Josh Brewer, Twitter, Warm Gun 2012

WHAT NO-ONE TELLS YOU
(BUT YOU NEED TO KNOW)
ABOUT JOINING A STARTUP
JOSH BREWER / WARM GUN / NOV 30, 2012

Thursday, November 29, 12

Josh Brewer
Principal Designer at Twitter
Former Director of UX at Socialcast
Advisor/Mentor at The Designer Fund
Co-creator of 52WeeksOfUX.com, Shares,
Responsive Measure & Fﬀfallback
jbrewer.me


So you wanna to join a startup, huh?


http://siliconangle.com/files/2011/01/facebook-stock-IPO.jpg


Beware, the siren song…


Design is in demand.


Startup Weekend:
Introducing Rise of the Designer

http://startupweekend.org/2012/03/19/introducing-rise-of-the-designer/


Fast Company:
Good Design Is Good Business

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1670679/good-design-is-good-business-an-introduction


INC. Magazine:
The 5 Hardest Jobs to Fill in 2012

http://www.inc.com/keith-cline/talent-shortages-in-2012.html


INC. Magazine:
The 5 Hardest Jobs to Fill in 2012
(hint: Design is one of them)

http://www.inc.com/keith-cline/talent-shortages-in-2012.html


Culture · Finance · Product


CULTURE


Culture ﬁt is critical.


Get to know the Founder(s)


“Understand the lengths the
founders are willing to go in order
to prioritize design. There's a
huge difference between
acknowledging design and
truly understanding its value.”
MIKE GOWEN


Be honest about your goals


#protip
Don’t be a hopper!


Work/life balance.


Find a ﬂow


Exercise


Nourish your right-brain


FINANCIAL


Money’s not everything.


Money’s not everything.
But make sure you don’t get screwed.
You are valuable.


Compensation
salary, equity, vesting, cliﬀ, etc.


$alary


Equity


· Stock Options
· Restricted Stock Unit


Vesting/cliﬀ


· Stock Options
· Restricted Stock Unit (RSU)


“Shares are meaningless without a
%,
a value, and strike price. If they
won't give you that info, walk
away.”
JUSTIN MAXWELL


Ballpark equity compensation for early-stage co
via Guy Kawasaki
Senior engineer: 0.3 - 0.7%
Mid-level engineer: 0.2 - 0.4%
Product manager: 0.2 - 0.3%
Architect, i.e., the “main (wo)man,” though an
individual contributor: 1 - 1.5%
Vice presidents: 1.5 - 3%
CEO, i.e., “adult supervision” brought in to replace the
founder: 5 - 10%

blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/03/nine_questions.html


Burn-rate, Balance & Runway


Get your oﬀer in writing.


#protip
A great accountant can save your ass.
(preferably one with experience dealing with startups)


Investors & Board of Directors

*Both culture and ﬁnance

Some terminology…


Investors are part of the make-up of
the Board of Directors.


The company needs the Board’s
approval to do just about anything
signiﬁcant…


So know who sits on the Board.


PRODUCT


What is the product development
philosophy?


Lean/MVP


Move fast and break things.
(Facebook)


Be rigorous and get it right/Ship it
(Twitter)


“Throwing spaghetti against the wall
to see if it sticks”
(too many companies)


Data-informed > data-driven


A/B test with your eyes wide open.


If you can build it, you will…
(and you should)


Prototype with real data.


Check your ego at the door.


THANK YOU


Josh Brewer, Twitter, Warm Gun 2012

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