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"I think you should offer less equity and more salary, though." Seconded. This is exactly counter to advice I heard from PG when he was giving a talk at YC onc

"I think you should offer less equity and more salary, though." Seconded. This is exactly counter to advice I heard from PG when he was giving a talk at YC once, which was "negotiate for equity, not salary". At the time it sounded like good advice, and I still think most I've heard from him regarding starting a company is. But in this case, after having spent a year actually involved in a startup from the beginning that's been raising money, I find it hard to imagine any company who's followed a similar path to us (basically how you see most YC companies go) would be able to offer any sort of meaningful equity after even a second seed round. It takes a lot of growth and additional options grants for single digit equity in options to amount to much at the exit. I would focus on the salary, possibly experience for your career if you need that, more than I would in getting rich off of a startup that hires you after they are funded.

hkmurakami 13y ago
Depending on the stage of the company, many companies will be happy to oblige, since the greatest limited compensation resource of a startup from the mgmt side is equity (if the company is going anywhere, investor will fight tooth and nail against dilution to create more shares for hiring)
- greghinch 13y ago
  Yes and no. There's a tricky stage for a company, where revenue hasn't caught up yet, but you've raised a good amount of money. That money is still your main lifeline, so you have to be stingy with it to some degree. But as the employee, that shouldn't be so much your concern. You should demand salary an not bank on equity making up for it later.
tptacek 13y ago
I wonder, with the amount of experience he has now, if he still thinks that's a good strategy. What I learned in the last 10 years is that employees don't value equity rationally; you pay a premium, beyond the time value of money, to pay engineers in equity; moreover, it's somewhat stigmatized. It probably depends on the company, though.

hkmurakami 13y ago

Depending on the stage of the company, many companies will be happy to oblige, since the greatest limited compensation resource of a startup from the mgmt side is equity (if the company is going anywhere, investor will fight tooth and nail against dilution to create more shares for hiring)

greghinch 13y ago
Yes and no. There's a tricky stage for a company, where revenue hasn't caught up yet, but you've raised a good amount of money. That money is still your main lifeline, so you have to be stingy with it to some degree. But as the employee, that shouldn't be so much your concern. You should demand salary an not bank on equity making up for it later.

tptacek 13y ago

I wonder, with the amount of experience he has now, if he still thinks that's a good strategy. What I learned in the last 10 years is that employees don't value equity rationally; you pay a premium, beyond the time value of money, to pay engineers in equity; moreover, it's somewhat stigmatized. It probably depends on the company, though.