How should founders divide equity, and how do you navigate that conversation before it becomes a problem? This interactive seminar will tackle one of the most important, and often uncomfortable, decisions facing an early-stage startup: allocating shares among founders.
The session will explore the factors that should inform founder equity decisions, including intellectual contributions, time commitment, experience, responsibilities, and anticipated involvement as the company grows. Dr. Deitcher will discuss common approaches to allocating equity, potential pitfalls of defaulting to an equal split, and how decisions made early can affect team dynamics, fundraising, and the company’s future. Drawing on actual examples, he will illustrate many of the challenges and pitfalls founders encounter when making these decisions.
Participants will gain a practical framework for approaching founder equity decisions and navigating these conversations thoughtfully, transparently, and with an eye toward the long-term needs of the company.
This event is open to the Northwestern community (students, staff, faculty and affiliated startups).
This will be an in-person seminar at the Querrey InQbation Lab. Lunch will be provided.
Please register using your university or startup email address.
About the Speaker:
Steven R. Deitcher, M.D., FSM ’86, FSM ’88 is the Founder, CEO, and Chairman of Bespoke Biotherapeutics, a Bay Area company developing genome-engineered B-cell therapeutics for hemophilia A and HER2+ breast cancer, and co-founder of a stealth clinical-stage cell therapy company focused on brain regeneration. He previously held executive roles at Radimmune Therapeutics, Medeor Therapeutics, and Talon Therapeutics, where he led Marqibo® from IND to FDA accelerated approval and eventual acquisition by Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, as well as at Nuvelo. Earlier in his career, he was Chief of Hematology and Coagulation Medicine as well as Director of Thrombosis and Vascular Medicine Research at the Cleveland Clinic, with prior academic posts at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. A graduate of Northwestern’s Honors Program in Medical Education (B.S., M.D.), he trained in internal medicine at Barnes Hospital/Washington University and completed hematology/oncology fellowships and post-doctoral protein chemistry work at Tufts University School of Medicine.
Sonia Kim
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