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>> As a non-founder you don't get the 'oh shit, pay day, um, have I got the money' or the 'right, I've promised X, Y to A and B yesterday. Damn'. Or the 101 oth

>> As a non-founder you don't get the 'oh shit, pay day, um, have I got the money' or the 'right, I've promised X, Y to A and B yesterday. Damn'. Or the 101 other little things and worries and anxieties you experience. To an extent, but I would be almost as exposed to the risks as the initial founding team in terms of it crashing and burning. And you know what? In a way, thats fine. Part of the appeal of joining the startup is that you get to live on the edge a little. You celebrate the wins and mourn the losses, you fake it till you make it, you buy into the mission and give everything you've got to try and make it a success. But despite my best efforts, I just don't think I could do that to my fullest for 1% and a market salary. I'd of course give it my best shot, but part of the appeal of doing the startup is that I would want to give more and go all in on the project. This might just be the fact that I believe I have it in me to do it myself, and I'm at a time in life where I will have a real go in the not too distant future. But the problem nowadays is that most good entrepreneurial developers will be thinking along similar lines :) To be clear, I think early stage startups such as the ones straight out of YC should really open the purse strings with regards to giving away vesting equity to early engineering hires. 1% just isn't going to cut it for the top few % of talented, entrepreneurial developers with requisite level of experience - who will likely have very high opportunity to costs at the moment.

crosh 14y ago
There is much to learn, my friend. With the exception of the startup porn you read on TC, the only companies that raise multi-million dollar Series A rounds already have traction. The difficulty in gaining traction in today's saturated marketplaces should not be underestimated. In most standard Series A rounds the company creates a 15-20% option pool and the investor gets around 30% of the equity. Assuming two co-founders and a small seed round, the founders each likely own 18-20% of the company. They also went without pay and healthcare for a while, built a product, got traction, raised a real round (which is more difficult than it seems you believe), and are giving you upwards of 10% of their own stake. In addition, it is likely that the founders are taking below-market salaries while paying everyone else near -market salaries. That said, 1-2% for an early, senior hire is right on the money.

crosh 14y ago

There is much to learn, my friend. With the exception of the startup porn you read on TC, the only companies that raise multi-million dollar Series A rounds already have traction. The difficulty in gaining traction in today's saturated marketplaces should not be underestimated. In most standard Series A rounds the company creates a 15-20% option pool and the investor gets around 30% of the equity. Assuming two co-founders and a small seed round, the founders each likely own 18-20% of the company. They also went without pay and healthcare for a while, built a product, got traction, raised a real round (which is more difficult than it seems you believe), and are giving you upwards of 10% of their own stake. In addition, it is likely that the founders are taking below-market salaries while paying everyone else near -market salaries. That said, 1-2% for an early, senior hire is right on the money.