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No meetings, no deadlines, no full-time employees

sahillavingia.com

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Re: No meetings, no deadlines, no full-time employees

#111

Post by kfk »

antattack wrote: post #48

"To be clear, we don’t provide healthcare. Everyone who works at Gumroad is responsible for their own healthcare and benefits. Everyone also pays for their own phone, laptop, internet connection, and all the other things they need." It seems to me that company operates like Uber or Lyft, and their product is exploiting wage inequalities.

I would agree broadly but “normal” salary contracts are burdened by heavy taxation in most countries. A contractor could pay really good private healthcare, build a pension fund, insure for disability and a bunch of other things and still net a lot more than a salary net for the same role. I don’t like it but it’s what it is and paying public pension for something you’ll never see is also not fun.

Re: No meetings, no deadlines, no full-time employees

#112

Post by ativzzz »

shafyy wrote: post #84
philmcp wrote: post #44

In years to come we will look down on the 5 day working week in the same way we currently do with 15hr factory shifts during the industrial revolution. It absolutely blows my mind that 99% of office roles are still 5 days / week, Monday to Friday - why is there basically no variation on this model? I'd be more than happy to work a job for 80% salary for 4 days per week... So much so, I'm about to launch a website lis…

In my experience, in Europe (at least in Switzerland and Germany) it's much more common for people to work 80% than it is in the US.

Curious how being laid back in regards to work opens up opportunity from countries such as China that have some companies working 996 schedules (9-am - 9pm, 6 days a week) to overtake and make obsolete European global companies. I guess the only way EU can compete is protectionism, no?

Re: No meetings, no deadlines, no full-time employees

#113

Post by jimbob45 »

> Instead, I found an Indian firm called BigBinary and hired a few engineers as contractors.

> Since its inception in 2011 BigBinary has been remote and all 100+ team members are spread all over India.

So you outsourced development to take advantage of Indians so desperate for a job that they’d accept lower pay and pocketed the profit for yourself? I don’t understand how outsourcing is still legal when we have scumbags like you who show us problems with it.

Re: No meetings, no deadlines, no full-time employees

#114

Post by throwaway201103 »

Pulcinella wrote: post #52
NationalPark wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're contractors not employees, but you are correct. There's nothing illegal about the arrangement.

The wording of the article seemed unclear to me. You can have employees who are on contract. E.g. most public school teachers in America are on contract and full time employees of the school district. Most employment in the US is at-will and not on contract, though.

A contractor is different from a contract employee.

Re: No meetings, no deadlines, no full-time employees

#115

Post by mywittyname »

DVassallo wrote: post #77
_2d30 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you willing to provide any additional clarity on "very competitive rates as contractors"? I understand if not but would be useful to help some of us externally think about this model.

I’m making $10K/mo for a quarter-time PM role at Gumroad (so about $250/hr).

Is Gumroad your only gig?

Re: No meetings, no deadlines, no full-time employees

#116

Post by _2d30 »

philipkiely wrote: post #69
_2d30 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you willing to provide any additional clarity on "very competitive rates as contractors"? I understand if not but would be useful to help some of us externally think about this model.

I won't discuss other people's rates but I personally earn ten thousand USD per month.

Thank you for sharing!

Re: No meetings, no deadlines, no full-time employees

#118

Post by _2d30 »

DVassallo wrote: post #77
_2d30 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you willing to provide any additional clarity on "very competitive rates as contractors"? I understand if not but would be useful to help some of us externally think about this model.

I’m making $10K/mo for a quarter-time PM role at Gumroad (so about $250/hr).

Thank you for sharing!

Re: No meetings, no deadlines, no full-time employees

#119

Post by yarcob »

kortilla wrote: post #17
tosh wrote: post #2

anti-overtime, interesting! > We also have an “anti-overtime” rate: past twenty hours a week, people can continue to work at an hourly rate of 50 percent. This allows us to have a high hourly rate for the highest leverage work and also allows people to work more per week if they wish.

This sounds ripe for a lawsuit or some really bad PR. Wait until the labor groups find out you punish the people desperate for more hours to make ends meet. It’s better to implement an hour cap or require approval for any overtime.

But this is an hour cap. The employer is saying, don't work more than 20 hours, or I'll lower your rate. It's better than a strict cap, since it does offer people to work more if they want.

It would only be unfair if the employer would then instruct workers to work overtime; I assume that could be illegal (depending on where in the world this happens).

But voluntary overtime is very different.

Re: No meetings, no deadlines, no full-time employees

#120

Post by monkeydust »

DVassallo wrote: post #77
_2d30 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you willing to provide any additional clarity on "very competitive rates as contractors"? I understand if not but would be useful to help some of us externally think about this model.

I’m making $10K/mo for a quarter-time PM role at Gumroad (so about $250/hr).

Interesting is the Product Management market pretty active? What's kind of roles are on offer?
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