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Ask HN: Should I quit my job (or work part-time) to join an Uber for X startup

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Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job (or work part-time) to join an Uber for X startup

#11

Post by colund »

He hasn't presented the offer to me yet. Just wanted to know if I was interested in joining them. The offer might be that I would get stocks immediately but no salary until after so many months. He hasn't accepted any investments yet to build the software and add value before sharing ownership.

But I'm on you people's side that I don't want to work for free. Just wanted to hear pros and cons on joining a startup and defer a potential reward. I've long wanted to do something of my own that I feel passionate about instead and get investors aboard early enough that I can get salary.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job (or work part-time) to join an Uber for X startup

#12

Post by [deleted] »

colund wrote: post #11

He hasn't presented the offer to me yet. Just wanted to know if I was interested in joining them. The offer might be that I would get stocks immediately but no salary until after so many months. He hasn't accepted any investments yet to build the software and add value before sharing ownership. But I'm on you people's side that I don't want to work for free. Just wanted to hear pros and cons on joining a startup and…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job (or work part-time) to join an Uber for X startup

#13

Post by psyklic »

It sounds as though the company has no product, no traction, and no investment. So, to work for stock alone you should insist on being an equal co-founder -- especially if you are crucial to building the software and taking on identical risk. If he claims you are a co-founder, he should also share the cap table with you for verification and to show he trusts you as a co-founder.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job (or work part-time) to join an Uber for X startup

#15

Post by colund »

psyklic wrote: post #13

It sounds as though the company has no product, no traction, and no investment. So, to work for stock alone you should insist on being an equal co-founder -- especially if you are crucial to building the software and taking on identical risk. If he claims you are a co-founder, he should also share the cap table with you for verification and to show he trusts you as a co-founder.

The company has drivers and a shop which will do all online orders via them. They will also be featured in magazines promoting their business.

They have no investment because they want to increase value by doing first and then scale up via investment. Is this called bootstrapping?

I'm not sure if I want to be a co-founder with an equal share since that would force me to go all in on the business idea.

I am interested in the idea of working close to self-employed and create new services which can grow. It's just the "no-salary until date X" deal I'm unsure about. I'm thinking about suggesting some alternative contract offer.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job (or work part-time) to join an Uber for X startup

#16

Post by gus_massa »

colund wrote: post #15
psyklic wrote: post #13

It sounds as though the company has no product, no traction, and no investment. So, to work for stock alone you should insist on being an equal co-founder -- especially if you are crucial to building the software and taking on identical risk. If he claims you are a co-founder, he should also share the cap table with you for verification and to show he trusts you as a co-founder.

The company has drivers and a shop which will do all online orders via them. They will also be featured in magazines promoting their business. They have no investment because they want to increase value by doing first and then scale up via investment. Is this called bootstrapping? I'm not sure if I want to be a co-founder with an equal share since that would force me to go all in on the business idea. I am interested…

You can be a co-funder, a two digits equity and not be involved in the commercial part of the business. (But you must trust the other co-founders.) Just imagine that you get a fancy title like CTO :).

Also, get everything in writing before starting to work: "Oral contracts are not worth the paper they are written on."

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job (or work part-time) to join an Uber for X startup

#17

Post by brudgers »

In the US, working for free is illegal and hence a minefield when the company goes to attract outside investment. If that weren't enough, everyone should be on a multi-year vesting schedule including the founder [you work for a year, get 20,000,000 shares and the founder stops working, and then what?] Finally, the stocks are only worth your salary if you can sell them, but who will buy them at face value? If the company can buy them, then they can pay your salary.

To put it another way, if you're going to work for a year for no salary, and you are capable of building the software for an Uber for X from scratch, why not just build your own Uber for Y? And to put it a third way, suppose your former colleague was asking you to give him the next year's worth of paychecks from your current job in exchange for equity a year from now. Would that be a good deal to consider?

Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job (or work part-time) to join an Uber for X startup

#19

Post by colund »

brudgers wrote: post #17

In the US, working for free is illegal and hence a minefield when the company goes to attract outside investment. If that weren't enough, everyone should be on a multi-year vesting schedule including the founder [you work for a year, get 20,000,000 shares and the founder stops working, and then what?] Finally, the stocks are only worth your salary if you can sell them, but who will buy them at face value? If the comp…

Great input!

I have called and declined the offer.

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