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"28. Keep salaries low and equity high." "Don't pay people a fair salary; instead, offer them bespoke lunches catered by the finest local delis, a bus pass, a
by cuttooth 13y ago
"28. Keep salaries low and equity high."
"Don't pay people a fair salary; instead, offer them bespoke lunches catered by the finest local delis, a bus pass, and the promise of an amount of equity ultimately so trivial that even if the company sells for a couple hundred million, they still won't be a millionaire after all the taxing is said and done."
- sama 13y agoYou should not join a startup as an early employee (with a correspondingly low salary) for an equity position that will not make you a post-tax millionaire in a 200MM exit.
- gyardley 13y agoFair enough, but unless you can predict the amount and terms of any future investment, you've got no way of knowing this. I'm guessing you'd need at least 2% up front to have an even chance of having 0.66% (or $1MM + taxes, in a $200MM exit) of the company at the time of sale.
- danielweber 13y agoWithout a face in the boardroom, how do you stop yourself from being diluted out to nil?
- sama 13y agoThis usually only happens if the company is failing, in which case your stock is close to worthless anyway.