What do we “owe” our employees?

[View this email in your browser]( • [Forward to a Friend]( What do We "Owe" Our Employees? TL;DR: "What do we Founders "owe" our employees? For all of the work they invest, what return should they rightfully expect on that effort? Who determines that payback, and how do we determine what's sufficient?" There's a more implicit social contract at a startup, which says that if our teams are going to kill themselves and take on risk to build something amazing with us, they rightfully expect some rewards for that risk. Let's take money off the table — because anyone can pay money and we all understand that. What payback do our employees want that wasn't in their offer letter? Today’s Advice Sponsored by [Vouch]( We Owe Them Our Attention Nothing sucks worse than not being heard. We can almost map every major problem back to someone genuinely feeling like what they have to say just never really had an ear. The biggest casualty to startup growth is internal communication, but we're not really just talking about meetings and Slack messages. We're talking about folks no longer having the ear of the founding team — the folks they really committed to, and those that can shape real change. We owe it to our team to never close them off, especially when it's something we don't want to hear. We owe them a seat at the table, even if that seat doesn't come with a big fancy title. It doesn't mean they have to "tell us what to do" but they've earned the right to share their opinion. Side note: If you're an employee reading this, the Founding team or management has also earned the right to be treated respectfully with how that opinion is shared. We Owe Them Transparency No person would ever say, "Hey, I'd love to work on a relationship where every year that goes by I know less and less about how the relationship is going." While communication is important, so is a certain level of transparency. Transparency isn't just about letting folks in on big decisions or sensitive company information. It's about being transparent about the thought process of how decisions were made to begin with. We're entering a new era where it's OK to open up and discuss what's actually going on inside our heads. Even when we make bad decisions, it's not just about saying, "We fucked up." It's about saying, "Here's where my head was going into this, and here's why I tried to do the right thing with the information I had, but here's where it all went wrong." The answer may still be awful, but folks deserve to know how we even got to that answer. We Owe Them Humility Success is the superfood of the ego. As we slowly transform from struggling startup to industry titan, our self-confidence both personally and across the company grows. We feel that we have become something bigger than ourselves, as often our identity is intertwined in the success of the company. But that success cannot come at the price of our humility. We owe it to our team to remind them constantly that "we" got here — not just "me." Our success is a result of every single input from our team, not just a single heroic act of the Founder. We cannot find ourselves on a pedestal above everyone else, because it's at that moment we have our greatest separation. We owe it to our staff to stand with them, not above them. This list goes on and on. If there's something you'd like to add to this list, tweet me @wilschroter and let me update this article and our Startup Therapy podcast! [View the full web article here](. Attract and give investors peace of mind. When raising funds it is important to protect your investors. Most investors will not invest in a startup unless it has certain insurances in place to protect against risk. It is expected that all precautionary measures are taken, so you can execute on your promises. One unforeseen event can financially ruin your business. Although some risks are uncontrollable - you can use certain safeguards and protections to control the impact. This is where [Vouch]( Insurance comes in. Vouch is business insurance for startups that helps founders mitigate their risks. Whether you’re raising a round or hiring employee number 50, in under 10 minutes you can apply for 10+ lines of proprietary coverage, from General Liability to EPL. Backed by Y Combinator, Ribbit Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Index Ventures, and Munich Re—Vouch is trusted by tech innovators at leading startups. For a limited time, Startups.com members are eligible to receive Vouch’s top [discount]( on new policies. [The process]( is simple, effective, and designed for startups. Vouch speaks the language of founders. Don’t just take our word for it - here’s what the CEO of ShiftHealth - Lance Hydrick - had to say: “As a startup, you can’t raise money, sign a lease, or often sign a large customer without the right insurance. With Vouch, we were able to quickly get the exact coverage we needed without weeks of paperwork -- and get the peace of mind that comes with being covered.” Please go [protect yourself]( for your peace of mind. You’ll be happy you did. In Case You Missed It [Treat Departing Employees like Future Employees]( While saying goodbye to departing employees isn’t easy, how we handle it is totally in our control and can impact our future professional relationships. [What If The Founder's Personality Is A Startup's Liability?]( What do we do if we suspect our own personalities might be a problem in our startup? How do we know if it's even something to dig into? And if we do find out we're the problem, what do we do about it? [Founder Reputation (podcast)]( Reputation: we all have an understanding of the long term & lasting impacts it has on your standing as a Founder, but how do we cultivate our reputation? Remember, your reputation is very hard to build & very easy to destroy — so listen up! Love this topic? Hate it? Let's chat on social media! Wil Schroter Founder & CEO @ Startups.com [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( Copyright © 2020 Startups.com, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you joined Startups.com. Our mailing address is: Startups.com 1201 Dublin RoadColumbus, OH 43215 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.