4 ms·

I disagree because it is not true all startups offer less than market-base salary. If a startup has VC backing then there is absolutely no reason for the start

by tlogan 11y ago

I disagree because it is not true all startups offer less than market-base salary. If a startup has VC backing then there is absolutely no reason for the startup to offer less than market salary. If a startup does not have money to pay employees then founders should raise more. Or sell more. Employees are not VCs. Simple. Also look this way: if start up is not offering market salary, then think this way: how that startup is going to attract talent from established companies (whose expertise are needed if that startup wants to become big). On the other hand, If a startup has no VC backing and you are offered less than market salary you are then you should act as investor / co-founder. That will be definitely less money but it can be a great experience: money is not everything.

HiLo 11y ago
>If a startup does not have money to pay employees then founders should raise more. > then think this way: how that startup is going to attract talent from established companies (whose expertise are needed if that startup wants to become big). THANK YOU so much for saying this
arbitrage314 11y ago
You bring up a good and interesting point. From what I've seen, startups almost always pay less than market, but they make up for it in four different ways: 1. Quality of life and work: employees at startups get to touch more things, work on more exciting projects, eat free food, play ping pong, be a part of a tight-knit culture, etc. A lot of people highly value this, and I don't blame them! 2. Employees mistakenly overestimating the value of their options, their probability of success, and the uniqueness of the startup culture. 3. Related to both #1 and #2, hiring employees that don't care about money and/or haven't taken finance 101. 4. Related to #1, #2, and #3: hiring employees that are so excited about the startup that they don't care about the deal they're getting. I've NEVER seen a good engineer get a better offer at a startup than he/she would've gotten at a large company, but it's certainly possible.
- serge2k 11y ago
  > 1. Quality of life and work: employees at startups get to touch more things, work on more exciting projects, eat free food, play ping pong, be a part of a tight-knit culture, etc. A lot of people highly value this, and I don't blame them! It's not worth 10s of thousands of dollars a year when you can get a lot of that (or all it) at a company that will pay you more.

by tlogan 11y ago

HiLo 11y ago

>If a startup does not have money to pay employees then founders should raise more. > then think this way: how that startup is going to attract talent from established companies (whose expertise are needed if that startup wants to become big). THANK YOU so much for saying this

arbitrage314 11y ago

You bring up a good and interesting point. From what I've seen, startups almost always pay less than market, but they make up for it in four different ways: 1. Quality of life and work: employees at startups get to touch more things, work on more exciting projects, eat free food, play ping pong, be a part of a tight-knit culture, etc. A lot of people highly value this, and I don't blame them! 2. Employees mistakenly overestimating the value of their options, their probability of success, and the uniqueness of the startup culture. 3. Related to both #1 and #2, hiring employees that don't care about money and/or haven't taken finance 101. 4. Related to #1, #2, and #3: hiring employees that are so excited about the startup that they don't care about the deal they're getting. I've NEVER seen a good engineer get a better offer at a startup than he/she would've gotten at a large company, but it's certainly possible.

serge2k 11y ago
> 1. Quality of life and work: employees at startups get to touch more things, work on more exciting projects, eat free food, play ping pong, be a part of a tight-knit culture, etc. A lot of people highly value this, and I don't blame them! It's not worth 10s of thousands of dollars a year when you can get a lot of that (or all it) at a company that will pay you more.