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WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WHY WOULD YOU EVER WORK FOR FREE AND THEN EXPECT TO BE PAID AHHHHH. But for real though, don't work for free, and don't work withou

by kdamken 10y ago

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WHY WOULD YOU EVER WORK FOR FREE AND THEN EXPECT TO BE PAID AHHHHH. But for real though, don't work for free, and don't work without a contract in place unless you're doing charity work. You've been working for them forever without them paying you. What incentive do they have to pay you now?

wattt 10y ago
Upvoting for the correct use of all caps.
- Ritjert 10y ago
  hahaha xD.. you win the internet my good sir
Freak_NL 10y ago
Am I perhaps missing something in the OP question? What motivates you to invest eighteen months of free work for a commercial start-up? Friendship? Promises of a significant reward? Genuinely interested in what drives you.
- zapu 10y ago
  Maybe the job was easy enough (takes little number of hours, OP mentioned "advising"), but is also interesting in some way and OP sees it as something that helps them grow. The prospect of significant returns after some serious investor comes in later - but if one was not compensated before, that is unlikely to change even if big money comes along.
dsacco 10y ago
Normally I'm a stickler for HN rules about e.g. caps lock for emphasis. But in this case it's warranted. OP, please take this as a lesson. For a significant portion of my career thus far I've been in consulting/advisory positions with startups between the seed and Series A stages of funding. I have never, ever worked with a company for the first time without first getting a confirmed deposit payable towards the final invoice. In the fast and loose world of startups, rule number one is "Can they pay me?" Employees should be paid before founders, not the other way around. Practically speaking - engage a lawyer, send a letter and sue if the economics of that equation make sense. If they don't, cut your losses and move on with a lesson. Refer to some of the other comments here echoing the legal advice.

by kdamken 10y ago

wattt 10y ago

Upvoting for the correct use of all caps.

Ritjert 10y ago
hahaha xD.. you win the internet my good sir

Freak_NL 10y ago

Am I perhaps missing something in the OP question? What motivates you to invest eighteen months of free work for a commercial start-up? Friendship? Promises of a significant reward? Genuinely interested in what drives you.

zapu 10y ago
Maybe the job was easy enough (takes little number of hours, OP mentioned "advising"), but is also interesting in some way and OP sees it as something that helps them grow. The prospect of significant returns after some serious investor comes in later - but if one was not compensated before, that is unlikely to change even if big money comes along.

dsacco 10y ago

Normally I'm a stickler for HN rules about e.g. caps lock for emphasis. But in this case it's warranted. OP, please take this as a lesson. For a significant portion of my career thus far I've been in consulting/advisory positions with startups between the seed and Series A stages of funding. I have never, ever worked with a company for the first time without first getting a confirmed deposit payable towards the final invoice. In the fast and loose world of startups, rule number one is "Can they pay me?" Employees should be paid before founders, not the other way around. Practically speaking - engage a lawyer, send a letter and sue if the economics of that equation make sense. If they don't, cut your losses and move on with a lesson. Refer to some of the other comments here echoing the legal advice.