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Bringing on Partners (alien.top)

submitted 11 months ago by GeneralVacancy@alien.top to c/entrepreneur@indiehackers.space

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I started a niche consulting firm in January and have been fully-booked since March. I've been mostly a 1-man show thus far, but want to start growing. I'm considering bringing on a partner or two (I have two in mind).

If I only bring on 1, it will be to take on the majority of hands on work I've been doing and some of the client-facing activities. I would then devote my time to sales and service line development.

If I bring on another, it will be to take on sales while I focus on service line development and vendor partnerships (sub-contract labor).

This is my first company, so I'm flying blind and learning as I go. I'd love advice on any or all of the following:

How much equity to offer (with the partners earning it over years). I don't foresee adding any other partners in the future.
What types of agreements I should put in place to ensure I don't regret adding partners.
Comp structure to offer. All partners will be full-time employees with modest salaries, but incentives to make this worth jumping from their current jobs.

Thanks in advance!

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[–] spennave@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Big accomplishment. Congratulations! I am a partner in a niche consulting firm that’s grown to ~100 ppl over the last few years. Have you considered scaling with employees rather than jumping into adding partners?

[–] GeneralVacancy@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

So, I've dipped my toe into those waters. I hired an intern (grad student) over the summer. It worked out okay, but they required a bit more oversight than I'd hoped. There was also a lumpy period of demand where I had to find internal work for them due to lack of client work at their skill level. All-in-all the intern just barely paid for themselves, which felt like a success in itself.

One of the partners I'm considering could jump in, take on the work that I'm doing that an entry-level or even mid-level associate could not. Honestly, they'd make a great senior employee, but they're at a level where I can't compete with their market value with salary alone. With the added capacity, I'd feel comfortable ramping up marketing/sales efforts that I've held back on thus far, even bringing on a dedicated salesperson.