My belief in startups is that the only IP is execution. Ideas are cheap.
When running a business you are making hundreds of decisions a month (maybe thousands). Unless they know and can make the same ones roughly, they can't replicate your success.
Do you have an example of how not being quiet hurt your/someone else's moat?
Good points except for the last one about keeping shut. Being tight lipped and paranoid is not how winners operate. Share your success and lessons. Be open.
Regarding equity, I was set on this being a bootstrapped business, so I offered 8% at 50h/week over 2 years, vested monthly (unconventional ik). And a few extra % if they stayed 2 years (depends on how many remain). I didn't require full-time, and allowed 20h/week, and equity was proportional to time put in. My stake would was 16%.
I eventually hired 3 full time devs offshore after realizing almost no one has the risk appetite. $500/mo avg. 2 were duds who I removed after a month each, but the last one was great. Learned my hiring lessons.
Consulting would have been difficult because I spent day and night on the startup.
Letting people work 1/2 time on my project and consult the other is smart. I would just have to secure the clients. I will consider that in the future.
I gave people the option to work 20-50h/week, but no one took up that offer. The only people who joined were 5 people:
- 3 friends I knew from online and did projects with before.
- 1 person I met from reddit and also a unemployed 2024 grad (but she was still money hungry, left 2mo after while being only part-time).
- 1 person from YC combinator. Great guy and former founder, but he had to leave 3w in due to a lawsuit abroad.
When running a business you are making hundreds of decisions a month (maybe thousands). Unless they know and can make the same ones roughly, they can't replicate your success.
Do you have an example of how not being quiet hurt your/someone else's moat?