171–180 of 238 posts
Over 5 years ago I turned down an offer to work at LivingSocial. Last year, I would've been worth $10 million on paper. All of that fake wealth evaporated today. What a mess.
I bombed on my interview there last year. Not feeling so bad about it now.
I honestly don't understand how these sites manage to raise any money at all, regardless of valuation.
Here are a few tips for others startup employees: 1. Take the least amount of stock possible - your startup is statistically unlikely to succeed. It'd be better to bump your salary up $10-20K than to get the stock. 2. Unless it's liquid - it's worthless. 3. Valuations pre-cashflow - are useless. Anybody can value anything at insane levels using just one dollar. I value HN at $1 billion by offering to buy only 1 share…
I find your comment fascinating and, from the perspective of a twice founder, mystifying. Your screen name evokes two vector forces or rivers coming together to form a new, stronger, force in a common direction. Ironically this is the true nature of an employee and employer. I have worked for fortune 10 companies and for 3 man crews. Yet my own assessment of my value has not changed. If an individual understands thei…
Here are a few tips for others startup employees: 1. Take the least amount of stock possible - your startup is statistically unlikely to succeed. It'd be better to bump your salary up $10-20K than to get the stock. 2. Unless it's liquid - it's worthless. 3. Valuations pre-cashflow - are useless. Anybody can value anything at insane levels using just one dollar. I value HN at $1 billion by offering to buy only 1 share…
What if you just like the people and product you are working on?
You only have so many productive days in your life. Wasting them being exploited is throwing away money you can never get back. You think actors don't enjoy doing movies? Of course they do, but they expect to be compensated for it. You think sport players hate their sport and only play for the money? Of course not, they just recognize that without them the managers wouldn't be making any money so they demand their part.
Never feel bad about demanding what you are owed.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I really hate using LivingSocial/Groupon because it seems like the business owners always HATED taking these deals. I always feel like I'm being treated differently because I'm not paying the actual price. One time when I used one of these deals, I even heard the employee say to another employee "... another #$#@$#@ groupon deal....". If they didn't like people using the deals, why bother signing up for it? I can't w…
"I can't wait for these daily deal business to go away because I don't think it benefits anyone." If you don't like these deals, then don't use them but don't say that they don't benefit anyone. Customers benefit from these deals all the time. 50% off a meal is a great offer! I think the biggest problem with these deals (for the wait staff at a restaurant) is that people think they should tip based off the discounted…
When all your competitors are? Go make a business and try that strategy.
>50% off a meal is a great offer!
So great the company who set it up went right out of business despite an insane amount of funding.
>I think the biggest problem with these deals (for the wait staff at a restaurant) is that people think they should tip based off the discounted meal, instead of the full price.
I don't think people should tip at all. Tipping is just a sneaky way of having the customers pay the labor costs directly. It's ridiculous to say a steak costs $7 when I'm paying the the server as well.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What if you just like the people and product you are working on?
It doesn't matter. Demand your value or you're lowing the market for yourself and everyone else who does what you do. You only have so many productive days in your life. Wasting them being exploited is throwing away money you can never get back. You think actors don't enjoy doing movies? Of course they do, but they expect to be compensated for it. You think sport players hate their sport and only play for the money?…
Who wouldn't take a pay cut make 40 hours of their week more enjoyable?
Here are a few tips for others startup employees: 1. Take the least amount of stock possible - your startup is statistically unlikely to succeed. It'd be better to bump your salary up $10-20K than to get the stock. 2. Unless it's liquid - it's worthless. 3. Valuations pre-cashflow - are useless. Anybody can value anything at insane levels using just one dollar. I value HN at $1 billion by offering to buy only 1 share…
You should work for a company you are passionate about, take it's stock and assume it will be worth next to nothing and hope for the best.
The investors must have had one of those 75% off coupons. I honestly don't understand how these sites manage to raise any money at all, regardless of valuation.
The sites had off the charts growth, huge revenue dollars that were growing just as fast and the land was up for grabs.
Even Google got suckered into this when it tried to buy Groupon for billions in cash, I can see where the investors were coming from, well at least before 2011.