Personal Finance & Money Stack Exchange
Personal Finance & Money Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [start-up]

A startup company or startup or start-up is an entrepreneurial venture or a new business in the form of a company, a partnership or temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.

A startup company or startup or start-up is an entrepreneurial venture or a new business in the form of a company, a partnership or temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. These companies, generally newly created, are innovative in a process of development, validation and research for target markets. The term became internationally widespread during the dot-com bubble when a great number of dot-com companies were founded. Because of this history, startups are often assumed to be solely technology-based companies, but this is not necessarily true: the essence of startups is generally related to the concepts of ambition, innovation, scalability, and growth.

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How does it work when somebody invests in my business?

Lately I've been curious about how exactly investing in a product works, and I've been thinking about this scenario: Let's say I'm creating some mobile application and I manage to get $1m of investment money. In the following year, the application…
Dino
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How does start-up equity end up paying off?

Let's say I invest in a startup, either with money, work, etc. In return I am given a 5% stake in the company, but no salary, benefits, etc. When do I see money related to that 5%? Is it only when they get bought, or is there some sort of quarterly…
Soviero
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Start a business or remain an employee?

I am a web programmer with a family and all the accompanying expenses. I am trying to decide whether to: develop my dream start-up (which will take at least 7 months) with no guarantee of success, or continue with my current occupation making…
Mohsen Elgendy
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If one owns 75% of company shares, does that mean that he would have to take upon himself 75% of the company's expenses?

There are two founders in a new company that does not have any profit yet and is financed out of their own pockets. One founder owns of 75% shares, and the other one - 25%. There is a need to spend a large sum of money on a risky deal that may help…
Vlad
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As an employee, when is it inappropriate to request to see your young/startup company's financial statements?

If you work for a young company, equity in the form of restricted stock or options is often a form of compensation and a way to keep you aligned with the company's goals. But as a new employee you don't always know the situation you're walking into,…
user5770
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Taxes: what do I do about getting a w2 from a startup that has gone belly up in the US?

Last year (2012) I worked for a startup through May before moving on. Between May and now (March 2013) I have moved twice. Neither time did I think to update the old employer so that they could send me my W2. Also, since then, the company has gone…
Ryan
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How to compute worth of my equity?

I am a newly appointed consultant to a startup. I work in another organization which forbids me to receive any salary for being a consultant. However, I am allowed to have an equity. The startup management has provided following equity to me in the…
r2d2
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What should I look at before investing in a start-up?

A friend from college (and middle school and elementary school, for that matter) has talked to me a little about his company, a start-up working on technology tangentially related to Internet advertising. He's recently mentioned an opportunity for…
user296
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Why is this tutor agency startup so highly valued by investors?

I am currently a university student, looking to make a bit of extra money. I got excellent grades in high school, so I was looking into tutoring. I figured from research that I could get some clients from either family or by using an online ad site…
John Hon
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Greedy shareholder that does not want to dilute his portion

What needs to be done or could be done if a company wants to raise capital and one of the shareholders doesn't want to dilute his shares and brands all the others as "too greedy". The shareholders agreement contains an article of no dilution and…
M.J.P
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How did Theranos have any value at all?

Theranos, an infamous case of a tech startup gone bad, was valued at over 9 billion dollars for audacious claims of revolutionizing the blood-testing industry. The trouble is, it had done so with absolutely no evidence that it could accomplish what…
WannabeCoder
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Can my US company buy my foreign company for $1 USD?

I'm a non-US resident and I'm the owner of a Delaware C-corp Inc. I also own a company (equivalent to LLC) in the EU. Although I could "sell" or transfer ownership of my EU company to my US company for a dollar without any tax consequences in the…
Martin Herman
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If a startup receives investment money, does the startup founder/owner actually gain anything?

I am a bit confused on this topic. You hear a lot of stories now on how startup X received X million dollar from X VC firm. But I'm unsure whether the owners of the startup are actually 'making money' of these deals. For example, A startup has 1…
NeedACar
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How to structure equity buyout?

Years ago, I helped out a friend on his startup as a software engineer. Spent ~500-600 hours on it, was compensated a little under half my hourly rate + 4.5% equity in the company, because the company wasn't really making any money so equity was a…
Pete Jones
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Regulations regarding investing in a private business

There have been a couple of years where, after maxing out contributions to retirement accounts, I've had some disposable money left over that I'd like to invest in something other than publicly traded funds. I live in a community with lots of…
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