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totally wrong on all three counts. I've seen ideas funded with just a half-baked demo. Any VC funded stratup with 1M+ in funding, the CEO is making 100K+, and i

totally wrong on all three counts. I've seen ideas funded with just a half-baked demo. Any VC funded stratup with 1M+ in funding, the CEO is making 100K+, and in my current situation, the founder had his back debt paid up.

sabat 19y ago
I appreciate that info, because (if you can't tell from my other comment) I would have no freaking clue whether Wil is correct or not. Maybe Wil just means this as a warning, as in "don't count on anything." But I admit: his ideas were a little hard to believe.
- menloparkbum 19y ago
  I shouldn't have commented. The post in question is so vague it is meaningless. "Investors" could mean anyone. Angel funding, pre-angel funding, series-A VC money, Paul Graham, your rich uncle, Sequoia capital, etc. I'm speaking from a silicon valley perspective. Those companies listed on TechCrunch with a 7-8 million dollar series A round - everyone there is making six figures. Companies getting a $20K check from Y-combinator... those founders are not.
- sbraford 19y ago
  Yes, "investors" here is a bit broad. Reading posts like this make it seem really pointless to spend too much time seeking investment. Just go out and build a solid business. Either: A) It will work. You will have profits and/or investors will be beating down your door. B) It won't - you've run out of money and no one wants to invest in you. Just give up! Luckily there are angels and groups like YC who don't take the "don't fund founder salaries" approach. For a small web 2.0 startup -- server costs are around $100-500 a month for even a modestly successful app. What else are investors funding, if not founder salaries??
  - wschroter 19y ago
    I didn't say investors wouldn't fund your salary. I said they won't fund a $200k salary. I said $50k is more like it. I hear guys ALL the time talking about how they want to find investors so they can keep their massive paychecks while letting someone else foot the bill to test their idea. It's just unrealistic.
    - sabat 19y ago
      $200k/yr may seem massive, but here in the bay area, it's not. $150k is about the base if you don't want to live at the very edge (so far out that it's a 1.5 hour commute to get to San Mateo, SF, San Jose, etc.). I live in a 1800 sq ft townhouse on the peninsula worth $900,000, I'm on one income, and my head is just above water -- I can save money every paycheck, but not as much as you think. I make just shy of $200k. I know you realize that the bay area is expensive -- I'm just not sure you realize how expensive it is. That fact doesn't change what investors do -- maybe they don't want to invest in salaries. But forcing entrepreneurs into huge debt doesn't sound like a smart investment plan. No one's looking for a mansion; I just don't want to live in the ghetto because I had an idea.
      - wschroter 19y ago
        Sabat - I'm actually looking for a place myself in the bay area, so I do know how expensive it is. If you can convince an investor to pay you $200k to vet your idea, all the power to you my friend. But I have to advise you that it's not something that an investor will typically do.
        menloparkbum 19y ago
        How much do you think the founders at places like Digg and Facebook are making? I can guarantee it is closer to $200K than it is $50K.
        transburgh 19y ago
        I believe those would be the exception to the rules. They are already very successful. We all know how many VC funded companies actually make it to the Digg/Facebook level...very very few. If VC's were giving the majority of the companies they funded $200k salaries those VC's wouldnt be in business very long.

sabat 19y ago

I appreciate that info, because (if you can't tell from my other comment) I would have no freaking clue whether Wil is correct or not. Maybe Wil just means this as a warning, as in "don't count on anything." But I admit: his ideas were a little hard to believe.

menloparkbum 19y ago
I shouldn't have commented. The post in question is so vague it is meaningless. "Investors" could mean anyone. Angel funding, pre-angel funding, series-A VC money, Paul Graham, your rich uncle, Sequoia capital, etc. I'm speaking from a silicon valley perspective. Those companies listed on TechCrunch with a 7-8 million dollar series A round - everyone there is making six figures. Companies getting a $20K check from Y-combinator... those founders are not.
sbraford 19y ago
Yes, "investors" here is a bit broad. Reading posts like this make it seem really pointless to spend too much time seeking investment. Just go out and build a solid business. Either: A) It will work. You will have profits and/or investors will be beating down your door. B) It won't - you've run out of money and no one wants to invest in you. Just give up! Luckily there are angels and groups like YC who don't take the "don't fund founder salaries" approach. For a small web 2.0 startup -- server costs are around $100-500 a month for even a modestly successful app. What else are investors funding, if not founder salaries??
- wschroter 19y ago
  I didn't say investors wouldn't fund your salary. I said they won't fund a $200k salary. I said $50k is more like it. I hear guys ALL the time talking about how they want to find investors so they can keep their massive paychecks while letting someone else foot the bill to test their idea. It's just unrealistic.
  - sabat 19y ago
    $200k/yr may seem massive, but here in the bay area, it's not. $150k is about the base if you don't want to live at the very edge (so far out that it's a 1.5 hour commute to get to San Mateo, SF, San Jose, etc.). I live in a 1800 sq ft townhouse on the peninsula worth $900,000, I'm on one income, and my head is just above water -- I can save money every paycheck, but not as much as you think. I make just shy of $200k. I know you realize that the bay area is expensive -- I'm just not sure you realize how expensive it is. That fact doesn't change what investors do -- maybe they don't want to invest in salaries. But forcing entrepreneurs into huge debt doesn't sound like a smart investment plan. No one's looking for a mansion; I just don't want to live in the ghetto because I had an idea.
    - wschroter 19y ago
      Sabat - I'm actually looking for a place myself in the bay area, so I do know how expensive it is. If you can convince an investor to pay you $200k to vet your idea, all the power to you my friend. But I have to advise you that it's not something that an investor will typically do.
      - menloparkbum 19y ago
        How much do you think the founders at places like Digg and Facebook are making? I can guarantee it is closer to $200K than it is $50K.
        transburgh 19y ago
        I believe those would be the exception to the rules. They are already very successful. We all know how many VC funded companies actually make it to the Digg/Facebook level...very very few. If VC's were giving the majority of the companies they funded $200k salaries those VC's wouldnt be in business very long.