Book Recommendation: The Slicing Pie and Slicing Pie Handbook by Mike Moyer
written by dr. Linda Szanto, CEO
According to statistics, 65% of startups fail due to founder conflicts, meaning internal disagreements within the team directly contribute to the failure of the business — as stated by Noam Wasserman, professor at Harvard Business School, in his work The Founder’s Dilemma.
I have long been wondering how to compare apples and oranges. In the life of a company, how can you fairly weigh contributions such as ideas, development work, cash, organizational tasks, business relationships or even the provision of office supplies? How can these seemingly incomparable inputs be translated into value, accounted for properly and used to calculate equity shares? How can you maintain a system that flexibly and dynamically adjusts to changes, whether it is a shift in someone’s workload, a new member joining or someone leaving the team, or when someone helps the company through new contacts?
Our advisor Barnabas Malnay recommended this book to me, and already after the first few chapters it became clear that I was holding a true foundational piece.
Most people have a few books in their life that they return to from time to time or that leave a lasting impression. I also have such titles that have influenced the way I negotiate, how I prepare for sales meetings or how I build my habits. Slicing Pie and its accompanying handbook absolutely earned their place among these core works.
Moyer’s book and handbook not only explain the concept in a clear and accessible way but also support its application with practical examples and calculation models. At the end of each chapter, you will find specific steps on how to put the theory into practice.
I recommend this book to anyone planning to launch a startup or leading a business where it would make sense to rethink ownership shares based on actual contributions.
