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Junior developers don't often skip payroll (they can move on if asked to do so) founders do. Junior developers don't often mortgage their houses or max out cred

Junior developers don't often skip payroll (they can move on if asked to do so) founders do. Junior developers don't often mortgage their houses or max out credit cards, founders do. I can go on and on. I think getting into debt is dumb, but statistics show that founders risk a lot more than employees. And many people do not want to be founders. Please don't call them slaves.

angersock 9y ago
"risk" is a relative term here. Most of the founders come from fairly privileged backgrounds, and most of the time "I started a company let me tell you how it failed" works pretty well when interviewing in later ventures. Additionally, early engineers and biz folks are usually brought on specifically because the founders don't know what the fuck they're doing in either technology or business. There's this big myth that being a founder is some magical hardship and a massive fucking gamble, but the realities don't make that so--instead, it's used to justify fleecing employees out of market rates.
- retreatguru 9y ago
  I don't think it is accurate to say most founders come from a privileged background without actually knowing the numbers. I am a founder (not YC) and both parents were public school teachers.
  - klausbaudelaire 9y ago
    https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/do-you-need-a-wealthy-background-to-be-a-successful-entrepreneur.html https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/do-you-need-a-wealthy-backg... https://qz.com/455109/entrepreneurs-dont-have-a-special-gene-for-risk-they-come-from-families-with-money/ https://qz.com/455109/entrepreneurs-dont-have-a-special-gene... CB Insights also concurred with the principle in their May 8th email.
- dnautics 9y ago
  I think you've misunderstood the reality of being a founder. It is truly a privilege, but not in the way you think -- if you successfully label yourself as one and get enough attention, you are more likely to be able to 'fail upwards' as investors will overvalue your experience and personal network.
deleted 9y ago
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frozenport 9y ago
Going into debt is entirely optional. At the start non-founders have the same or lower salary with less long term benifits. Obviously not everybody can be the founder because they didn't come up with or act on the idea.

angersock 9y ago

"risk" is a relative term here. Most of the founders come from fairly privileged backgrounds, and most of the time "I started a company let me tell you how it failed" works pretty well when interviewing in later ventures. Additionally, early engineers and biz folks are usually brought on specifically because the founders don't know what the fuck they're doing in either technology or business. There's this big myth that being a founder is some magical hardship and a massive fucking gamble, but the realities don't make that so--instead, it's used to justify fleecing employees out of market rates.

retreatguru 9y ago
I don't think it is accurate to say most founders come from a privileged background without actually knowing the numbers. I am a founder (not YC) and both parents were public school teachers.
- klausbaudelaire 9y ago
  https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/do-you-need-a-wealthy-background-to-be-a-successful-entrepreneur.html https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/do-you-need-a-wealthy-backg... https://qz.com/455109/entrepreneurs-dont-have-a-special-gene-for-risk-they-come-from-families-with-money/ https://qz.com/455109/entrepreneurs-dont-have-a-special-gene... CB Insights also concurred with the principle in their May 8th email.
dnautics 9y ago
I think you've misunderstood the reality of being a founder. It is truly a privilege, but not in the way you think -- if you successfully label yourself as one and get enough attention, you are more likely to be able to 'fail upwards' as investors will overvalue your experience and personal network.

deleted 9y ago

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frozenport 9y ago

Going into debt is entirely optional. At the start non-founders have the same or lower salary with less long term benifits. Obviously not everybody can be the founder because they didn't come up with or act on the idea.