

From Homeless World Traveling Programmer to Funded Startup Owner - ZaneClaes
http://blog.streamified.com/post/19586439710/what-i-learned-from-world-traveling-programmer-to

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zerostar07
Not directly related to this post, but since when is getting funded the goal,
or even a milestone? Businesses have always required some startup capital,
which they would find from family, friends, loans, what have you, but people
never talk about their loans so fondly as they do about their startup
investros.

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ZaneClaes
I think that funding opens up doors to a next-phase of development for a lot
of tech people who have previously been bootstrapping. In this light, it is a
very logical "milestone" to be funded. The additional resources let us take
development to the next level, from a product born out of passion to one which
has the capacity to effect wider change. In traditional brick & mortar
businesses, funding was a sort of "of-course" step... but now, in the software
startup world, there are a lot of shades of gray. Being able to say that
you're funded demonstrates a layer of "we're seriously striving for (and can
reach) the next level of development."

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mattdeboard
This is a naive question but if you've got a funded startup, you're not the
owner are you?

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ZaneClaes
When you take funding, you may (or may not) give away part of your ownership
stake (aka equity). As long as you maintain more than 50% ownership, you're
still the owner... because you have the ability to make a "majority" decision
by yourself. So, I'm still the owner, but that may not always be the case (eg.
if we take more funding).

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jpdoctor
> * As long as you maintain more than 50% ownership, you're still the owner*

Maybe pedantic, but here goes: If you have given away so much as a single
share, the usual phraseology is that you are "part-owner", because you own
only a part. Saying "The owner" implies there is only one, which is false.

If you declare to the other shareholder that you are the owner, you might find
an interesting reaction.

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ZaneClaes
That's a good point, I suppose. Though, a convertible note structure prevents
any dilution at all until subsequent funding happens... but that's getting
even more pedantic of me ;)

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jpdoctor
LOL, fair enough. If we're talking about where the term "owner" fits in the
capital structure, then we're well into the realm of pedantic.

Good luck.

