3 ms·
As someone who just witnessed two non-founders of a startup that had a recent IPO become wealthy enough to retire -- B.S. You can do it with stock options (even
by sabat 16y ago
As someone who just witnessed two non-founders of a startup that had a recent IPO become wealthy enough to retire -- B.S. You can do it with stock options (even without an IPO). Tony seems to be making a binary argument: it's not guaranteed, so you may as well give up on the idea.
Of course I'm doing it for the money. I'm also doing it for other reasons. Did someone die and tell Tony Wright that the world is only comprised of on/off states?
- sosuke 16y agoI couldn't agree with you more sabat, it isn't an either or scenario. I'm hoping for my first success to just be a springboard into more money making ventures.
- sabat 16y agoA good point that I'd thought but not expressed! Who says any one startup experience will be your only one? If you like startups and the kind of people they attract, you'll want to spend some time in those kind of environments. It's not wham-bam-thank-you-startup.
- gamble 16y agoYou can also get your FU money playing the lottery. It's probably a better deal overall, since the odds are about the same and you don't have to pull any all-nighters to win the lotto.
- sabat 16y agoThe odds are nowhere near the same. Besides the raw odds -- obviously much better than the zillion-to-one odds on the lottery -- you can actually affect the outcome of your startup to some degree.
- gamble 16y agoAs an employee, you start out with such a small grant and have so little control over vesting conditions and dilution that participating in a liquidity event to that degree is essentially an act of charity on the part of the investors.
- sabat 16y agoIt depends on the company, your timing, and what terms you agree to (number of options, vesting period, ISO vs. Non-qual). If you're actually interested in doing well, you may need multiple startups, and the earlier the stage, the better. I know multiple people, including myself to some degree, who have done well as employees in startups. And of course, you could always try to start your own -- multiple times as needed.