A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company • Hacker News Board

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#91

Post by cltby » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 7:22 PM UTC

CarelessExpert wrote: post #64

SpicyLemonZest wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coinbase didn't say "no politics" or "we support the status quo". They just said that the company is focused on cryptocurrency, and won't engage in political causes other than supporting cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency is an explicitly political cause.

Bob grows chickens and Alice grows corn. They trade via barter. We'd probably agree this isn't political in any meaningful sense.

One day, Alice has a clever idea: she can create a digital representation of money. Both Alice and Bob agree to accept these "tokens" in lieu of barter.

Big mistake. CarelessExpert announces to Alice and Bob that their creation obligates them to join in bitter arguments about abortion, climate change, and LGBT rights.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#92

Post by sparkie » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 7:22 PM UTC

beervirus wrote: post #75

The policy seems pretty reasonable to me. Surprising that 60 people would quit because the company wants to make money instead of virtue signal.

It's the same as saying "Don't discuss religion at work." A religious fundamentalist would take issue with the mere fact that they are being told not to discuss their religion. That's what we have with virtue signalling types. They are religious fundamentalists, and their religion is Statism.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#93

Post by leetcrew » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 7:22 PM UTC

thedevil wrote: post #11

One thought: If you see a resume with Coinbase until October 2020, that's probably someone who prefers political activism in the workplace. That might be seen in a positive or negative light, depending on your stance. I personally am afraid to associate myself too publicly with a political stance, lest I be wrong and/or the environment changes.

do people really read this much into resumes? I mostly just look to see if they have any relevant experience and/or impressive projects. aside from raising an eyebrow if I see a bunch of short stints at different companies, I don't try to ferret out their life story or political views by carefully analyzing their hire/leave dates.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#94

Post by dyeje » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 7:23 PM UTC

rllearneratwork wrote: post #71

asdfman123 wrote: post #12

I mean, I usually look for another job every year or two. If someone is also willing to pay me lavish amounts of money to do that and take a trip across Europe in between, please sign me up.

why? typically RSUs/signing bonus vest over 4 years period

Many companies, like Coinbase, don't have RSUs.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#95

Post by Judgmentality » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 7:23 PM UTC

emidln wrote: post #86

rllearneratwork wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

why? typically RSUs/signing bonus vest over 4 years period

At least in finance (I realize HN is FAANG/SV focused), the signing bonus typically vests in 12-18 months. Finance also offers cash bonuses instead of RSUs. Finance also typically has paid leave built into the contract as a noncompete.

Typically the signing bonus vests over 12 months in tech, and the RSUs vest over 4 years. There are also usually cash bonuses in addition to the above.

YMMV depending on the company. Netflix is an obvious outlier in that they offer no RSUs and just pay very high salaries.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#96

Post by libria » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 7:23 PM UTC

xyzzy_plugh wrote: post #23

thedevil wrote: post #11

One thought: If you see a resume with Coinbase until October 2020, that's probably someone who prefers political activism in the workplace. That might be seen in a positive or negative light, depending on your stance. I personally am afraid to associate myself too publicly with a political stance, lest I be wrong and/or the environment changes.

Alternatively, if you see a resume with Coinbase through 2020-2021, that person probably prefers the opposite, which may also be seen in a positive or negative light, depending on your stance.

It signals that a person did not want to be politically active at their workplace enough to lose/quit their job.

I think that says nothing of a persons political views and is just self-preservation or even indifference. Hiring would have to make some very tenuous assumptions to consider that a signal.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#97

Post by tabbott » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 7:24 PM UTC

travisoneill1 wrote: post #51

heavyset_go wrote: post #25

It's interesting to hear Coinbase management insist that they're apolitical when the company makes significant political contributions itself[1]. [1] https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?...

I think they only claimed to be apolitical in matters that don't affect the company's core business.

Right, lobbying is super valuable for a company whose business is in a legally questionable position on the boundary of the highly regulated banking industry.

This "apolitical" move would be a compelling choice if their only goal was optimizing shareholder value -- it's in their interest to maximize their ability to effectively lobby both American political parties to ensure any future cryptocurrency regulations benefit them.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#98

Post by krzyk » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 7:24 PM UTC

rllearneratwork wrote: post #71

asdfman123 wrote: post #12

I mean, I usually look for another job every year or two. If someone is also willing to pay me lavish amounts of money to do that and take a trip across Europe in between, please sign me up.

why? typically RSUs/signing bonus vest over 4 years period

Not every company offers RSUs (at least outside US).

E.g. in my case only my third offered it, and I was like "What is that?", in my case it started vesting after 1 year (linear). So at that point one can think of looking for new job.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#99

Post by roywiggins » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 7:24 PM UTC

donatj wrote: post #73

Honest gut impression - they were probably dead weight anyway? Talking politics at work rather than, you know, getting work done. I've certainly worked with a number of the type.

Seems like a really expensive way to get rid of them if they were dead weight in the first place.

Re: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company

#100

Post by kemitche » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 7:24 PM UTC

rllearneratwork wrote: post #71

asdfman123 wrote: post #12

I mean, I usually look for another job every year or two. If someone is also willing to pay me lavish amounts of money to do that and take a trip across Europe in between, please sign me up.

why? typically RSUs/signing bonus vest over 4 years period

It's the (usually 1-year) cliff that is more important when considering leaving. Once an engineer hits the RSU/bonus cliff, they're not losing _past_ benefits for leaving, only future benefits - and presumably the other job opportunity has better future benefits.