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Businesses aren't bootstrapped on the back of cheap labor. They're bootstrapped on the back of high cost variance labor. They're paid in equity that may be wort
by darawk 8y ago
Businesses aren't bootstrapped on the back of cheap labor. They're bootstrapped on the back of high cost variance labor. They're paid in equity that may be worth nothing or may be worth a lot. You convince people based on the merit of your idea. They evaluate whether or not your idea has a sufficiently high probability of success to be worth their time. The labor isn't cheap, it's just not paid for with cash.
- adrianN 8y agoI think historically a lot of businesses were bootstrapped on cheap labor.
- rusk 8y agoNot meaning to be facaetious, but this sounds like something an 18th Century sugar plantation owner might say. Historically, there were slaves.
- adrianN 8y agoThat's exactly my point. A lot of the big companies today have at some point in their past exploited workers. Basically every manufacturing company started before WW2 or so.
- roel_v 8y agoIf someone starting a business works many hours themselves for $2/hour, and asks their spouse/children to chip in, and calls in favors from family and friends to get things going - then that's bootstrapping on cheap labor, but nobody in their right mind would call that 'slavery'. When starting a business when you have nothing, you have to be frugal, yet you can't do everything alone - that doesn't mean all ways you can get work done at below-market rates are sleazy or immoral.