This week's additions focus on mindset, founder stories, and leadership, with new digests from Noah Kagan, Silicon Valley Girl, and Joanna Wiebe. Highlights include Soylent's polarising name was advice ignored — and worth hundreds of millions. Printed posters sell for $100+ while costing a fraction to produce

Equity & cap tables

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How much equity to give early startup employees

Y Combinator January 25, 2021

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Equity & cap tables 9

Hiring & recruitment 5

• First employees typically get 1–2%; plan the full pool before distributing
• Equity is a tool to boost success odds, not a pie to divide
• No successful founder has ever regretted being generous with early equity

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Unit economics

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How to calculate burn rate, runway, and growth rate

Y Combinator January 25, 2021

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Unit economics 9

• Burn rate tracks cash flow, not profit — signed contracts don't count.
• Growth rate must be compounded; a 6x gain over 6 months is ~35% CMGR, not 100%.
• Misusing MRR or non-compounded growth signals incompetence to investors.

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