Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

At Booming Toptal, No Stock for Employees or Investors

theinformation.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 195 posts

Re: At Booming Toptal, No Stock for Employees or Investors

#21

Post by JustSomeNobody »

rahuldottech wrote: post #11

I am a teenager, and know nothing of starting or running a company. That said, from what I have read, is it not true that investors who hold equity constantly apply pressure to maximise profits, often leading to companies doing... unethical things? Whenever I've complained about a company being unethical or user-unfriendly, a friend of mine who lives in the US and knows more about this stuff always points out that be…

> ... companies are often forced into such practices, ...

No company is forced into doing anything unethical. What it boils down to is group think. A group of deciders convinces themselves little by little that their current behavior is OK; mostly because of money. And so little by little they slip into the doing unethical behaviors.

Re: At Booming Toptal, No Stock for Employees or Investors

#22

Post by scarmig »

bilbo0s wrote: post #19
elsewhen wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Luring employees with promises of equity and then not delivering sounds like a bait and switch.

I don't know man? Just Devil's Advocate here, but as an employee going into a startup it's kind of well known at this point that you're only likely to get what's written in black and white. Would you go to work for a company that promises to start paying you at "sometime in the future"? I kind of agree with WheelsAtLarge, you had to have known what you were getting into. Personally, I wouldn't work for someone for fr…

Whenever I talk to new grads, I tell them to value their equity compensation at zero for a small startup, for exactly that reason.

But, it's similar to a lottery: you should expect to lose, but an organization can't run a lottery and pocket the winnings itself under the pretext everyone should have known they were throwing away their money.

Re: At Booming Toptal, No Stock for Employees or Investors

#25

Post by decebalus1 »

bnt wrote: post #8

I think the article misses the point: are we now in an era where you actually expect to get stock when you join a company? As a former Toptal employee: IMHO the co-founder in question was widely regarded as a horrible manager, often pushing people to burnout and generally imposing a culture of secrecy and mistrust. The VPs they ousted were nothing better. I personally went through several burnouts while there, but al…

> are we now in an era where you actually expect to get stock when you join a company?

Yes, the last time I checked we moved on from the feudal era, at least in principle. There should be at least the illusion that employees have skin in the game by giving them a stake in the company.

Re: At Booming Toptal, No Stock for Employees or Investors

#26

Post by rahuldottech »

emilsedgh wrote: post #17
rahuldottech wrote: post #11

I am a teenager, and know nothing of starting or running a company. That said, from what I have read, is it not true that investors who hold equity constantly apply pressure to maximise profits, often leading to companies doing... unethical things? Whenever I've complained about a company being unethical or user-unfriendly, a friend of mine who lives in the US and knows more about this stuff always points out that be…

It really depends on the company culture, sector, etc. There's a lot of dynamics in here. Public companies are generally more prone to this issue, as all the ethics become abstract to shareholders. They are not involved in the dirty work. A lot of times, companies do the right thing not because of morality, but because doing the wrong thing has a risk (from a PR disaster to a regulatory issue). If the culture of the…

> A lot of times, companies do the right thing not because of morality, but because doing the wrong thing has a risk (from a PR disaster to a regulatory issue).

I think we've all seen that at this point in time public outcry and PR disasters matter very little in the larger scope of things for such companies (Equifax, Google, Facebook, et al.)

Re: At Booming Toptal, No Stock for Employees or Investors

#28

Post by nostrademons »

larrik wrote: post #23

How does he avoid it being a Sole Proprietorship and being on the hook personally for any lawsuits against it?

You can have a one-person corporation where the founder is the sole shareholder, officer, and employee and still be protected from legal liability. A very large proportion of LLCs are in exactly this category, as well as a decent number of S- and C-corps.

You just have to file the appropriate articles of incorporation, continue paying your taxes, and make sure that company business is done in the company name out of the company bank accounts while personal business is done in your name out of your personal bank account.

Re: At Booming Toptal, No Stock for Employees or Investors

#29

Post by 1123581321 »

larrik wrote: post #23

How does he avoid it being a Sole Proprietorship and being on the hook personally for any lawsuits against it?

It’s still a separate legal entity. Sole proprietorship means there is no corporation, just a person doing business with their own assets and getting paid directly.

Re: At Booming Toptal, No Stock for Employees or Investors

#30

Post by jameslk »

coupdejarnac wrote: post #24

Is there anything about Toptal that isn't scummy?

Would love to know what you find scummy about them. I've been a freelancer in their network since 2014 and haven't found anything more egregious than any other agency from my dealings with them.
Post reply on HN