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Benefits matter, or why I won't work for your Y Combinator startup

mhalligan.com

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Re: Benefits matter, or why I won't work for your Y Combinator startup

#311

Post by BryantD »

Zimahl wrote: post #37

Here's what a good benefits package looks like from a company who cares about attracting senior employees, and not just college kids: - Agreement to pay for 3 conferences per year(Surge, Velocity, and ChefConf), an $18k/year benefit - $2500/year FSA, Employer funded - 401k, 5% match. (II end up with $24,750/year in my 401K plan) - Full health insurance for myself and my daughter, no Premium - Health club membership -…

I'm guessing that's 30 days total PTO. Something like:

10 vacation days 10 holidays (Christmas, etc.) 5 sick days

That's 25 days; 30 is a bit more than usual but I'd believe it.

Now, if that's what he means by 30 PTO days, I'm dubious about only 15 PTO days at the startup.

Re: Benefits matter, or why I won't work for your Y Combinator startup

#312

Post by untog »

temphn wrote: post #298
confluence wrote: post #247

I'll repost a previous comment for the benefit of the HN community concerning exactly this situation for start-up employees from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5255362 (great discussion there btw), for those who missed it the first time around (hope that's ok): ... 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…

"Relentlessly cynical", you sound like a great person to hire! Someone like you shouldn't work for a startup. Go and work for a big company, go poison the atmosphere there. It's just not a good fit on both ends. If they're cheating you so bad, if it's so obviously a bad deal, why do you even care? In your view, startups suck and no one makes a lot of money or learns anything, so you aren't missing much. Go work at Or…

Oh, please. Everyone should be cynical about the work arrangements they get into, because let's face it, the company as a whole doesn't care about you. You are a replaceable resource. If you believe otherwise then you are hopelessly naive.

I remember talking to a friend of mine who had to fire half his workforce in order to give his company six months more runway to succeed- he was absolutely devastated about it. Those coworkers were his friends and allies. He still did it, though. To a certain extent it wasn't even his choice.

Re: Benefits matter, or why I won't work for your Y Combinator startup

#313

Post by bitcartel »

threedaymonk wrote: post #199
epoxyhockey wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aren't the salaries in the UK horrendously low? The March Who is Hiring had a job in the UK with a 22-24K salary range. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5305245

Salaries in the UK are lower than the Bay Area, but I wouldn't say they're "horrendously low". I can see why that ad would make you think that, though: it really is absurdly low for London, but I don't think it's representative.

Sadly, in Dickensian Britain, a .Net developer is worth the princely sum of £1 a day, while a Python/Django expert can at best hope for £600 a year!

http://i.imgur.com/3Aw8oop.png (genuine screenshot from the Independent, a British newspaper)

Re: Benefits matter, or why I won't work for your Y Combinator startup

#314

Post by steven2012 »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #307
jebblue wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> reading his list is a lot of capital to invest in a single employee That single employee with his background represents millions of dollars per year in revenue, he should be asking for more and you should get a clue.

Did you read his rant? He's currently self employed and interviewing. I am not unsympathetic to his cause, or his angst. But I don't understand your assertion that he should be asking for even more compensation than he is, how does asking for even more salary helps him out here, could you say more about that? What exactly would be different if I were "more clued" ?

If I were him, I would quickly delete his post. That post is likely to give pause to many potential employers.

For what it's worth, I have 18 years experience, and I'm working very, very happily for a YC 09 company. I'm fairly old school in my thinking, and I've been through the Bust, so I've seen perks come and go. I just want a fair salary, good colleagues, a boss that cares, and interesting and challenging work. Perks are nice, but I don't feel entitled to any.

Actually, the first perk in my career that I have completely head-over-heels loved is our ZeroCater lunch service. I really look forward to lunch every single day.

Re: Benefits matter, or why I won't work for your Y Combinator startup

#315

Post by ianb »

mikeash wrote: post #246
llimllib wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> working for an established company will give you a far better expected financial outcome at lower risk. Tiny, tiny nit: that final phrase is redundant. Calculating an expected financial outcome includes the risk. Agree with everything you're saying.

The risk also needs to be considered separately, though. For example, which of these is better compensation? $100,000/year or Each year, there is a 0.1% chance that you will be paid $1 billion. Simple math tells us that the second one has a 10x higher expected financial outcome. But few people would actually consider that to be better compensation. Lower risk is better, to an extent that can outweigh a higher expecte…

I'm not sure if it's safety, or a knowledge that risk assessment also has to take into account the risk that your assessment is wrong. How can anyone make a prediction of any 0.1% chance? The accuracy of the information going into combines in all sorts of horrible ways, and not likely to your advantage. There's no hypothetical in which that chance would make sense, in which it would be calculable and accurate, so instead we intuitively mark it as simply foolishly optimistic belief.

Plus, if you really did have solid odds, you could sell those odds, i.e., have someone invest in you.

Re: Benefits matter, or why I won't work for your Y Combinator startup

#316

Post by jethro_tell »

jowiar wrote: post #280
confluence wrote: post #247

I'll repost a previous comment for the benefit of the HN community concerning exactly this situation for start-up employees from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5255362 (great discussion there btw), for those who missed it the first time around (hope that's ok): ... 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…

> 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. This is a worthwhile suggestion regardless of startup or not. You don't want a large portion of your assets tied up in the company you work for, where a calamitous event can both cause you to lose your job and your savings. Take the cash, invest it in /…

I watched friends who worked at Washington Mutual with tons of WaMu stock see their "retirement" disintegrate in a couple months then getting rewarded with a pink slip. Not even a risky start up. That was a pretty painful.

Re: Benefits matter, or why I won't work for your Y Combinator startup

#317

Post by just2n »

> I'm not going to mention salaries, but I'm a senior engineer with 20 years of experience and can command a pretty good salary.

Why is it everyone is still afraid or committed to upholding this "taboo" about talk regarding salaries? Companies LOVE this. What's fair? Fuck if I know. I don't know what anyone else makes but my close friends, and that's a tiny sampling.

While you're sharing advice, why intentionally spread ignorance? "Fuck you, pay me" you say. But what if my asking price is unbeknownst to me below market for someone of my experience, work ethic, age, and talent? That has an impact on both me AND you. Think about it.

Re: Benefits matter, or why I won't work for your Y Combinator startup

#318

Post by vellum »

rdl wrote: post #150
hkmurakami wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just FYI, insurance premiums can skyrocket one you get older or develop serious health issues (and such health issues really can come suddenly -- autoimmune diseases, etc). I think you've built a wonderful position for yourself, but I'd urge you to be mindful of thepotential pitfalls in the future.

A lot of the health insurance risk is changing in 2014, though, so it's actually viable to have lower coverage insurance now and plan to upgrade IFF a major medical condition happens. (yes, this makes no sense from an insurance market perspective for the insurers)

You sure? Since 2014 is when no one can get denied and everyone has to have healthcare, I think there's some uncertainty in the market. If the system gets too many expensive cases, and not enough payees, premiums could skyrocket.

Re: Benefits matter, or why I won't work for your Y Combinator startup

#319

Post by vellum »

twakefield wrote: post #127

"That $375k would then be subject to 63% taxes, netting me $138,750, or a 20% down-payment on my piece of the american dream. The other company does the right thing, so I only see a 15% capital gains tax" A bit of an aside but could someone elaborate on this? Is the OP referring to an 83(b) election? If so, isn't that his responsibility (of course, the company should advise him to do this). Or is this referring to so…

Yup, California treats capital gains as regular income, so he gets hit with an additional 13.3%.
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