Ask HN: Those who've joined a friend's startup as an employee, how did that go?

I was slightly different in that I joined a start up and had a number of friends come to join (as my direct reportees).

I'd definitely do it again with most of them (and they would too). There are some things you have to work out, such as having a clear, physical distinction between work and friends. We'd make sure to never talk about friend stuff on the work slack for example, and unintentionally didn't really discuss work outside of it.

I'm also completely fine having difficult conversations and so doing those with friends made no difference to me and it had no impact on our friendship. The only issues ever came from friends who were very obviously not pulling their weight for a very long time (we all have hiccups). Even after alerting them to it, there was no change in behaviour. I do not think I would work with them again but it did not impact the friendship.

Am CRO/COO of a hedge fund where a good friend is the CIO/CEO.

Was definitely straining, as he never handled the actual business side of running a hedge fund and only cared about raising money/trading. The biggest screaming match was when I had to explain to him that even if we did 30% a year for the first 2 years straight we would not see institutional(insurance, retirement scheme, etc) investors until Y4-Y5 simply because of the difference in requirements from wealthy individuals.

That can't be evaluated without full knowledge of the contract and a lot of knowledge of the personalities involved. There is no 'safety' in dealing with other people, you need to know whom to trust.

> if you’re looking for a stable living wage, you’re a fool — especially in tech

I don’t understand what you are saying. I have this condition called “living”. If i am exposed to the elements for prolonged time I get cold, then sick, then I stop living. Likewise i need to eat regularly otherwise i will also stop living. In the current system we live in one meets these things by paying for them. They don’t accept IOUs, or not for long anyway.

These are non-negotiable minimums I need to fulfill. Even if someone offered me a deal where they pay me a huge sum after years of hard work, and this would be a certainty but nothing before, i could not accept it because i would have no means to sustain myself for the duration.

This is what bruce511 describes when they write “They want a proper salary, every month, not some mythical payday in the future.”

If a place offers me both a huge payday in the future and enough money in the meantime to stay alive I may accept that depending on the amounts in question and the probabilities as i see them.

This is what bruce511 talks about with “ If you can find a place that does both, thats fantastic.”

> most logical and rational path is to make as much money as quickly as possible, and enter the capital class.

Sounds good! I will surely do that once i can. Until then I will need that paycheck thank you very much. And call me a fool.

> In mu experience, people don't want equity as much as they want a living wage. They want a proper salary, every month, not some mythical payday in the future.

People also don't want to be screwed over by their friends. A little equity costs the startup's founders very little, while making sure their friends see some benefit from a successful exit is worth a lot to those friends.