Slicing Pie:the Game
The benefits of a dynamic equity split are painfully obvious once you understand the basic concept. However, if you don’t understand the basic concept you will keep making bad mistakes with a fixed equity program. To help people of all ages better understand how dynamic splits work, I have created a board game that takes players through the ups and downs of starting a company from start-up to sale in only a few short minutes! My original plan was to use the game in the entrepreneurship classes that I teach, but even my kids have enjoyed playing even though they are young (six and...
Read MoreSlicing Pie for the Small Business Centr
See a complete overview of Slicing Pie and how to implement your very own Grunt Fund. Mike Moyer, the author of Slicing Pie, presents the concept for the Small Business Center.
Read MoreDilution is not a Four-Letter Word
Few events strike as much fear in the hearts of start-up investors as dilution. Many go through great lengths to include anti-dilution clauses that protect the specific percent share of a company that they signed up for. If they buy or earn 10% of a company then they want to keep 10% of the company, often with little thought to the underlying value of the company. Dilution, however, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, dilution can be a great sign that your company is growing and doing the right things. Dilution is a natural adjustment in ownership that occurs when the company...
Read MoreRetrofitting a Grunt Fund- New Chapter Sneak Preview!
If you have already launched your business chances are good that you have already implemented a fixed split that is causing some angst among the founders. You now need to unwind your fixed split so you can get on the right track with your equity. This will require you to retrofit the Grunt Fund. Retrofitting a Grunt Fund is fairly easy as long as everyone is willing to cooperate. Getting Buy-In from the Herd The first thing you will need to do is get everyone on board with the program by helping them see the benefit of a dynamic equity split program. To do this, just give them a copy of this...
Read MoreIdeas and Intellectual Property- New Section Sneak Preview!
There are two ways to reward Grunts for business-enabling ideas and related Intellectual property: The first is to calculate the theoretical value of the idea and the second is to provide an ongoing royalty payment (cash or pie) to the inventor. It’s important to remember that ideas without action are relatively valueless, no matter how good the idea is. In the start-up world, a dozen ideas will cost about a dime, less the cost of the lunch over which the ideas were generated. Generally, ideas should not be taken into account in a Grunt Fund unless they fit the following criteria: The idea...
Read MoreNew Cartoon for v1.3
I’m working on version 1.3 right now, the main update deals with the “idea premium”. A number of people can’t get over the fact that I don’t value ideas. I do value certain ideas without which the business wouldn’t be possible. So, now there is a way to calculate the value of an idea… … I’m also going to update the cartoon at the end of the book. Below is a sneak preview, let me know if you think this one is funnier! This Grunt Fund thing looks pretty good, but I’m still going to have to run it up the flagpole for...
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