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> What are the reasons startups can't hire good finance people? Or at least contract with an expert? Its the exact same problem with hiring quality engineers.

> What are the reasons startups can't hire good finance people? Or at least contract with an expert? Its the exact same problem with hiring quality engineers. The good ones have many options. So a startup's offer of $150,000/year plus 5% of a company that might not be around in 3 years just isn't that appealing. I'm guessing the good ones have job options starting around $400,000/year, whether in Finance or public companies. If you are a great company though, you'll be able to hire a very capable person... http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/24/us-airbnb-cfo-idUSKCN0PY20E20150724 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/24/us-airbnb-cfo-idUS... EDIT the question was about CFO's not accountants originally.

exelius 11y ago
This isn't really finance though; it's accounting. Accountants don't even cost $150k a year, and a CPA can explain to you the difference between the terms and what is legal / illegal (or at the very least a non-GAAP measure). If your startup is past the garage stage, you should probably have a corporate accountant on retainer so you have an "expert" with whom to discuss these terms. They're not super-expensive.