Tinkerer, designer, space cadet.
Austin, TX
Joined October 2008
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Disheartening to see so many tech companies focused on increasing the TAM of destruction rather than the opposite.
ᴋᴏᴠᴀʀ retweeted
I interviewed the founders of P. Terry’s on Moneywise, Patrick and Kathy Terry.
They opened a 500-square-foot burger stand in South Austin in 2005, 90 days into their marriage, selling $1.60 hamburgers.
Today they’ve got 37 locations, 1,800 employees, and do $150-200M a year growing 20%+.
In 2016 a buyer offered them $70-100M.
They said no.
The only money they’ve ever taken in 21 years: just under $10M.
- $900K in interest-free loans to hourly employees
- Only $5K ever defaulted
- Every decision runs through the “Maggie rule” (woman on the grill for 21 years)
Instead of selling, they’re giving the whole company to their employees through an Employee Ownership Trust.
Fewer than 100 American companies have ever done this.
Full episode available everywhere.
ᴋᴏᴠᴀʀ retweeted
We are acquiring talent-dense teams @wander
If you are a startup founder looking for the next phase of your and your team's journey, please reach out to me.
ᴋᴏᴠᴀʀ retweeted
My life strategy: 1. Plant lots of seeds. 2. Water everyone's. 3. Repeat. – at Austin, TX
ᴋᴏᴠᴀʀ retweeted
To actually see music, we built a real magic piano! This is our DIY video of the Year, hope you guys like it!
@redmagicgaming #REDMAGIC11Pro #GamingPhone
Exit valuation needed (per founder) to take home $10M as a founder.
After the Series A, founders should own ~36% of the company.
What about after other rounds?
Median founder ownership shown below:
After Seed: 56%
After Series B: 23%
After Series C: 16%
After Series D: 11%
Selling too much of your company too soon can lead to problems.
Many VCs look to make sure the founding team is incentivized enough to keep pushing forward.
And to make sure they get the payout they deserve at exit (!)
Typically, if your startup does not match the above founder percentages after each round, the VC will give a term sheet that "corrects" this.
The image shows founder ownership at IPO.
It varies greatly across companies.
Being intentional about your cap table at every stage is CRITICAL.
For those thinking about fundraising, understand what essential pages to include in your pitch deck here: nicdetommaso.beehiiv.com/p/9…
Sources: Carta, Craft. co
Today more than ever, it's easier to stand out by building a great product, providing great support, and owning your own audience.
