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It's cute guys, I give you points for creativity. But as Rails consultant in San Francisco for many years and recent startup founder myself, I must say that th

It's cute guys, I give you points for creativity. But as Rails consultant in San Francisco for many years and recent startup founder myself, I must say that the icon about $2500 for the hardware of your choice kind of backfires and I've advised my clients against using such incentives. On the one hand the new Mac Book with the retina display fully loaded runs about that in minimum configuration by itself. So no budget for an external Thunderbolt display? But more disconcertingly is the subtext which says, buy and set yourself up however you want, without regard to what makes for the lowest friction team, pairing and collaboration experience. In a way this is the cubicle of the 21st century. This is why shops like Pivotallabs don't give their employees individual machines, all they have is a room full of pairing stations, because they realize that ease of cooperation is far more important than personal preferences and customization.

mikenyc 14y ago
Point taken. But in our case, we're bringing on our first lead engineer. This person will create our engineering culture and be the one who decides how these processes will play out. So the opportunity here is to shape our engineering team, including how developers will work together.
- outworlder 14y ago
  Ok, so the $2500 is the budget for the developer's machine. A more important question is: who owns the machine, the developer or the company? If it is the former, I see no reason to complain.
  - wolframarnold 14y ago
    I've yet to see a startup or any company for that matter that signs over ownership of assets bought with company funds to rank and file employees.
- wolframarnold 14y ago
  How about saying just that then? If you want the person to create a culture, then giving them a $2.5k budget sends the wrong message there too, as to how much leeway they have. I don't think this will attract the right kind of candidate. Just my $.02
- bmelton 14y ago
  While I disagree with the tone and tenor of wolframarnold on most of it, I do agree that the amount is a little low. I personally think it should be at least $4500 or so, but I could get by with $3500 if I needed to, but then you'd be on the hook to pick up software afterward (Photoshop isn't cheap, etc.) Also, outworlder's point is germane. The term "tech stipend" leads me to believe that you're going to give me $2500 to pick up my own stuff, that I would then own. If that's the case, it changes the equation a little better, because I already personally own three larger monitors that I'd be happy to drag to the office if that was the expectation. Regardless, I thought the job posting was MUCH better than 'cute'. I think I've officially ruled out working in NYC, but this offer is tempting, if only for the coffee. Still though, it's very tempting. If the platform choice weren't Ruby, I'd be all over it.

mikenyc 14y ago

Point taken. But in our case, we're bringing on our first lead engineer. This person will create our engineering culture and be the one who decides how these processes will play out. So the opportunity here is to shape our engineering team, including how developers will work together.

outworlder 14y ago
Ok, so the $2500 is the budget for the developer's machine. A more important question is: who owns the machine, the developer or the company? If it is the former, I see no reason to complain.
- wolframarnold 14y ago
  I've yet to see a startup or any company for that matter that signs over ownership of assets bought with company funds to rank and file employees.
wolframarnold 14y ago
How about saying just that then? If you want the person to create a culture, then giving them a $2.5k budget sends the wrong message there too, as to how much leeway they have. I don't think this will attract the right kind of candidate. Just my $.02
bmelton 14y ago
While I disagree with the tone and tenor of wolframarnold on most of it, I do agree that the amount is a little low. I personally think it should be at least $4500 or so, but I could get by with $3500 if I needed to, but then you'd be on the hook to pick up software afterward (Photoshop isn't cheap, etc.) Also, outworlder's point is germane. The term "tech stipend" leads me to believe that you're going to give me $2500 to pick up my own stuff, that I would then own. If that's the case, it changes the equation a little better, because I already personally own three larger monitors that I'd be happy to drag to the office if that was the expectation. Regardless, I thought the job posting was MUCH better than 'cute'. I think I've officially ruled out working in NYC, but this offer is tempting, if only for the coffee. Still though, it's very tempting. If the platform choice weren't Ruby, I'd be all over it.