Company Development Articles

Zappos and Company Culture: Why Different Works

Via XConomy on No Responses

You may already be familiar with the Zappos CEO’s unique hiring practices.

Image provided by: Robert Scoble

Talent isn’t the ultimate criteria to Tony Hsieh, the company’s CEO. His values are actually elsewhere. While talent has its merits to the CEO, he places particular emphasis on applicants that fit into the company mantra. They must fit into the 10 tenets set out by the company. Essentially, the employees must meet certain baseline talent requirements. But thereafter, they need to have the necessary tools to integrate into the staff. The CEO also offers a buyout to his…

How to Create Your Own Online Brand

By No Responses

The last time you were on Facebook uploading pictures from your most recent trip to Paris or commenting on your friends’ status updates, did you consider how those actions might be influencing your personal brand? Think about it: if someone posts a picture of you shoveling pie into your mouth at Grandma’s house, you probably untag it immediately. In its place, you might post a profile picture of yourself on the beach last summer looking toned and tan. Some may call that vanity, but it’s really brand management at its finest. From a professional perspective, let’s say you’re taking off…

Formulating a ‘Stay Package’ to Retain Key Employees

Via AVC on No Responses

Employees are the cogs that keep the machine working. Without them, there is no company. As such, during an acquisition or a merger, the employees quickly become the topic of the conversation once the money changes hands. There are a number of incentives that can be incorporated into a stay package, most of them involving fiscal benefits. Here are a few options: When you have large amounts of unvested founder and employee equity, a portion of that money usually gets re-purposed into stay packages for your staff. When your founders and employees have a large amount of vested equity, the dynamics change.…

The Software is Free, not the Customer Support

Via AVC on No Responses

One substantial deterrent to software developers interested in releasing paid software is customer support.

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So what do they choose to do instead? Some choose to release free software. The obvious benefit to them is that they will not need to provide free customer support. Instead, they can charge to resolve their customers’ issues. This sort of model is gaining momentum, especially when you consider how the marketplace was nearly entirely void of free software just a handful of years ago. One of the questions you need to ask yourself when considering the free…

How to Get More Converts by Raising Prices

Via Both Sides of the Table on No Responses

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Raising prices to raise converts sounds like a challenging strategy. Actually, it sounds downright impossible. But it worked for JibJab, and the concept is brilliant. Gregg Spiridellis, founder and CEO of JibJab, tried many different price points. Nothing stellar happened. Then they increased their price from $9.99 to $12 and conversion actually rose. How is that possible? Mark Suster writes: “Gregg says at $9.99 there was no frame of reference for the value.  At $12 / year he was able to frame users with the thought, ‘Am I getting a dollar of value…

Your Salespeople are Making Excuses: Here’s How to Thwart Them

Via TechCrunch on No Responses

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Salespeople displace blame and create excuses, which makes managing them a difficult task. Unless you know precisely what you’re dealing with. Over at TechCrunch, Mark Suster has compiled a list of excuses salespeople make. Understanding these will help you strategize and move your startup past problematic areas. They blame the product: It’s not them, their lack of effort, or their lackluster customer relationships—it’s the product. Teach your sales team Objection Handling and make it clear that while you’re open to input, you’re not open to flat-out disrespect. They blame your pricing: A…

Are VCs the Enemy?

Via Steve Blank on No Responses

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Ever run into a situation where your worst enemy was someone you thought was your friend? This isn’t exclusive to the elementary school playground—it can happen to entrepreneurs, and by the hand of VCs. While not every venture capital firm is out to get you, Steve Blank reminds us that VCs are operating in their own best interests—as should your management teams. “While the best VC’s treat entrepreneurs like you are their most important customer, and they add tremendous value to your startup (recruiting, strategy, coaching, connections, etc.) they are not doing…

The Tax Man Cometh: 409A Valuations and What You Need to Know

Via VentureBeat on 1 Response

409A valuations … sounds like a gripping suspense thriller, right? No, it’s a tax issue, but not one to be underestimated—either financially or legally—now that tax season is upon us. 409A valuations are used to assist companies with setting the strike price for their employee stock options, which needs to be at or above fair market value. And according to VentureBeat, this is need-to-know information. If your employees are getting stock options, stock appreciation rights, or similar instruments, and you fail to file a 409A valuation, “your employees…

You’re Moving, Your Business Isn’t—Do You Need to Reincorporate?

Via VentureBeat on No Responses

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If you’re moving to another state—but your LLC is staying put—you don’t necessarily need to reincorporate. But there are a few financial and legal issues you should think about. VentureBeat asked Doug Collom, vice dean of Wharton San Francisco, who said that while reincorporation isn’t always necessary… “Depending on the kinds of activities that the business is conducting in its new location, it may be necessary to qualify with the secretary of state’s office of that state, as well as that state’s franchise tax authority, in order to conduct business there. But…