Hi Reader,

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This week, we led a workshop on negotiations for founders. The main takeaway was that many founders don’t realize they’re negotiating all the time, whether they’re discussing valuation with a VC, working out equity splits with cofounders, roles and responsibilities, when and who to bring on for their first hire, how much to cater to the asks of design partners/early customers, and more. Every one of those is a negotiation, and if founders are not mindful, they could inadvertently be giving away valuable leverage. We published a recording of this workshop, check it out here: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts​

Covering the highlights from the workshop below, but first:

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Come to our free negotiations Q&A!

We’re hosting a few free salary negotiations Q&A these next few weeks before the holidays! If you’re in the job search, expecting an upcoming negotiation, or just have a negotiation question that you’d want our take on, you can sign up here:

• Mon, Oct 6 @ 12pm PT: event link​
• Wed, Oct 15 @ 12pm PT: event link​
• ​Wed, Oct 22 @ 9am PT: event link​
• ​Thu, Nov 13 @ 12pm PT: event link​

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The startup negotiations journey

In the workshop, we covered all the potential stakeholders that founders may find themselves negotiating with, see below:

The most important takeaway is that a lot of people think negotiations start the moment they start asking for more or talking price with any of these stakeholders, but negotiations start much earlier. Every conversation is an opportunity where you could be preserving or increasing your leverage or a moment where you’re losing it.

Take the example we often cite of a job application that asks for your preferred salary and you answer transparently. If your number is below their budget, they might give it to you and you just left money on the table. If your number is above their budget, you might have turned them off. Either way, you lost leverage before the obvious negotiation even began. (See this past newsletter on how to handle this situation)

This same principle applies for founders. When an investor casually asks, “What kind of valuation are you thinking?” or when a vendor asks you to share your budget before they’ve scoped the work, the temptation is to answer transparently, but doing so may not be in your best interest if you’re looking to preserve value for your priorities.

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Getting clear on priorities

One of the biggest mistakes we see founders make is not knowing what truly matters to them. They say “I just want the most cash for this fundraise or the highest price for this product/service I offer”. But often, the real priority can be something else: credibility, lifetime value, testimonials, referrals, stability, or simply getting a deal closed quickly so they can move on to their next priority.

The key is to do the work upfront. List your priorities, order them, and identify your true non-negotiables. Ask yourself why each item matters. If what you really want is a fairer equity split with your cofounder, don’t get stuck arguing for symbolic titles or fringe perks. If what you want is the Amazon logo on your site’s customer section, don’t nitpick with Amazon over every penny.

See below for a list of potential priorities to get you brainstorming on what’s important to you:

Final takeaway

As a founder, you’re negotiating constantly. Sometimes with investors, sometimes with customers, and often with people on your own team. The sooner you start treating these moments as negotiations, the better your outcomes will be. And the more you know your priorities, the better you’ll be protecting your leverage and the less likely you’ll be caught off guard. If you want to check out a recording of the whole workshop, see here: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts​

Are you a founder? Schedule a free consultation call to get some free negotiation tips from us here: https://calendly.com/alexhapki/call​

PS: here’s a snapshot of Gerta’s experience in the startup world.

Best,

Gerta & Alex
​Co-founders, YourNegotiations.com

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P.S. Are you job searching or have upcoming negotiations?

Book a free call with us, where we’ll learn more about your situation, offer some free tips, and explore if we’re a good fit to work together: https://calendly.com/alexhapki/call​

P.P.S. Know someone who could use our help?

Refer them and earn $500.

We’ve paid out thousands to people who just made a simple intro. If your friend becomes a client, we’ll send you $500 - no strings attached; just our way of saying thank you for spreading the word.

Simply send an intro email to alex@yournegotiations.com and your friend.

See all the details of our referral program on our website here.