Hiring and Retaining Talent is Hard. Be Better

Founders (CEO)

I’m an entrepreneur. I’ve started and failed many times, but I’ve also scaled large companies. I have the benefit of being fricking good at making models in Excel which is why I decided to make these models for you. You have limited time and budget so if you are going to allocate time it needs to be worthwhile.

Whether you are a first-time founder, or you are two exits in and back on the horse, this model can help you understand how to incentivise your staff. There are just so many things going on and you need to be able to focus. I’ve made a very logical model which asks you to fill in the assumptions for it all. But I’ve done the thinking for you, so you just have to follow it.

Investor

Investors seem like they need to pretend like they have all the answers, but we know we don’t. The only way to know it all is to be learning all the time. For a small sum, you’ve got access to a master class to rocket your knowledge of ESOP. Whether you want to model the ESOP you request, or just learn, I have you covered.

Angel

You don’t have the benefit of working at a large firm where you can call over the ‘expert’ and have everything explained. This model will help you to take data from startups and model yourself. Alternatively, it is one of the best ways for you to start deep-diving into something you only have a little knowledge of and boost it up.

VC

Regardless of your level of knowledge, my bet is you don’t have a tool like this- I know because I built it as there was nothing else! If you’re requiring a tool to evaluate startups yourself, why build your own when you can get better than what the startup has sent over?

Nerds

The largest purchasers of my models are rich guys who love learning. They buy every single model that I ship because they know they are quality and even if they learn one key thing, it’s a no-brainer investment to them. If you haven’t made it yet, shouldn’t you learn from those who have things figured out already?

Advisors

Do you advise startups for a living? Do you frequently have to advise teams on complex issues and help them with their operations and fundraising? Many advisors license my models to advise their clients and they even have me do the work for them and take the fees. My models can help

Many startups ago… I built my first fundraising model. I had toiled for years in M&A so knew something about modeling, but man… what I built still wasn’t really useful and it distracted me from when I should have been executing, pushing sales, tracking my marketing KPIs etc. Darn.

Fast forward many years and I’ve learnt a thing or two. I’ve raised for myself and many others. But, there are still a lot of things that I didn’t understand. Employee options were something that interested me. I Googled and found one PDF from a non-profit and one blog from a famous VC. I called friendly founders and VCs and no one had anything on ESOP.

Fine. Let’s learn about ESOP. Over the course of 2 months, I wrote the only course in the world for founders on ESOP. But then I thought, ok, but how do you actually structure an ESOP, and again there was nothing. So it took me 3 months of agony and I made the only ESOP model in the world from first principles.
Whether you’re raising for your startup, or needing to develop an operational plan to understand how you are going to issue and manage options to your new and current staff, you need an Excel model to do the math (You can’t do this in Carta etc). The problem is, as I can tell you, that they’re really hard to build and I am the only person who made a public model.

You don’t have time to spend 2 months building one, you need to be executing like I wish I had. Sure, maybe you have an expensive, smart CFO, but they’re still running your company, and the ROI on their time to replicate what I am doing is ignorant. And come on, they do not have a clue how to do this!

For the cost of an hour of their time (or mine), you skip months of development and get straight into inputting your actuals and forecasts. This is a no-brainer.
Resent buying a model, and feel better paying someone to build a model for you? Sure, paying someone smart to build something sort of usable can cost $10k+. You won’t even get what you want.

This is the model I wish existed. I literally built it for you. I only build new things which add value to founders, not copy others.

There is so little pragmatic info about ESOP it is a joke.

I invented this model from first principles and two blogs (I read everything on the internet then, trust me).

I’ve drawn on my years of experience operating startups at early and growth stages to create something that just works. There is not a needless level of detail, nor a sparsity of assumptions to illustrate a depth of logic and insight.

Everything included has been considered as to whether it adds value and if investors will “want to know and ask”, or if it will simply aid operationally in your doing your flarking job! The structure also enables founders to change the model to fit the exact needs of their startup by just using drop-down menus.

This model is literally months of 100 hour weeks.

Are you building the next top startup? Need to smart hiring plans to negotiate with Venture Capitalists to secure a big round (and not get screwed on terms) or just understand your operational requirement in detail for hiring planning? Do you need a detailed model to understand every key aspect of your human resource business? This is it.

This model is for all companies that underpay employees and motivate and retain them through equity ownership (which is literally every founder!!). If you issue options to staff, this model is for you.

• Fully integrated and automated model: Get insights with as few assumptions as possible
• Standardised structure on each sheet: Calculations and assumptions are presented as simple as possible and structured to be as easy to follow
• Consistent: Consistently color-coded cells for formulas, links, and assumptions applying best practices from global, top-tier investment banks. All cells are perfectly aligned
  Comments: Comments on all assumptions so you know what to input and why
• No hard coding: No hardcoded numbers in any formulas
• Open editing: The model is not locked, you are free to restructure as much as you like!
  Clear linking: Links to each sheet are always at the top of each sheet to track and understand where assumptions come from and what sheets are driving another one

I answer this above but I get asked a lot, so will make it clear.

I don’t make toys. If you want to do “finance good’, get Excel.

Google stuff is only for sharing things.

I use complex calculations and Google can’t process them all.

It’s not even ‘if’ it will work in Google, you just don’t want to go there.

Just get Excel if you want to be in the big leagues and use my models. It will be so much more enjoyable.

I built the first models on my MacBook Pro Retina, so I know they work.

There are no compatibility issues between PC and Mac (Other than Macros). Mac just sucks huge donkey dick if you are amateur plus level and know shortcuts (like you should!).

If you’re at some SF startup with a douche tech policy requiring Macs, it’s OK. My models will work.

Just tell your tech team you need to do your job and give you a fricking PC. Laptops are cheap these days.

I really mean it. You can’t do finance on a Mac and enjoy your job (effectively).

I hate Excel on Mac so much I’m even willing to do a call for free to make the case.

The model is very detailed and powerful. There is nothing available on the internet on this level, however, it is still accessible to anyone willing to learn the foundational concepts (You just have to learn ESOP concepts, sorry). Just follow my guide and watch the videos and you will know enough. Every effort has been made to make it simple for a founder to get impressive results without having to be advanced in model structuring (We did all the hard work).

You don’t have to do ANY modelling to use this model. You just need to be able to fill in the assumptions boxes. Only if you need to restructure the model due to you having a special business model will you need to be advanced level.

The ideal user:

• Building a complex or simple ESOP structure
• Is comfortable with numbers and wants to have control over their model with fairly granular assumptions, to customise to meet their needs without any modeling
• Is at the seed to the scaling stage of fundraising.
• Likes to impress and enjoys a beautiful model!
• Wants to show investors they applied a very vigorous, logical approach to their forecasting and operations
• Wants a model that runs rings around hotshot bankers without the crazy cost

I don’t offer returns (it’s a digital good), but want to make sure you succeed; so if you are new to Excel and marketplaces and aren’t willing to put in some work to learn, this model might not be for you.

• If you don’t know how to use a (SUM) function you may find it overwhelming if you need to understand every detail. Every line has been broken up to be logical to understand, so with a little diligence anyone can be a total boss.
• If you don’t really understand marketplaces, it might be too much but it will help you learn
• If you don’t understand how marketing works (such as what CTR is), then the detailed sheets in the model may have too much detail for you to handle. Use the basic ones instead
• If you insist on using Google Sheets, don’t use this

There are a number of additions which could have been added to this model and have purposefully not included. If you have seen models with other frills, trust there are reasons why they have not been included. Let’s go through some of these so you understand:

• Traditional cash flow statement and balance sheet: There is a cash-based accounting section to understand your actual cash burn. Investors don’t really care about your BS and CFS sheets like a PE company would. They care about the logic of your model to show it is thoughtful. They care how much revenue you will generate to size the market opportunity (how they will get rich) and how ambitious you are. The BS and CFS are useful at growth stage companies when there is a line of sight on meaningful forecasts- early stage you don’t really have many reliable numbers so they serve to create information overload
• Cap table: It is best to have this separately so it is a distinct conversation rather than bundling it with your forecasts. If you need a model you can get one of mine
• DCF and valuation: Having a DCF at the early stage is totally ridiculous, particularly as the assumptions don’t make sense (What’s your discount rate? Show me how to do your WACC…). A DCF is also not how VCs value early stage companies. Including a DCF or multiples is not how you want to approach a valuation discussion with investors and I think can actually harm you in negotiations. I recommend not putting a valuation in the model
• Complicated paid marketing assumptions: We want to show logic not needless complexity. There is some very smart logic in calculations for emails and the like, but we try to keep the number of assumptions down so you can discuss what’s important (Like CPC and budget, not keyword volumes)
• Growth modelling: If you are at the growth stage, you will have a lot more visibility on your actuals and have more historical reporting. This is not the best approach to modelling and fundraising for you. But the cool thing is, if you know basic Excel, it’s easy to add columns for your actuals if you like. We’re happy to add those for you

• The model is provided as is
• Every effort has been made to ensure there are no errors. Given the size and impressive depth, it is impossible to ensure there are none. If you find an error, please reach out so it can be fixed for everyone! I am happy to help you fix any errors free of charge
• If you need support building your model I offer a consulting service dependent on your bespoke needs

• You need Excel. Google Sheets is never to be used for a fundraising model as the functionality is limited. It might work in Sheets, but I can’t warrant it will work. I highly recommend using a PC and Excel
• This works on both Mac and PC and was built on both (But Mac sucks)
• You should install the ‘Solver Add-in’ and ‘Analysis TookPak’ if you do not have it installed already. These are free and standard Microsoft add-ins. I don’t require it, but it’s worth having
• I do not have circular references so there is no need for ‘iterations’ in this model, but in case, turn them on in your calculation settings, especially if you fiddle.
• This is not needed, but if you want to be a boss in Excel, download https://www.asap-utilities.com/. There are some really useful tools if you need to build models. It only works on PC though (as do the other cool tools).

Yes. There are business models which will require the model to do things that you need. I charge $300 an hour and can build whatever you need.

No refunds.

These are digital goods. You can’t return them.

If you aren’t sure if this model is for you ask me your questions first.

You can email me or hit me up on live chat (If I’m around).

Hi. You’re on my site, I built the models.

I’ve worked at Lazard in FIG M&A (Top tier firm and team), and VC, I’ve built lots of startups, I mentor at lots of accelerators (And mentor some of the people who run them), TEDx talked, bla bla.

I’ve got more free Excel tools on my site than any other startup site and I give the stuff away that others charge for. Get some of my free stuff and tell yourself before you buy if you aren’t sure.

I spent a fricking week auditing this model.

If there is an error, I want to know! Just email me, and I’ll look into it and fix it for you gladly. Maybe within an hour if I’m free.

Bear in mind normally when people say there is an error they just did something wrong and didn’t understand why.

Yes. If someone finds an error, or I add new functionality, I send updates to everyone with the new model.

I DO NOT hide anything in any model I make.

Yes, I know of one well-known model that locks everything. I think that’s dumb (Mainly because I already hacked it).

You can do anything to my models if you want. I purposefully design my formulas so you can follow what is happening.

My models are fully editable.

I also do not do VBA as I want you to be able to see what is going on.