Hiring and Firing
When Should I Hire A COO?
I added a COO as a cofounder to my company. He was talented, had tons of experience and knowledge, and he helped me secure funding. There was just one little problem with having a Chief Operations Officer in a startup, especially an early stage startup. And that problem is… Startups, especially early stage startups, don’t…
Read MoreWhat Are Some Good Questions To Ask A Potential Cofounder?
I had known and worked with one of my co-founders for over twenty years. Two of my co-founders came through recommendations of other co-founders. Another co-founder and I worked together and had known each other for about nine years. The one thing all my co-founders had in common was they all came through trusted sources.…
Read MoreHow Do You Build A Large Company When Your Top Employees Are Leaving?
Have you ever heard the story of “The Traitorous Eight?” You can read about The Traitorous Eight here. I’ll give you a quick overview to save you some time. Back in the mid 1950’s, a brilliant scientist and Nobel Prize winner named William Shockley started a company called Shockley Semiconductor Laboratories. The company was based…
Read MoreHow Do CEOs Fire Someone Without Any Consequences?
There are always consequences when fire someone. Even in California, where employment is “at will.” Years ago, I was running a division of a company. Every Friday the company had an operations meeting that included senior management. The meeting always started at 1PM sharp with the CEO usually starting the meeting by giving a speech.…
Read MoreHow Did You Get Your First Big Break As An Entrepreneur?
“Brett, come with me and take your stuff with you,” the VP of HR said to me. We were in the middle of the company’s weekly operations meeting. The minute the VP of HR asked me to take my stuff I knew I was being fired. And being fired from this company was my big…
Read MoreWhat Qualities Make A Good Startup Engineer?
“What do you think of Kevin?” Our VP Engineering asked me. “I like him. He’s clearly strong technically, and his experience is spot-on. I think he will fit our culture too. “The one concern I have is he’s been jumping from job to job every two years or so. And we can’t have that happen…
Read MoreWhat Is The Best Way To Deal With A Popular Employee That Is Underperforming?
I had a cofounder that was very similar to the description of your employee. Everybody loved “Ken”. He was funny, got along with everyone, fit our company culture, and was a positive influence inside the company. There was only one little problem Ken had: Ken was performing horribly at his job. Here’s the thing, there…
Read MoreCan You Legally Remove Equity From A Cofounder You Want to Fire?
Oh it pains me to see the same mistakes made over and over again. Your cofounders have a certain percentage ownership in your company. And they have this percentage without the equity having to vest. You can’t just take the equity back saying, “We don’t like you.” It doesn’t work that way. The good news…
Read MoreAre There Consequences To Firing Someone On The Spot?
There are always consequences when fire someone. Even in California, where employment is “at will.” Years ago, I was running a division of a company. Every Friday the company had an operations meeting that included senior management. The meeting always started at 1PM sharp with the CEO usually starting the meeting by giving a speech.…
Read MoreWhat Are The Six Traits Of Great Co-Founders?
I had known and worked with one of my co-founders for over twenty years. Two of my co-founders came through recommendations of other co-founders. Another co-founder and I worked together and had known each other for about nine years. The one thing all my co-founders had in common was they all came through trusted…
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