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From pg: "Financially, a startup is like a pass/fail course. The way to get rich from a startup is to maximize the company's chances of succeeding, not to maxim
by dpritchett 17y ago
From pg: "Financially, a startup is like a pass/fail course. The way to get rich from a startup is to maximize the company's chances of succeeding, not to maximize the amount of stock you retain. So if you can trade stock for something that improves your odds, it's probably a smart move." [1]
If your startup succeeds, you've got more time and money to start another one and either retain more stock or raise the value of the stock you keep next time around.
[1] http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html
- lsc 17y agoI think the important part here is to not take on things that will make you /less/ likely to succeed. Giving ownership to the wrong people will kill the company faster than anything else. Hell, even just taking on debit can change a company from one where you can learn from your mistakes to a failure after you make your first big mistake. (now, YC is probably the right people to give ownership to for some types of companies; I imagine if your revenue model is to sell the company to some silicon valley VC, the increased access to people wanting to buy is probably worth the 5%. It's probably a bad idea, though, for other sorts; It probably would not have helped my company much. (well, at least my company would have become something entirely different from what it is.)