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:

  1. How much equity to offer (with the partners earning it over years). I don’t foresee adding any other partners in the future.

  2. What types of agreements I should put in place to ensure I don’t regret adding partners.

  3. 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!

  • spennave@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    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.topOPBEnglish
      1·
      1 year 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.