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A friend of mine is trying to help line up consulting work, but I am second guessing myself? Should I just stick with it? Am I just being a nervous nelly? Or

A friend of mine is trying to help line up consulting work, but I am second guessing myself? Should I just stick with it? Am I just being a nervous nelly? Or should I layout the blunt truth to them that I am getting way out of my risk tolerance. Even if I don't stick with the company I'd like to keep them as friends. I've looked up if I can write off on my taxes lost wages, and that seems like a no-go. I have also thought about converting my lost wages to debt within the company as I am honest and pursue full time consulting work vs. maybe 20hours a week or something. Again, I just don't know the best course of action. I believe in the product and the space, but I am not sure anymore that we are the team that is going to win this ground. Thoughts?

avenger123 13y ago
Have you talked to the founders? State that you are not looking for a full month salary right at the moment but you need the minimum to pay your rent and feed yourself. You need this money like this week and if you don't have the minimum you are being in a very difficult spot. Also, strongly indicate that you do not like debt and are already over leveraged. There is no shame in doing this. Now, there will be a couple of scenarios that will play out and both will give you a strong indication of where you stand with this startup. If you are told that there is absolutely no money to give you the minimum (but you know that there is - believe me there always is some money), then they are basically giving you the finger. At this point, I would ask myself, why the fk am I still in the building? They may also tell you that they can pay part of your salary but you will have to wait another month, 3 weeks etc. Don't fall for this. This is as good as a no. If they are serious about the startup and its future (and more importantly your role in the startup), the founders can and will dig into their own money to keep things going. If they do this, then you have to decide how long you can keep going with the company with a reduced salary. Also, another very likely scenario is that they tell you that you know what its very tough and its likely better that you move on to another job. Please, if this is the message, then take it as a gift. They are basically letting you off a sinking ship with mutual consent. If they start to play the guilt trip (ie. we haven't made any salary either, others aren't taking in a salary either, we are all in this together, etc.) then politely say thank you but under your circumstances you can't stay around. It doesn't matter how many friends you have in the startup. It's a business relationship. What's your upside for no salary? Are they substituting that for equity? Likely not, so don't be a sucker. Anyways, just my thoughts on this. The main thing is that this is not just your problem. It's also the startup's problem. If they care about your contribution then they will help you.
- try-catch 13y ago
  the company is on vapors, and we can not afford salaries right now. i think i am the least leveraged person, but that's because i planned for some extent for this, and didn't spend any money in the last 6 months. i didn't even visit family for christmas. it's hard when you know someone with a family might loose their house if you quit, and that spooks the VCs.
  - avenger123 13y ago
    I think you are answering your own question. What's the likely hood of getting the upside on this? Let's say the funding does come through? Is that going to solve the problem? You can only answer this. Based on what you are saying, it's clear to me that you have a strong sense that this company may not survive. You need to ask yourself why you are still with the startup because based on what you are saying, there is a very high risk that the startup will shut-down in the next weeks, months. Based on all the information you have given, it looks like you are on a sinking ship. The problem is that you cannot afford to be on this ship. If you had the resources to stick around then it could be different. Being able to take on more debt does not mean you can do this. Don't set yourself back 3-4 years because you feel you owe the startup anything. At this point, they are not keeping up their end of the deal. If this was your startup and you were the founder, its a different dynamic. Why are you taking the same risk as the founders when your upside is so much less?

avenger123 13y ago

Have you talked to the founders? State that you are not looking for a full month salary right at the moment but you need the minimum to pay your rent and feed yourself. You need this money like this week and if you don't have the minimum you are being in a very difficult spot. Also, strongly indicate that you do not like debt and are already over leveraged. There is no shame in doing this. Now, there will be a couple of scenarios that will play out and both will give you a strong indication of where you stand with this startup. If you are told that there is absolutely no money to give you the minimum (but you know that there is - believe me there always is some money), then they are basically giving you the finger. At this point, I would ask myself, why the fk am I still in the building? They may also tell you that they can pay part of your salary but you will have to wait another month, 3 weeks etc. Don't fall for this. This is as good as a no. If they are serious about the startup and its future (and more importantly your role in the startup), the founders can and will dig into their own money to keep things going. If they do this, then you have to decide how long you can keep going with the company with a reduced salary. Also, another very likely scenario is that they tell you that you know what its very tough and its likely better that you move on to another job. Please, if this is the message, then take it as a gift. They are basically letting you off a sinking ship with mutual consent. If they start to play the guilt trip (ie. we haven't made any salary either, others aren't taking in a salary either, we are all in this together, etc.) then politely say thank you but under your circumstances you can't stay around. It doesn't matter how many friends you have in the startup. It's a business relationship. What's your upside for no salary? Are they substituting that for equity? Likely not, so don't be a sucker. Anyways, just my thoughts on this. The main thing is that this is not just your problem. It's also the startup's problem. If they care about your contribution then they will help you.

try-catch 13y ago
the company is on vapors, and we can not afford salaries right now. i think i am the least leveraged person, but that's because i planned for some extent for this, and didn't spend any money in the last 6 months. i didn't even visit family for christmas. it's hard when you know someone with a family might loose their house if you quit, and that spooks the VCs.
- avenger123 13y ago
  I think you are answering your own question. What's the likely hood of getting the upside on this? Let's say the funding does come through? Is that going to solve the problem? You can only answer this. Based on what you are saying, it's clear to me that you have a strong sense that this company may not survive. You need to ask yourself why you are still with the startup because based on what you are saying, there is a very high risk that the startup will shut-down in the next weeks, months. Based on all the information you have given, it looks like you are on a sinking ship. The problem is that you cannot afford to be on this ship. If you had the resources to stick around then it could be different. Being able to take on more debt does not mean you can do this. Don't set yourself back 3-4 years because you feel you owe the startup anything. At this point, they are not keeping up their end of the deal. If this was your startup and you were the founder, its a different dynamic. Why are you taking the same risk as the founders when your upside is so much less?