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ScenarioBackground
You’re one of the members of a team joining together to launch a new project. The project is to develop a new web-service that will bring the Ashley Madisonconcept into the business world – it will let people secretly connect and go behindtheir business partners’ backs – to talk about their business problems, confideabout issues with their partners, and so on. The working title is “Project AshleyMadison Avenue”.
Instructions
Going clockwise around the table beginning with the person I designate, assumethe following roles in order, and then negotiate your starting equity interests in thenew venture (don't worry if you run out of people at the table before you use allthe roles). Work with %’s, and leave 10% for the employee option pool. Thatleaves 90% to be allocated among the group at the table
and any other founder-level hires that as a group you think might be required
(and if you do, pleaseidentify the jobs when you’re done).Be creative, be mercenary, be collaborative – be however you need to be to playthe role as you see it. If your profile is missing facts you think are needed, makethem up, but make sure they fit the character.
Profiles
1.Jane Farquharson
Jane is one-woman creative engine. Her biggest problem is turning off the fountainof ideas springing from her brain. Project Ashley Madison Avenue was her idea, andthe people at the table are all friends or acquaintances of hers or people sheknows, and all were invited by her to join the project. Jane has no background intechnology – her background is in advertising agency work, and she got this ideawhen she noticed how often principals of her small business clients expressedfrustration with their business partners. Jane’s not a wealthy woman, and knowslittle about financing new businesses. But she’s exceptionally well connected inthe small and medium-sized business world, a skill that could be useful as theteam starts trying to figure out how to determine what features their customerswould want. Jane lives from paycheque to paycheque, and will have to continueworking full-time in her day job as the project develops.
2.Ian Snedly
Ian is a reasonably competent web developer. He has no design chops, but he’spretty handy with code and website architecture. As a result, he’s worked for acouple of startups and a large consulting firm and has good basic skills. Ian’suncle, Ned Snedly, is a world-renowned optometrist, and the inventor of the “EyesFront” line of contact lenses – lenses for people with lazy eyes. The “Eyes Front”
disguises the lazy eye and makes it appear to be pointing straight forward. Eventhough this is disconcerting when the eye is not pointing forward, it’s enough of acomfort to lazy eye sufferers that “Eyes Front” has made Ned millions of dollars.
3.Peter Smith
Peter is a solid developer and an exceptional web designer. He’s highly soughtafter in the startup world, not least for his reputation for an exceptional work ethicand his many awards in the design world. Peter works lean and mean – he hatesdetailed specification documents for his work, and prefers instead to work inconstant and continuous communication with the client, often at all hours, goingthrough successive iterations of a project until the client is happy and the code issolid. Peter was fortunate enough to be on a team that sold its business to Googlelast year, and is only now returning from a year sailing his yacht “Still Not Evil”around the world. He has enough cash to live on quite comfortably for quite awhile, and is looking for a challenging project to sink his teeth into.
4.Samantha Brown
Sam is an experienced executive, with a long record of accomplishment inenterprise class companies and the startup world. She’s currently a Senior VP in alarge consulting firm, but after suffering through grief after the early death fromcancer of a close friend, and having her 40
th
birthday, Sam has emerged with anew plan for her life – live large, and with a purpose. She’s passionate abouthelping a feisty startup disrupt the business world and provide a needed service.Her well-paid jobs have given her a nice financial cushion and confidence to takeon new projects that come with risk.
5.Dana Jones
Dana is an experienced product marketer. She’s spent her career helping bridgethe divide between the geeks and the marketing department – she knows how totalk to both, and is very good at fostering trust in the technology team. Dana hasworked at several web startups and has learned a lot of lessons about day-to-daymanagement. She’s aching for an opportunity to work with a driven group of people and has the energy and smarts to do it. Dana just had her first child, andfor a few months will be working only part-time, and then from her home. Shethinks that after that period she’ll be ready to return to work full-time.
6.Brad Lehman
Brad is an accountant, and has just graduated with his MBA in Finance. He’s hadlots of experience keeping the books for small companies, including onetechnology startup, and has a lot of book smarts in finance. Brad has his ownaccounting practice, and doesn’t want to give up all his clients just yet, but iswilling to spend some time on the project at the outset. He’ll re-evaluate laterwhen it’s more obvious whether the project is going to be successful. Brad met alot of angel investors and venture capitalists during projects he did in his MBA, and
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