yogesch

So I do both tech and business, and I am okay at either - up to a certain level. This has allowed me to build the mvp and start demo'ing it to customers.

The product itself doesn't involve building fundamentally new tech, but mostly leverages/repackages existing opensource tools. So most of the technical skills involved are more devops type than pure dev.

To get to product market fit, I need to bring in other people. I already have a couple of folks to help with business development. Now I also need an engineer to supplement/replace me.

I have a couple of good choices - people with both devops and dev skills that I need. However one of them is purely technical and very good at it. The other also has a devops background but additionally, owned a webdev shop in the past, so they have some skills/sense on the business side as well.

Which sort of profile should I choose? How should I decide? Any pointers will be very appreciated.

Add/edit: all the business dev folks are on commission-only. The new tech person will also be equity-only (might translate to % of revenue as payout). No salary for anyone right now.

Hello,

Some of the most pertinent practical questions for founders concern the finances and shareholding of the new venture funded startup.

Specifically:

1. How to vest founder shares without too much of a tax burden.

2. How to share equity (ESOPs vs RSUs) without too much of a upfront tax burden on the initial few employees.

3. How to retain long term voting control.

Most of the "good" resources I find on the web on these topics are written from a US PoV. I would be grateful if someone here experienced with these topics could share some info/links specifically applicable to Indian founders.

PS: Humble suggestion: Seeing as YC is getting more active in India, perhaps someone on staff has an incentive to write up or put together some info pieces on these topics, to help out Indian founders.

Many thanks

This is somewhat specific to people with experience working on the full stack of a product - from frontend to db design. I want to understand how you start approaching a solution.

What's your favorite starting point - the frontend/UI/UX, the server, or the DB design? As a practical example, suppose you have an idea for a solution to a problem you wish to build out. How would you start about it - with frontend mockups, or with a db design?

Are there recommended approaches / best practices for the scenario where one person is building the full stack? Or is it just a matter or personal preference? I assume standard practices (agile, etc.) are too elaborate for a single person (are they?).