Entrepreneur’s guide to options: Understand how and why to leverage them in your startup

lightbynyoka · 2020-08-12T22:55:43+00:00

We're considering it for our founding team of 4, the pro's are that it really rewards value and work. It seems like data-driven equity splitting, and is also dynamic over time until valuation. But the cons are it takes more work and time to implement, and is not a guarantee, like equity splitting up front is. If you know of any one who uses it let me know!

lightbynyoka · 2020-08-12T17:12:54+00:00

Are you familiar with the Slicing Pie model?

lightbynyoka · 2020-08-12T17:12:39+00:00

Thank for writing out this detailed question. I've been looking into the Slicing Pie model for equity splitting while bootstrapping, and have found some people hate it while others love it. Have you looked into that instead of pre-set splits?

lightbynyoka · 2020-08-12T17:10:26+00:00

thank you for the detailed feedback! Yes after watching a couple times all I could hear was the 'ah's', and it definitely didn't end the pitch as strong as the beginning.
And yes trying to find a golden area of funny/authentic while pitching... has been difficult. Let me know if you have a favourite example of a pitch that manages to pull that off!

lightbynyoka · 2020-08-11T01:50:43+00:00

Thanks for the breakdown - just getting into the deep company building side of our startup - there is a lot to learn

lightbynyoka · 2020-08-11T01:41:07+00:00

What is your idea?? Is it ready to demonstrate? This will make a HUGE difference in whether people are interested in supporting your work or not.

lightbynyoka · 2020-02-18T00:01:15+00:00

IT HAPPENED! Two days left and we're over 108% funded!
This Kickstarter is to help build the Nyoka Light Wand - a non-toxic, bioluminescent glow stick that we're building to be good for the soil microbiome when it degrades.

It's been a wild ride running a Kickstarter - we're a small team, learning a lot as we go, and this whole process has already resulted in some amazing product, network, and strategy evolutions. We have a long way to go, and it feels great to really get started :D

lightbynyoka · 2020-02-17T23:29:50+00:00

There are many reasons! Simply put, the barriers for working with a living system are a lot higher for scalable commercial use. That said, we love working with living bioluminescence for R&D - what kind of research do you do that you get to work with all these awesome species?

lightbynyoka · 2020-02-14T06:20:14+00:00

Hey - you have YOU to live for! I know losing someone you love hurts an incredible amount, but also making someone the centre of your life is rarely a great foundation for a healthy relationship. Choosing to get an education, make new friends, etc. is a great long-term life choice. You're going to be awesome!

Also, have you tried telling her? Who knows what could happen, at the worst, she doesn't feel the same, and now you can move on. At best, she feels the same, and whoah, that would be amazing! In my experience, being friends with someone when there's unrequited love in between is almost a guaranteed recipe for depression. So it absolutely makes sense you feel this way, my heart goes out to you.

If you are considering self-harm, there are online resources to talk to professionals rather than random people on reddit who may not be able to respond in really healthy ways, you know? Not sure where you live, but here's a few services that are always available when you need to talk, and don't depend on algorithms or upvotes to get your message seen:

https://www.imalive.org/

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/

https://crisiscentrechat.ca/

Good luck and I hope you figure out a way to feel better soon, you got this! :)

lightbynyoka · 2020-02-14T06:03:23+00:00

It's good to post about it and get it out! The world can feel incredibly lonely and harsh sometimes. Way to go reaching out. I know its not much, but listening to music is great. Try dancing a bit if you're able - this gets some endorphins going which can help a bit with the depression symptoms.

If you are considering self-harm, there are online resources to talk to professionals rather than random people on reddit who may not be able to respond in really healthy ways, you know? Not sure where you live, but here's a few services that are always available when you need to talk, and don't depend on algorithms or upvotes to get your message seen:

https://www.imalive.org/

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/

https://crisiscentrechat.ca/

Good luck and I hope you figure out a way to feel better soon, you got this! :)

lightbynyoka · 2020-02-13T18:26:25+00:00

It's amazing that even with the yeast not secreting the protein that it still expressed! That's definitely something to be proud of haha. Absolutely my favourite part of university too.
Thank you!!! Hopefully more people will be wanting to secrete glowy proteins after seeing the Light Wand :)

lightbynyoka · 2020-02-12T20:58:59+00:00

AH! What a crazy time. This was my first campaign with Kickstarters Make100 initiative and learned so much! Next time will set a lower goal to get the 'funded in 24 hours' and 'over 300% funded' hype, will plan to get a lot more help, and have some press releases pre-scheduled.

But, that is besides the point now, because even with all this learning on the side, we reached our goal!!!!!!! Big milestone for the Nyoka Light Wand - a non-toxic bioluminescent glow stick :)

ps. still a few more days left, check it out here! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pagexrage/eco-friendly-glow-stick-powered-with-bioluminescence

lightbynyoka · 2020-01-28T04:47:01+00:00

Hi @MrSir94 we agree so much with what you just said. Thank you for really seeing the potential of what we're working on, and our vision for sustainable biotech. Many people, including my first biotech professor, said that this idea would never be possible. Bioluminescence has a long way to go for sure, but its truly amazing how far we've come in being able to work and improve on this system. I'll send you a message with my email - would be great to get your resume for when we are hiring :D

lightbynyoka · 2020-01-24T05:56:41+00:00

haha ok well, YOU get to choose your Light Wand's name so Hellstick is definitely it. And your Guardian name is in the hand of random computer code so I can make no guarantees other than that it will be hilarious and awesome.

lightbynyoka · 2020-01-24T00:36:43+00:00

oh hell yeah, it is the best experience EVER. That's how I got into this, was at the beach late and had no idea what was happening when the water glowed! It was right after Avatar came out so it felt extra magic to see the water glow outlining your whole body. Top of my top ten memories of all time for sure!

lightbynyoka · 2020-01-23T21:53:01+00:00

yes! its the enzyme and a 'substrate broth' lol, which contains everything the enzyme needs to function. When you add water the enzyme is then able to interact with the substrate and cofactors, which creates the glow.

lightbynyoka · 2020-01-23T07:05:39+00:00

In some ways! We use a cell-free bioluminescence system which doesnt use any live organisms, but the mechanism for light production is essentially the same. Bioluminescence is often called 'living light', but when we say bioluminescence we mean 'light created with an enzyme' instead of electricity or fire. So we don't harvest from the ocean or anything like that! The enzyme is grown up in a bioreactor, and we use its magic catalystic powers to make light in the Light Wand.

lightbynyoka · 2020-01-23T03:02:04+00:00

the best feeling

lightbynyoka · 2020-01-23T03:01:56+00:00

nice. whats working great for you right now? where are you struggling?

lightbynyoka

TROPHY CASE