3 ms·

"live your life as though your equity is worthless" that is really nice to see in an offer letter. a lot of hipster-y startups do the opposite, and act like it

• p4wnc6 11y ago
  But in this same letter they encourage you to not do an expected value calculation about the value of your compensation package. That's extremely bad advice. The more I read this letter, the more it looks like they are trying to be selectively transparent in ways that don't actually cause them to give up any information advantage over the candidate -- and they are putting overly specific numbers in (like the magic 77MM figure for an exit) and tossing in relatively meaningless graphs, and an incredibly meaningless salary distribution, to add window dressing and make it sound like it's all much more technical, facts-based, and non-negotiable than it really is. While it is a move in the direction of transparency, which is good in theory, this particular offer letter makes me feel like it's just a wolf in sheep's clothing -- still fundamentally trying to get a candidate to agree to be priced at a level well below their actual value to the company. If the letter said "live your life as through your equity is worthless, because it is worthless and by agreeing to work for us for a lower wage you're not likely to recover those lost earnings down the road" .. then I might be impressed by the honesty.
  • vehementi 11y ago
    Didn't they put the calculations near the top? I think their point was that the expected value of the company is approximately the same as the chance the company will Make It.