirks, the parents gradually begin to have increasingly strong instincts about what is going on – gas bubbles or something really wrong. Same thing happens with your company. If an advisor tells you to go in a direction that is strongly against your gut, get a second opinion. Maybe a third. Synthesize what you are hearing with what you know about your customers and what you are seeing in your market with your own eyes. Don’t let anyone talk you out of your dream or talk you into ruining your dream.

In terms of setting up an advisory board, I have already pulled together a list of key issues for you to consider in my post on The Power of Advisory boards, but I will list them here:

Christopher Mirabile is a Managing Director of Launchpad Venture Group. You can find this post, as well as additional content on his blog called ScratchPaper. You can also follow Christopher on Twitter (@cmirabile) by clicking here.

Yottaa raises $9M in funding

Keith Cline — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:07:58 +0000

Date:

05/22/2012 (All day)

Teaser:

Yottaa, Inc., the web optimization company, announced today that it has closed $9 million in Series B funding. This round of funding allows Yottaa to accelerate the delivery of affordable services that optimize, protect and monitor websites and critical web applications for any organization – in particular, for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Implementing Yottaa speeds web performance by up to 600 percent and improves conversions by up to 30 percent according to customer data. All existing investors, including General Catalyst Partners, Stata Venture Partners and Cambridge West Ventures returned for this round and were joined by additional undisclosed investors.

Company Website:

http://www.yottaa.com

Logo:

Sr. Software Developer/Distributed Data

cargometricsHR — Mon, 21 May 2012 22:11:26 +0000

Company Name:

CargoMetrics

Job Description:

CargoMetrics is a Boston-based data analytics company and leader in the analysis of global maritime trade. The Company’s products leverage a common technology platform consisting of an advanced database, proprietary metadata and modeling algorithms.

Are you passionate about working in a start-up environment with exceptional people, cutting-edge technology and great benefits? We need your help developing the software infrastructure for a complex and distributed cloud-based application.

You Will:

Translate ambiguous business requirements into detailed architecture and design
Design, develop, test and launch code written in Python, Java, Hive, Ruby
Be responsible for large parts of the systems architecture, scalability, reliability, and performance.
Be responsible for real-time operational support of the team’s functional areas.
Be capable of working with minimal technical supervision and engineering support.
Juggle multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

You have:
BS in CS or equivalent experience.
5+ year's development experience.
Core competency in Python and/or Java required

Bonus Points:
Foosball expertise
Exp. with Hadoop, Hive, Hbase and other cloud computing technologies
A delivery focus; writing high-performance, reliable and maintainable code
Strong knowledge of data structures, algorithms, enterprise systems, and asynchronous architectures
Understanding of web services software architectural and design issues
Background with traditional databases, ETL, and data warehousing
Experience with large distributed services
Building/operating highly available systems

We offer excellent benefits; 100% company-paid medical, dental, life, LTD. 401K and pre-tax savings plans. Highly accessible downtown location.

Logo:

Application Email:

careers@cargometrics.com

Location:

Boston, MA

Boston University - Tech, Drugs, and Rock n'Roll

OTDatBU — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:19:36 +0000

When:

Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - 16:00

Location:

775 Commonwealth Avenue, George Sherman Union, 2nd Floor

Organization:

Boston University's Office of Technology Development

Organization Logo:

Summary:

Tech, Drugs, and Rock n'Roll is a unique networking conference where we celebrate innovation in a high energy fashion. The conference is designed to connect scientists and engineers with entrepreneurs, investors and innovators. It will showcase emerging technologies from Boston University's research programs in the fields of life sciences, physical sciences, medical technology, new ventures and student-based ventures.

Provost of Boston University Jean Morrison will announce the recipient of this year's Innovator of the Year Award. This award seeks to highlight translational research at Boston University by recognizing an entrepreneurial faculty member who translates his/her world-class research into inventions and innovation that benefit humankind.

Grab a burger and drink, enjoy some live beats by Jennah Bell and join us as we enable connections between Boston's most innovative thinkers. It's all about networking!

For more information about the conference and registration, please visit www.bu.edu/otd/tdrr. Admission is free, but registration is required by July 17th.

Speakers:

Boston University Provost Jean Morrison

Website:

http://www.bu.edu/otd/tdrr

Co-Founders Wanted Boston Meetup

mhhughes8 — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:16:58 +0000

When:

Thursday, July 12, 2012 - 18:30

Location:

Harvard i-lab: 125 Western Ave. Allston, MA 02163

Organization:

CoFoundersLab

Organization Logo:

Summary:

The purpose of this in-person Meetup is to help you find a co-founder for your business or help you find a business to join as a co-founder. In the meantime, you should get started networking with potential co-founders by creating a free profile on www.CoFoundersLab.com.

Website:

http://www.meetup.com/Co-Founders-Wanted-Boston/

Senior Software Engineer - Cloud Computing / Video Transcoding

Brightcove — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:15:52 +0000

Company Name:

Brightcove

Job Description:

To apply - click here

FastCompany named us one of The Ten Most Innovative Companies in Video. Join us!

We are looking for a talented, creative and experienced software engineer to lead the development of the complex problems that occur ingesting and transcoding the huge amounts of video that get uploaded from some of the biggest names in the media and entertainment business. It's not unheard of for one of our customers to upload 10,000 videos at a time. We transcode video for a wide variety of devices / screen sizes and resolutions, device platform and players, etc., for publication to sites like the New York Times, Universal Music Group, Showtime, and AOL.

About you

The ideal candidate is passionate about building high quality, scalable products in an online service that iterates rapidly. As an engineer building this video platform, you will help invent and deliver a service that touches millions of people around the world.

Responsibilities

Design and develop solutions for high-volume ingestion and transcoding of video assets in a continuous development, integration and deployment environment.
Contribute actively in software design discussions with product owners, front-end to server-side developers, and systems engineers to build a service that keeps pace with the fast growing and always evolving area of video on the web.
Design and develop highly scalable systems that are optimized for performance and deliver outstanding quality video.

Qualifications

MS/BS in Computer Science or related background preferred
3 – 5+ years , experience with the full product development and release process, Agile preferred.
Experience building scalable, distributed, multi-threaded and highly available Web applications and consumer online services.
Expert knowledge of Object-Oriented Design, Analysis, and Programming.
Experience with video encoding and codecs is a plus, obviously
Experience with high volume transaction processing is another huge plus

Location: This position is based at Brightcove's new headquarters building, overlooking the Fort Point Channel in Boston's Innovation District.

To apply - click here

Logo:

Location:

Boston, MA

Software Engineer in Test

Brightcove — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:12:27 +0000

Company Name:

Brightcove

Job Description:

To apply - click here

Do you like breaking things? Are you the sort of person to spend hours collecting every last achievement in that game, every badge in that social application, do you like to push that Big Red Button?

Are you passionate about writing code? Adding features and enhancements to that framework that will make it easier for the next person to add to the barrage of tests that ensure we KNOW we are releasing the highest quality code to production.

Do you play nicely with others? Do you find the prospect of gathering with a group of co-workers around a white board to sketch out a solution to the latest problem exciting? Can you challenge the ideas of others in ways that provoke conversation rather than confrontation?

Brightcove is looking for a Software Developer in Test to join our Ingestion team. We are seeking a smart, energetic coder with that twisted mindset that hunts down the oddest of edge cases to help us build the systems that our customers depend on daily.

Job responsibilities:

Write the code that expands the frameworks that let us sleep soundly, knowing we have a robust system supporting our customers
Contribute in design sessions to ensure the team is building the products our customers want, in a manner that gets it into their hands as quickly as possible
Collaborate as the team is building those designs, to make sure they are meeting the high standards our customers have in terms of performance and quality
Identify, document, and potentially find workarounds for bugs in the system

Qualified Candidates will have:

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, or equivalent
3 to 5 years experience
The ability to write code in Java, or other comparable language
A Talent for thinking outside the box

Desirable, but not necessary experience:

Experience working with transcoding technologies
Experience with a wide variety of Video Codecs and Devices
Experience building systems that handle high volumes of traffic

This position is located at our new Corporate Headquarters in Boston, MA, overlooking Fort Point Channel and just one block from South Station.

To apply - click here

Logo:

Location:

Boston, MA

100 Beers

lindsey — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:32:47 +0000

When:

Tuesday, June 5, 2012 - 18:00

Location:

Julep Bar - 200 High Street, Boston MA

Organization:

MITX

Organization Logo:

Summary:

Believe it or not, it's time for our next get-together! Join MITX on June 5th for our quarterly 100 Beers party, where we buy the first 100 beers and you bring the fun (well, we will, too).

We'll also be giving you a sneak peek into the amazing things we have in store for the final two quarters of the year - like early-bird access for FutureM, a revamped Interactive Awards and many other great opportunities to get involved, get educated and get connected.

We hope to see you there!

Website:

http://mitx.org/events/event_detail.aspx?id=fead25e3-e888-4958-b34e-c54230e96400

Senior Business Intelligence Consultant

IronsideGroupHR — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:19:21 +0000

Company Name:

The Ironside Group

Job Description:

The Ironside Group is seeking intelligent, passionate and driven individuals to join the ranks of their renowned Business Intelligence solution delivery team. The candidate will be expected to deliver high-quality Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing consulting services to a broad range of high-profile clients that range from start-ups to Fortune 100.

For the career-minded candidate, this position offers tremendous opportunity to gain applied technology experience at an unparalleled pace and progress rapidly to senior levels within our consulting organization.

The main focus entails assisting clients with the development and deployment of the full range of IBM Cognos enterprise-wide Business Intelligence tools with an understanding of data modeling and ETL tasks related to these applications. The individual will be expected to work with clients across multiple markets and industries often playing several different roles within a project lifecycle.

More about this position:
The consultant will be expected to deliver high-quality Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing consulting services based on our Enterprise Services Framework (Evaluate, Install, Implement, & Integrate) model. The main focus entails assisting clients with the development and deployment of the full range of Cognos enterprise-wide Business Intelligence tools with an understanding of data modeling and ETL tasks related to these applications. The individual will be expected to work with clients across multiple markets and industries often playing several different roles within a project lifecycle.

Responsibilities
•Provide strategic and tactical guidance with respect to Business Intelligence implementation and sustainment practices and within large and mid-market organizations.
•Manage both internal and external resources, timelines, and milestones across a vertical set of industries.
•Perform analysis of reporting requirements and develop implementation strategies on individual client sites.
•Participate in modeling and design of Data Warehouse architecture; evaluate data enhancement, summarization, or aggregation needs; contribute to the analysis and development of ETL processes.
•Perform analysis of data delivery/reporting requirements; design, develop, implement, and support Cognos-based reporting solutions.
•Develop and enact the strategies created for a client.
•Provide detailed documentation and knowledge-transfer services to customers.
•Never stop learning new technologies and strive to become a thought leader in all facets of Business Intelligence.

Requirements
•A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Computer Science, Information Science, or related field.
•4 -5 years of experience designing and developing enterprise business intelligence and/or data warehouse solutions.
•Experience in ETL, Data Warehouse or Data Mart design and implementation.
•Working knowledge of Oracle and Microsoft SQL RDBMS.
•SQL programming experience (Ability to read/write/analyze SQL required)
•Strong skills in GUI programming, problem solving, high customer standards and dedication to accurate warehouse data.
•Excellent organizational, interpersonal, and oral/written communication skills.
•Experience with the Cognos Business Intelligence tools, XML, JavaScript, HTML or Java development would be desirable.
•UNIX skills desired.
•Regional travel would be required.

Benefits
•The opportunity to join and grow an ever expanding professional network of high profile clients and reputable colleagues.
•A passionate and approachable leadership team that encourages an entrepreneurial frame of mind and welcomes contribution to business development from all members of the team.
•A challenging, dynamic and rewarding work environment which fosters rapid professional growth in a space that is at the forefront of information technology.
•An unparalleled opportunity to gain in depth operational experience across a variety of industries and organizational departments.
•The opportunity to explore and put into practice cutting edge technology on a regular basis.
•An incentivized development program that enhances your skill set with professional training and certifications.
•Competitive merit-based compensation and bonus packages that rapidly reward passionate and driven team members.
•Small company culture, with big company benefits: 4 Weeks PTO (5 Weeks after 5 Years), PPO, Dental, Life, IRA with matching funds.
•A work hard/play hard, familial culture that loves to get together whenever we can for great food (and drink), sporting events, etc. We are equal parts passionate about our people and our work and we like to enjoy ourselves while doing it.

About Ironside
Founded in 1999, The Ironside Group is widely regarded as a market leader and perennial innovator in the ever-growing Business Analytics space. We continually uphold our reputation of delivering the highest quality solutions by way of only the most qualified and experienced consultants and we're looking for the best and brightest to join those ranks and rapidly grow within our tight-knit community.

Logo:

Application Email:

ekennedy@ironsidegroup.com

Location:

Detroit, MI

Senior Business Intelligence Consultant

IronsideGroupHR — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:16:31 +0000

Company Name:

The Ironside Group

Job Description:

Logo:

Application Email:

ekennedy@ironsidegroup.com

Location:

Atlanta, GA

Ember acquired by Silicon Labs

Keith Cline — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:12:55 +0000

Date:

05/21/2012 (All day)

Teaser:

Silicon Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq: SLAB), a leader in high-performance, analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Boston-based Ember Corporation for initial consideration of $72 million, subject to an adjustment for certain working capital amounts and potential earn-out consideration. Ember is a late-stage private company offering market-leading silicon, software and development tools for 2.4 GHz wireless mesh networking solutions being deployed in smart energy, connected home, security, lighting, and many other monitoring and control applications.

Source URL:

http://bit.ly/LlAlXG

Company Website:

http://www.ember.com

Logo: