2 ms·

> Plan around it being worth zero and go in eyes wide open. This is the best advice I have seen on HN about start-ups. Note: I have seen it repeated multiple

• _heimdall 2y ago
  I've joined two startups now as the 2nd and 4th engineer. I went into both expecting nothing from options or shares, and knowingly accepted a lower than market salary because I liked the teams and projects. I couldn't be happier. Neither panned out for me with regards to stocks, and I definitely didn't get rich in the process, but I very much enjoyed the jobs and when I decided to leave it was only because the business direction wasn't a fit for what I wanted to spend my time on. It sure sounds like a privledged position, but it more came down to us living cheaply compared to our income and having the breathing room to trade a higher salary for work that I really enjoyed. I hope more people can make that tradeoff, it's much more fulfilling in my opinion
• kelnos 2y ago
  I've seen it repeated multiple times, and in the past have even repeated it myself. But these days I'm not so sure. I think you should go into it being ok with the possibility that it'll be worth zero, but I don't think you should plan for it to be worth zero. Put another way, I don't think you should evaluate competing startup offers completely discounting the equity comp. A company that offers $200k and 0.05% of itself is not automatically worse than a company that offers $250k and 0.01% of itself. Hell, that's still true even if they're both offering the same equity ownership percent.