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| List of Figures | |
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| List of Tables | |
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| List of Sidebars | |
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| Foreword | |
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| Preface | |
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| Acknowledgments | |
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| The Genesis | |
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| Start-Up Opportunities for High-Tech Entrepreneurs | |
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| The Lure of Freedom | |
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| The Professional Engineer | |
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| The Recent College Graduate | |
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| From Technology to Product to Marketing | |
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| Is It Time to Create Your Own Job? | |
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| Issues to Consider | |
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| Small Business: Not Synonymous with Start-Up | |
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| The Definition of a Start-Up | |
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| Taking Risks | |
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| The Technology-Oriented Professional as Company Founder | |
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| Founder's Roles and Responsibilities | |
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| Officers | |
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| Title Inflation | |
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| Frivolous Titles | |
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| Founder Career Paths | |
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| Entrepreneur's Profile | |
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| The Nonengineer Founder | |
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| Life in Your Start-Up | |
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| Success and Failure: Statistics | |
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| Vacation and Time Off | |
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| Working Hours | |
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| Divorce | |
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| Holding Your Business Together | |
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| Personal Planning Process | |
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| Leadership and Business Basics | |
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| Allocation of Effort | |
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| Getting Down to Business | |
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| Market- vs. Technology-Focused Approach to Growing a Business | |
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| Delivering Benefits to Customers | |
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| Technology and Markets | |
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| Rapid Time to Market | |
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| When High-Growth Business Is Desirable and Necessary | |
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| Why Grow? | |
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| The Self-Employed | |
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| Investors Expect Rapid Growth | |
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| Grow a Commanding Position in a Defensible Market Segment | |
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| "Rule of X" Competitors | |
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| Attract Customers in Expanding Markets | |
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| Develop a Product Family | |
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| Achieve Critical Mass and Economy of Scale | |
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| Speed Is Not a Substitute for Strategy | |
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| Diversify to Diminish Business Risks | |
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| Create Career Opportunities | |
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| Create Future Start-Up Opportunities | |
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| Create Market Value, Attract Investments, and Cash Out | |
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| Start-Up Financing Terminology and Stages | |
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| Elements of a Successful Start-Up | |
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| Create your Management Team and Board of Directors | |
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| Management | |
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| The Entrepreneurial Team | |
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| Board of Directors | |
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| Advisory Board | |
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| Mentors | |
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| Personnel Policies | |
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| Signed Agreements | |
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| Evaluate Markets and Target Customers | |
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| Traditional Business Model | |
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| Customers and Markets | |
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| Define Your Product or Service | |
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| Choosing the Right Product | |
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| Finding Good Product Ideas | |
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| Marketing and Competitive Analysis Considerations | |
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| Exceptional Product Attributes | |
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| Producing Your Product | |
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| Write Your Business Plan | |
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| Form vs. Content | |
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| Types of Business Plans | |
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| Getting Started | |
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| Find a Team and Write a Plan, or Write a Plan and Find a Team? | |
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| When to Write the Plan | |
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| How Long Should It Take to Write Your Plan? | |
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| How Long Should a Plan Be? | |
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| Essential Tools | |
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| Good Business Planning | |
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| Business Plan Basics | |
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| The Executive Summary | |
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| Plan Emphasis | |
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| Business Plan Outline | |
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| Venture Capitalists' Typical Business Plan Contents | |
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| A Business Plan Checklist | |
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| Adding or Highlighting Sections | |
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| Classic Problems | |
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| Use Standard Ratios | |
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| Looking Like an Amateur | |
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| Understanding Financial Statements and Projections | |
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| Working Backward | |
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| Get Good Data | |
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| Do Not Ignore Your Own Data | |
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| The Three Most Important Financial Statements | |
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| Balance Sheet | |
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| Income Statement | |
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| Cash Flow Statement | |
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| Break-Even Analysis | |
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| Investors' Hurdle Rate of Return on Investment | |
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| Exit Strategy | |
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| Private Placement Memorandum | |
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| Due Diligence File | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Funding Issues | |
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| Investment Criteria | |
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| Cheap Start-Ups Are Finished | |
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| Looking for Seed Cash | |
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| How Much Money? | |
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| Seed, Start-Up, and Subsequent Funding Rounds | |
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| Milestone Funding | |
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| The Nightmare: Running Out of Money | |
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| Where to Get Money | |
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| Shopping vs. Selling Your Business Plan | |
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| The Term Sheet--A Practical Overview | |
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| Definition of Term Sheet | |
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| Dilution and Antidilution | |
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| Key Provisions of Term Sheet | |
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| Dilution Is the Number One Business Issue | |
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| A Sample Term Sheet | |
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| Making It Pay | |
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| Remuneration Practices for Your Start-Up | |
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| Salaries | |
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| Headhunters | |
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| Equity Ownership: Stock and Stock Options | |
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| Form of Equity Incentive Vehicles--an Umbrella Plan | |
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| Other Compensation | |
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| Employment Contracts | |
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| Stock Ownership | |
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| Risk-Reward Scale | |
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| Ownership Interest over Time | |
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| How Many Shares Should You Grant? | |
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| Common and Preferred Stock | |
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| Authorized and Outstanding Shares | |
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| Acquiring Stock | |
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| Founders' Stock | |
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| Restricted Stock Grants | |
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| Future Tax Liability on Restricted Shares | |
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| Section 83(b) Election | |
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| Transferable Shares and Vesting | |
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| When and How Often to Grant Stock | |
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| The Alantec Litigation | |
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| Stock Options | |
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| Stock Option Grants vs. Stock Grants | |
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| When to Grant Stock Options | |
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| How Often to Grant Stock Options | |
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| On How Many Shares Do You Grant Options? | |
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| Stock Options as Part of a Total Package | |
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| Two Kinds of Stock Options | |
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| Option Vesting and Exercise Schedules | |
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| Exercising Options--an Interesting Twist | |
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| The Future of Stock Options | |
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| Administrative Details | |
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| A Comparison of Tax and Accounting Effects on ISOs and NQSOs | |
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| Alternative Minimum Tax--the ISO Trap | |
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| The "Wash-Sale" Trap | |
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| Helping Your Employees Understand Stock Options | |
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| Other Equity and Wealth-Building Vehicles | |
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| Unrelated Stock Purchase | |
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| Tax-Free Exchange of Intellectual Property for Stock | |
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| Investment Through the Provision of Real Property | |
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| Warrants | |
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| SARs and Phantom Stock Plans | |
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| Employee Stock Purchase Plans (ESPPs) | |
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| Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) | |
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| Section 401(k) Plans | |
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| Valuing Your Equity Position | |
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| Valuations at Different Points in Time | |
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| Valuation Benchmarks from VentureOne Study | |
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| Factors that Venture Investors Consider | |
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| A Secret: Venture Capitalists Don't Really Use Valuation Models--at Least Not for the First Round | |
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| Peer Group Comparisons | |
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| More Commonly Used Valuation Methodology | |
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| Capitalization Formation Road Map from AVI Capital Management | |
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| Valuation as a Black Art | |
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| The Effect of Founders' Cash on Company Valuation | |
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| The Importance of Negotiation in the Valuation Process | |
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| Other Compensation and Start-Up Employment Considerations | |
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| Entrepreneurs Need Insurance | |
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| Do Some Planning Regarding Fringe Benefits | |
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| Use the Internet | |
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| Outsourcing Your Benefits Work | |
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| Life Insurance | |
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| Key-Person Life Insurance | |
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| Health Insurance | |
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| Disability Insurance | |
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| Asset Protection Maneuvers | |
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| Retirement Plans | |
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| Section 125 Cafeteria Plan | |
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| Employment Contract | |
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| Emotional Distress Compensation | |
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| Golden Handcuffs--When and How to Stay | |
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| Golden Parachutes--When and How to Leave | |
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| Summary | |
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| Part 5 Doing It | |
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| Protecting Your Intellectual Property | |
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| Copyrights | |
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| Patents | |
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| Trade Secrets | |
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| Trademarks | |
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| The Legal Form of Your Start-Up | |
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| Corporation | |
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| Partnership | |
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| Limited Liability Company (LLC) | |
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| Sole Proprietorship | |
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| Miscellaneous Legal and Business Matters | |
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| Work with a First-Class Lawyer | |
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| Making the Start-Up Decision | |
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| How Commited Are You? | |
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| Leaving a Current Employer | |
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| Stay Fit | |
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| What if Your Start-Up Fails? | |
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| Some Final Comments | |
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| Some Colorful Definitions | |
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| Definitions | |
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| A Foreign Language Test | |
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| Resources Available to Start-Up Entrepreneurs | |
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| Entrepreneur and Mentoring Organizations | |
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| Organizations for Women | |
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| Professional Services Organizations | |
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| The Small Business Administration | |
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| Venture Financing | |
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| Human Resources and Equity Compensation | |
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| Other Good Resources | |
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| References and Recommended Reading | |
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| Index | |