Found+READ: Comments by Jay Parkhill

Jay Parkhill — Thu, 03 May 2007 05:36:11 GMT

Prashant,

I wrote a case study on Jumpcut that deals a lot with founder/team dynamics. That company was founded by two guys who didn’t know each other, but got together and decided to work on a trial basis.

Ironically, they then only hired people they knew well. Check out my study at
www.startup-review.com for details.

Good luck!

Jay Parkhill — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 05:18:48 GMT

These are *great* tips. I realized a couple of years ago that I am always more comfortable when I’m able to convince myself I am a host rather than a guest.

Another tip I’d add is to look for people who seem more uncomfortable than you, then go talk to them.

Jay Parkhill — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 02:00:42 GMT

I would add #8, which is to carefully diligence one’s partners before joining up with them.

This applies equally to investors, co-founders, employees, etc. Get references, ask the people how they managed bad situations, find out the reasons for any negative feedback.

Jay Parkhill — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:00:38 GMT

Both of these comments are right on. Your employer will only have rights to work you produce for the employer.
This might get tricky if you are being hired to do something similar to your independent idea. It’s easy to see there how the employer could claim all rights.
You should also exclude your ideas on the Inventions Agreement you will likely sign when you start work- though without specifics the exclusion will be less effective.
At the end of it, if your new job will have you doing something close to your own ideas you may not be able to keep your ideas to yourself. Think carefully about whether you want to give that up before you take the job.

Jay Parkhill — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 02:47:15 GMT

Ha! The heading was supposed to read “how to work WITH your lawyer”, but it guess it works as is. ;-)

Jay

Jay Parkhill — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:32:42 GMT

What Andrew said- it all depends on the valuation. If you can get 2 years’ worth of run-time without giving away too much then go for it.

If the money’s going to cost a huge chunk of the company then maybe you’re better off taking less and trying to build the valuation.