3 ms·

i'm waiting to see his cap table. my guys get paid market rate, i'm paying myself less than a teacher; the least i've ever made in the last decade. i also work

• ardit33 17y ago
  and you will reap the benefits. But the majority of startups expect "start up hours", from their employees, yet there is no stability, no glory (nobody knows your products), and what's the best scenario? The founders get rich, while the employees get one or two 100k after at least 4 years of work, which will probably never make up for the lost years/health and salary. Next startup is something I am either founding, or I have double digit equity in it. Never ever going to settle for 0.1% standard series b equity, or the measly 0.5% series A. Fuck that.
  • pxlpshr 17y ago
    There is a fine line and it comes down to the situation at hand; ultimately I don't disagree with you, I've extended my early guys 4% each on top of their salary. The thing is, not everyone is founder-material either. Prior to hiring our first two employees, I chased this deal over 9 months... most people would not forfeit a salary and other opportunities for that long. It was a rather painful sacrifice that's also taxed my relationship and quality of life. I'm cautious of people who parade around "entitlements" because the idea can become political/toxic and disrupt a team -- you gotta earn those stripes. I hope you are considering starting your own company, things are a lot different when you're the one responsible for everyone's paycheck and returning money to investors.