Totally agree. And this is why companies should really profile when hiring to attract the right people with the right risk profile given the stage of the compan

Totally agree. And this is why companies should really profile when hiring to attract the right people with the right risk profile given the stage of the company. Early on when we were just starting out (context as a founder), I used to think that the only types of people who would take on this kind of risk were young 20-something’s who had time and space and no significant other. Then we hired 2 early engineers in succession who were older. One was just made for startups. He could never work for a large company, and he was ok with the risk and lower pay because it was still quite high relative to his cost of living in Europe. The other already had kids who were older and independent. He always wanted to take a swing at a “Silicon Valley” startup, and he just cared deeply about that experience and could do so without having to worry about his kids financially relying on him. They were 2 of the best engineers we had ever hired and stuck with us through thick and thin from a team of < 5 engineers through us scaling to 80+. When we got bigger, one left because we were once again too big for him (process, minor politics popping up, spending more and more time teaching newcomers how to own and operate a bigger codebase safely, etc.). The other left because of similar reasons but at a later scale. I started the journey starry-eyed/overly-optimistic in both directions. Hiring people early on who obviously did not have the risk tolerance or an understanding of how much work was needed early. Holding on to people for too long who weren’t enjoying the new environment. Now I’m much more even about this - there is a right place and time based on what the individual wants, and being open and honest and kind about it is always the best path. Equity is simply a lever to compensate risk, but the appetite to take on the right amount of risk is the most important thing given the company’s scale.