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Peter Thiel: Best Predictor of Startup Success Is Low CEO Pay [2008]
- jheriko 16y agoI've always been of the opinion that overpaying CEOs and top level management has little or no benefit, despite it being the accepted norm, so its good to see evidence of that in some data. :)
- ericd 16y agoIt lets you keep the ones that could make more elsewhere... there's a competitive market for the best CEOs, which is why they make what they do.
- hugh3 16y agoOn the other hand, at the startup level a CEO is planning to get rich by his stock options, not his salary. So if entertaining multiple offers he'll choose whichever one he thinks he thinks he's more likely to turn into a billion-dollar company, not whichever one offers him an extra $50K.
- ericd 16y agoI agree with you in the case of the hot CEOs at the aggressive VC-funded startup level, it seemed like the parent of my first comment was referring to really well paid CEOs, of which I don't think there are many to be found at the startup level.
- hugh3 16y agoNB. Not actually backed up by any data, just happens to be Peter Thiel's own personal opinion.
- moxiemk1 16y agoExactly. I was seriously hoping this article would have some charts and real statistical analysis attached. When the claim could trivially be perfected with data analysis, it takes a high opinion of oneself to loudly proclaim an opinion instead of doing the work.
- spking 16y ago$100k - $125k is not a ton if you live in an area like San Francisco, LA or NYC, especially if you have dependents. I've often thought about raising $500K instead of $1.5M, and relocating the team to a place like Austin, TX, where the founders (including the CEO) could each live comfortably on $50K or so a year.
- ericd 16y agoThe best predictor of Startup Success from the perspective of a VC, maybe. Not all startups need to be built for an exit.