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Ask HN: What HN threads most influenced your thinking about startups?

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Re: Ask HN: What HN threads most influenced your thinking about startups?

#21

Post by kodah »

claudiulodro wrote: post #12

This question I asked when YC company Amplitude went public a little while back: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28700409 It confirmed that these days if a startup is successful the founder gets almost all of the reward, the first handful of engineers get a few million bucks, and the thousand+ people that follow simply get a regular salary. There are only two real paths to wealth in tech nowadays: start your own…

Came here to say this. First engineers and founders usually make most of the pie.

Anecdotally, I work for an engineering firm and within 4 years I was able to go from zero savings to a quarter of my retirement. It can be miserable sometimes, but I'd take miserable and retire in my 40s at this point.

Re: Ask HN: What HN threads most influenced your thinking about startups?

#23

Post by Clubber »

arduinomancer wrote: post #18
snarkypixel wrote: post #7

The one that said "Dropbox will never work because I can do the same thing with rsync"

There are lots of comments like that on HN every day. I feel like a lot of them are just people who see something getting praise and need to put it down to make themselves feel better. Seeing other people be clever somehow threatens them.

I think people believe that the technology is what makes a company rather than the customers and overall market. I believed that for a while too. I could build this better than X company and I did, and it sat there doing nothing because I couldn't market / sell / monitize it. There's a hell of a lot to building a company and customer base; the technology is only part of that.

Re: Ask HN: What HN threads most influenced your thinking about startups?

#26

Post by whoomp12342 »

Aeolun wrote: post #17
rockbruno wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My favorite is "What's the point of this product? This is very easy to do today. All you have to do is (insert very complex series of steps and tools)"

I feel like this is the story of everything that succeeds wildly.

be ware that following this story does not necisarly yield success

Re: Ask HN: What HN threads most influenced your thinking about startups?

#28

Post by Teknoman117 »

tillmannhgl wrote: post #6

A comment on HN how much someone hated commuting. Living now 2 km close to workplace. Get there everyday by bike. Love it!

I got a little burned on that one. Moved to a more expensive apartment that I could walk to work from, then the pandemic started 3 months later. Oh well.

Re: Ask HN: What HN threads most influenced your thinking about startups?

#29

Post by ahussain »

nodejs_rulez_1 wrote: post #27

Mostly general consensus/sentiment, that start-ups are not worth working for anymore due to investor/founder greed in terms of stock options allocation.

Have you seen any models for equity allocation that you think are fairer to employees?

Re: Ask HN: What HN threads most influenced your thinking about startups?

#30

Post by AYBABTME »

hedgehog0 wrote: post #24

What I Wish I'd Known About Equity Before Joining a Unicorn https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13426494

I've seen a lot of people lose a lot of money because they bought into the "value the equity at zero" mentality. It sure sounds great and edgy to be blasé and just take your pay, but if that was true, you'd be better off working at FAANG 99% of the time.

IMO if you work for a startup company, you should only do so because you believe in it, and if you believe in it, you should exercise your option as fast as you can, perhaps with an 83b election if you can afford it. Otherwise what's the point of taking a job at a startup with a lower TC and higher risk outlook than a FAANG job?

Hence, I think:

  - only join startups you strongly believe in, 
  - only join startups that offer good equity package, have raised good rounds, have healthy cap tables,
  - get as many options as you can, 
  - exercise them as fast as you can,
  - work hard to make it worth something,
  - leave if it doesn't work out.
That's kind of the whole point of joining a startup. You're joining a bet, where you've got a significant chance of influencing the outcome.
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