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What salary does the founder of your favorite startup get?

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Re: What salary does the founder of your favorite startup get?

#31

Post by verteu »

dangero wrote: post #8

I've always heard that a founder's salary should be the amount that allows the founder to focus on the business. The concept of a super low salary seems to be focused on the 20 something single crowd. I have a family to support, so I can't take a super small salary and eat Top Ramen. This may be a subtle way that older founders are discriminated against. The story I've heard from founders who have families is that th…

> I have a family to support, so I can't take a super small salary and eat Top Ramen. This may be a subtle way that older founders are discriminated against.

This is not (harmful) discrimination. Ceteris paribus, people with financial obligations are less fit to found a startup.

Re: What salary does the founder of your favorite startup get?

#32

Post by VLM »

dmtroyer wrote: post #25

Right. Keyword here being 'salary'. Most business owners pay themselves only enough of a reasonable salary to keep from getting audited and compensate themselves through other, technically non-salary, means, for tax purposes.

This is hardly a tech startup only phenomenon. Especially in cash businesses. Salary = enough to keep the IRS off your back and not a penny more.

The company owns every tool, every book, every piece of furniture, cars, some clothes, every meal is a business meeting...

Re: What salary does the founder of your favorite startup get?

#33

Post by michaelochurch »

ry0ohki wrote: post #26
dangero wrote: post #8

I've always heard that a founder's salary should be the amount that allows the founder to focus on the business. The concept of a super low salary seems to be focused on the 20 something single crowd. I have a family to support, so I can't take a super small salary and eat Top Ramen. This may be a subtle way that older founders are discriminated against. The story I've heard from founders who have families is that th…

In theory older people have had a better chance to build up savings or have a working spouse/partner to help out.

When you're 22 and single, you've never had money of your own so you don't know how much to ask for or how to keep what you have.

When you're 34 and married, you can't just piss your wealth or career away because some frat boy with connections or a checkbook says that working with him will have you set for life inside of 2 years.

Re: What salary does the founder of your favorite startup get?

#34

Post by imgabe »

michaelochurch wrote: post #22
ivanplenty wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This post will be downvoted to hell, but I have been wanting to say this for a while and can't find a way to contact you. (My email is my HN handle at gmail) You may or may not be right about this or the rest of VC-istan. But I LOVE the fervor and color of your posts. I love hearing a contrarian view. And I would love to buy you a cup of coffee or beer to say thanks for making my time of HN so much more interesting.…

This post will be downvoted to hell, but I have been wanting to say this for a while and can't find a way to contact you. Actually, it's at +9 [ETA: changed during writing of reply] right now. [+12 as of 11.56 PST] The reason my posts tend to end up at the bottom is not (in general) downvoting or low karma scores. Of course, I've had some posts get downvoted, and a smaller number that deserved it. (Who hasn't?) The r…

Is this really supposed to be a punishment or just to mitigate that "famous" posters may more often get voted up on name alone, where an equivalent comment from a less well known person wouldn't receive as much attention?

Re: What salary does the founder of your favorite startup get?

#35

Post by troels »

karangoeluw wrote: post #17

Before you jump to conclusions from this graph [1] about India, keep in mind that for most families, making $50k a year is a glory. You can live luxuriously, drive "high-end" car(s), but a moderately-large house in a couple years etc. You get the idea. I always hate it when they compare economies in $ for everyone. http://cdn2.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/01/...

Yes, it seems rather disingenuous to lump different countries (or even states/cities within the US) into one ladder. 50K in San Francisco is a lot less than 50K in .. well, pretty much everywhere else.

Re: What salary does the founder of your favorite startup get?

#36

Post by wpietri »

verteu wrote: post #31
dangero wrote: post #8

I've always heard that a founder's salary should be the amount that allows the founder to focus on the business. The concept of a super low salary seems to be focused on the 20 something single crowd. I have a family to support, so I can't take a super small salary and eat Top Ramen. This may be a subtle way that older founders are discriminated against. The story I've heard from founders who have families is that th…

> I have a family to support, so I can't take a super small salary and eat Top Ramen. This may be a subtle way that older founders are discriminated against. This is not (harmful) discrimination. Ceteris paribus, people with financial obligations are less fit to found a startup.

The question is whether the ceteris really is paribus. Lower burn is definitely helpful, but lower experience, fewer connections, lower maturity, and higher controlability are less so.

That said, older founders are also more likely to have access to capital, so of the kinds of discrimination I worry about in Silicon Valley, age discrimination is lower down on my list despite my salt-and-pepper beard.

Re: What salary does the founder of your favorite startup get?

#38

Post by troels »

verteu wrote: post #31
dangero wrote: post #8

I've always heard that a founder's salary should be the amount that allows the founder to focus on the business. The concept of a super low salary seems to be focused on the 20 something single crowd. I have a family to support, so I can't take a super small salary and eat Top Ramen. This may be a subtle way that older founders are discriminated against. The story I've heard from founders who have families is that th…

> I have a family to support, so I can't take a super small salary and eat Top Ramen. This may be a subtle way that older founders are discriminated against. This is not (harmful) discrimination. Ceteris paribus, people with financial obligations are less fit to found a startup.

Are you sure? There's probably a strong correlation between age and financial obligations and there's probably also a strong correlation between age and maturity/experience. Unless the pool size is very large, you are severely limiting the candidates by selecting for two mutually excluding parameters.

Calling it discrimination is a bit odd though - It smacks of entitlement. But investors might want to consider these factors.

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