4 ms·

Maybe I am atypical, but I would take a significant discount to run a company. I value freedom, authority, and responsibility more than money.

jonknee 8y ago
> I value freedom, authority, and responsibility more than money Those don't seem like traits of people who work at Facebook, perhaps this is the reason they don't leave.
- vonmoltke 8y ago
  Good point. Facebook employees are probably a pretty self-selecting group, particularly since the IPO.
s73v3r_ 8y ago
But money is the quickest way to get those things.
- vonmoltke 8y ago
  One of, and the only reason I would join a company like Facebook would be to build up enough of a war chest to fund my own venture. The point is that the people who do join and have enough money to break out on their own are not doing so.
- marssaxman 8y ago
  That has been the opposite of my experience. There's a sweet spot around $90-$110k where life is pretty good; below that, financial constraints are distracting, while above it, the sacrifices you have to make in terms of freedom, responsibility, etc. will rapidly drain away whatever satisfaction you might have been able to buy with the extra money.
  - autotune 8y ago
    I hope you’re not talking about living in SV or SF with those numbers. Anything less than $120K salary out here usually means roommates, which, unless you are very good at figuring out good ones from bad ones, can lead to severe work performance issues due to lack of sleep from incompatible habits and schedules.
    - marssaxman 8y ago
      Seattle, actually. It's not so much the specific numbers I was talking about - that's just the range which works for me - but the idea that more money can be less valuable, because the time and energy cost of acquiring the money diminishes your ability to make use of it. I have typically chosen to live with housemates regardless of salary, because otherwise home just feels sort of empty and dead, and it's a lot of work trying to organize all one's own social hosting single-handed.

jonknee 8y ago

> I value freedom, authority, and responsibility more than money Those don't seem like traits of people who work at Facebook, perhaps this is the reason they don't leave.

vonmoltke 8y ago
Good point. Facebook employees are probably a pretty self-selecting group, particularly since the IPO.

s73v3r_ 8y ago

But money is the quickest way to get those things.

vonmoltke 8y ago
One of, and the only reason I would join a company like Facebook would be to build up enough of a war chest to fund my own venture. The point is that the people who do join and have enough money to break out on their own are not doing so.
marssaxman 8y ago
That has been the opposite of my experience. There's a sweet spot around $90-$110k where life is pretty good; below that, financial constraints are distracting, while above it, the sacrifices you have to make in terms of freedom, responsibility, etc. will rapidly drain away whatever satisfaction you might have been able to buy with the extra money.
- autotune 8y ago
  I hope you’re not talking about living in SV or SF with those numbers. Anything less than $120K salary out here usually means roommates, which, unless you are very good at figuring out good ones from bad ones, can lead to severe work performance issues due to lack of sleep from incompatible habits and schedules.
  - marssaxman 8y ago
    Seattle, actually. It's not so much the specific numbers I was talking about - that's just the range which works for me - but the idea that more money can be less valuable, because the time and energy cost of acquiring the money diminishes your ability to make use of it. I have typically chosen to live with housemates regardless of salary, because otherwise home just feels sort of empty and dead, and it's a lot of work trying to organize all one's own social hosting single-handed.