Equity: Cash or Carrot? With Guissu Baier of General Catalyst

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Equity: Cash or Carrot? With Guissu Baier of General Catalyst

HR Heretics

Sep 06, 2024

Transcript

Guissu Baier, a talent expert at General Catalyst who navigated the treacherous waters of startup equity compensation at Instacart, joins Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich challenging conventional wisdom about refresh grants, and revealing that most companies lack a clear strategy.

Is it time to ditch the old-school "wait and see" approach and embrace a more performance-driven model?

Listen to Guissu, Kelli and Nolan as they offer insights into how to bridge the gap and foster collaboration between legal and HR teams.

*Email us your questions or topics for Kelli & Nolan: hrheretics@turpentine.co

HR Heretics is a podcast from Turpentine.

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KEEP UP WITH GUISSU, NOLAN, + KELLI ON LINKEDIN

Guissu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guissu/

Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/

Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/

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LINKS:

General Catalyst:

https://www.generalcatalyst.com/

General Catalyst's Equity Refresh Survey:

https://www.generalcatalyst.com/perspectives/equity-refresh-survey-2024

Related Podcast:

How Big Should Your Org Grow

https://hrheretics.substack.com/p/how-big-should-your-org-grow

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(00:13) Key Findings of the Equity Refresh Survey

(06:03) Treating Equity as Carefully as Cash

(07:11) Vesting Schedules and Equity as a Long-Term Incentive

(08:23) The Debate on Vesting Cliffs in Refresh Grants

(09:46)The Logic and Challenges of Refresh Grants

(11:43) The Importance of Paying for Performance

(14:34) Sponsors: Planful | Metaview

(16:40) Challenges in Designing Equity Refresh Programs

(19:07) Different Approaches to Refresh Grants

(25:24) Retaining Top Performers

(28:51) Connecting New Hire and Refresh Ranges

(29:25) Equity Choice and Fairness

(30:49) Equity Trade-Offs and Innovation

(32:57) Collaboration between HR and Other Departments

(37:11) Facilitation as a Key Skill for HR Leaders

(40:28) Branding and Executive Involvement in Training

(43:30) The Reputation of Lawyers in the HR Profession

(44:54) Risk Calculus and Cultural Risk

(46:02) Communication as a Key to Problem Solving

(47:37) One-Way Door and Two-Way Door Decisions

(47:55) Wrap

Discussion about this podcast

“HR Heretics” | How CPOs, CHROs, Founders, and Boards Build High Performing Companies

After a decade+ of “blitz-scaling” companies, HR, talent, and People leaders now face an uncertain economy that has already seen big booms and busts. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact?

Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners – Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors.

This show is for those who are ready to ditch conventional wisdom and figure out from first principles what works for their culture, business model, and industry, with the goal of building a resilient and enduring company. You’ll come away with real guidance for seeing around corners, building enduring companies, and carving out an impactful career – plus a newly-honed bullshit detector.

Topics frequently touched on in this season include: building high performing cultures, compensation negotiation, performance reviews, company design, equity, M&As, recruiting the best talent, and how to manage your own psychology as a people leader.

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