>> what's the surprise? Sounds like a normal startup work. The surprise is the asymmetrical expectations. I would not expect a paycheck from the new company d

>> what's the surprise? Sounds like a normal startup work. The surprise is the asymmetrical expectations. I would not expect a paycheck from the new company during the in-between-jobs vacation time (which I pre-arranged before accepting the new position). I would expect them to think that such an "ask" is outrageous bordering on insane. And then there is the normalization of wage-theft through manipulation. To clarify my position: while this may represent a type of startup work that is very commonplace there is nothing at all normal about it -- it is just a clever form of stealing.