31–40 of 124 posts
This isn't about who is more valuable, this about who took the risk . Employees take little or no risk in 99% of cases. You are not taking a risk making 75% of your max pay at Google/Facebook/Zynga/Twitter by going to a startup. You are taking a 25% haircut to be part of something new/small/etc. However, starting something from scratch, incorporating and putting your reputation on the line is a major risk. If you are…
This isn't about who is more valuable, this about who took the risk . Employees take little or no risk in 99% of cases. You are not taking a risk making 75% of your max pay at Google/Facebook/Zynga/Twitter by going to a startup. You are taking a 25% haircut to be part of something new/small/etc. However, starting something from scratch, incorporating and putting your reputation on the line is a major risk. If you are…
And I'm sure the founder of Friendster has no trouble finding a job. Starting a company and failing has enourmous cachet in the States. And Friendster did quite well, relatively speaking, compared to most failed startups.
This isn't about who is more valuable, this about who took the risk . Employees take little or no risk in 99% of cases. You are not taking a risk making 75% of your max pay at Google/Facebook/Zynga/Twitter by going to a startup. You are taking a 25% haircut to be part of something new/small/etc. However, starting something from scratch, incorporating and putting your reputation on the line is a major risk. If you are…
In regards to money, that depends on the process. Did the startup function using the founders cash for a period of time that required a significant financial investment? If so, then there's significant risk on the part of the founder. If the startup functioned for a limited period of time on the founder's cash before receiving an investment that paid the founder as well as employees, then clearly there is little risk. Granted, the former scenario is the more likely.
I'm not a "founder" in the startup sense, but I did start my own indie development and consulting shop, and I think the startup founders can relate to my experience. For example, 16, 18, even 20 hour days are common. Keeping the business going becomes the major focus in your life. You think about it all day and dream about it if you manage to get some sleep at night. You hope and you dream and scratch and claw and fi…
Because it's super hard not to become that involved -- you're working so closely with the founders who are that involved. It's pretty hard to 9-5 it when nobody else is.
This isn't about who is more valuable, this about who took the risk . Employees take little or no risk in 99% of cases. You are not taking a risk making 75% of your max pay at Google/Facebook/Zynga/Twitter by going to a startup. You are taking a 25% haircut to be part of something new/small/etc. However, starting something from scratch, incorporating and putting your reputation on the line is a major risk. If you are…
Imho, for most, the financial risk and opportunity cost is why they deserve those shares, if you're going to do calculations.
But, even more fundamentally, the founders deserve the shares because if they didn't start the business the business wouldn't exist. Without the founders, the discussion is moot.
This isn't about who is more valuable, this about who took the risk . Employees take little or no risk in 99% of cases. You are not taking a risk making 75% of your max pay at Google/Facebook/Zynga/Twitter by going to a startup. You are taking a 25% haircut to be part of something new/small/etc. However, starting something from scratch, incorporating and putting your reputation on the line is a major risk. If you are…
This seems a weak argument, it's only applicable once you've actually got a reputation to protect. The vast majority of founders aren't celebrities. Given that many entrepreneurs just keep failing and then trying again and again and again it doesn't make much sense to me at all. There is no risk. Maybe it will be embarrassing if Malhalo fails, but I'm sure that won't stop you trying again. Personally I think there's…
Groucho: If I paid you wages, you'd be wage-slave, you wouldn't want to be a wage-slave, would you?
Bellhop: I quit
This isn't about who is more valuable, this about who took the risk . Employees take little or no risk in 99% of cases. You are not taking a risk making 75% of your max pay at Google/Facebook/Zynga/Twitter by going to a startup. You are taking a 25% haircut to be part of something new/small/etc. However, starting something from scratch, incorporating and putting your reputation on the line is a major risk. If you are…
I really question this idea that (YC-style) startup founders are taking on more risk than employees. Few founders have a significant amount of personal capital invested in the business. If the startup fails, they're not out of much more than a job. In fact, early employees are in a far more precarious situation, since they're much more likely to lose their job than the founders. And if the company does go down, the f…
But you will have just spent months/years promising people you were going to improve an aspect of their life (through your business solving their problems, or maybe through getting more financial independence for your family etc.), and you were unable to do so. In many cases you've been trusted with extremely important things. You will have been trusted with a leadership role (in society, not just a company), and you will have failed, regardless of the value of the experience. Startups don't really get traction (outside of social) without serious contributions: being involved in solving hair on fire problems.
So, let's say you're starting a banking/commerce related startup like PayPal, and some fraud happens on your network which ultimately leads to it failing to gain trust (though it is relatively secure) and thus failing to gain traction and failing. Sure, you may handle the breach well, and go on to have a high paying job as a security analyst or something based on your specific experience.
But good luck trying to raise capital again. Good luck getting your friends and family to support you and take you seriously when you're going down your second "I'm quitting my job to give everything I have to a startup." Good luck recruiting engineers who know you as the ex-CEO of failed startup XYZ, etc.