Daily Edition · Page 12

THE DAILY INDEX

Technology, AI, software, security, crypto and business

GENERAL

TLDR Founders

NEW ICONIQ BENCHMARKS | AI-NATIVE METRICS ARE INSANE...

A board member sends you a chart of startups reaching $100 million in recurring revenue in a few quarters. Are you supposed to build next year's plan around that? ICONIQ's Pacesetter Index starts with selected AI-native companies, primarily from its own portfolio, then singles out the strongest performers. That's a much narrower group than the top quarter of all startups. Before using those numbers as a target, compare company size and how much cash each business spends to grow. The chart may show a pace you want without showing a bill you can afford.

THE NEW BATTLEGROUND IN GTM

Someone who loved your product moves to a new company. You could send the same congratulations-and-pitch email they'll get from everyone else. Or you could bring up what they actually accomplished with your product and ask whether they're tackling something similar in the new role. One workflow here waits a month before making that approach. Another reopens lost deals when the original obstacle changes, such as a budget or executive. The reason to reach out comes from what happened in the account, rather than how long it's been since the last email.

6-7 LOOPS WE USE EVERY DAY TO MAKE POSTHOG SELF-DRIVING

A bug report often starts a second conversation. What were you doing? Where did it break? Can you make it happen again? PostHog connects feedback submitted inside the product to agents that investigate and propose fixes. In one example, an investigation report arrived within five minutes, followed by a proposed code change eight minutes later. Other workflows investigate error spikes and inspect session recordings. Each step passes its findings to the next, reducing how much someone has to reconstruct before they can start fixing the problem.

WHO CONTROLS YOUR STARTUP? WHY GOVERNANCE MATTERS FROM DAY ONE

You can own a large share of your company and still lose your job in one board meeting. That happened to Zenefits' cofounder CEO: removing him did not require a shareholder vote. Figma offers a different example, with its cofounder holding roughly 9% of the equity but just over half the voting power. This guide separates ownership, voting rights, and board control. When reviewing a term sheet, work through who appoints each director, who can replace them, and what happens to those rights in the next round.

PEOPLE FIRST EQUITY PLANS

An employee can earn stock options and still be unable to afford exercising them. Athyna designed its equity plan around that problem, setting aside 20% of the company and granting restricted stock units rather than options employees must purchase. Its plan combines time-based vesting with a liquidity event before shares transfer. Everyone receives a grant, including interns, with amounts varying by role and seniority. The company also walks employees through what they own, what happens if they leave, and how future fundraising changes their percentage.

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