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Windsurf employee #2: I was given a payout of only 1% what my shares where worth

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Re: Windsurf employee #2: I was given a payout of only 1% what my shares where worth

#391

Post by dom96 »

HNdev1995 wrote: post #222
dom96 wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why you don't retire in a country with private healthcare

My parents live in the UK which has free healthcare. The situation is dire. The waitlist for chronic pain surgeries are 3-4 years long. Lots of people, including my parents, have resorted to flying out to other cheaper countries to get treatment.

Private healthcare is still much cheaper in the UK, so you're still better off retiring there. Might not always be the case of course, but I would bet the situation will continue to be better than in the US.

Re: Windsurf employee #2: I was given a payout of only 1% what my shares where worth

#392

Post by pjerem »

nkmnz wrote: post #388
pjerem wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s the description of most European countries.

lol no. Private health insurance in Germany is ~800-1000 for a 60 y.o. – public insurance might be cheaper, but you need to qualify for that when you move here by working as an employee when you're that old. Working permission will require you to work full time. So you'll end up working full time and pay ~600-1200 (based on your salary) in contributions.

I never said public healthcare is free for strangers. It’s rarely the case.

Most of the time if you are not a citizen you need to either work or pay taxes. In fact even if you are a citizen, you may not be covered if you live abroad.

It’s relatively easy to be covered as a stranger : in 99% of situations, if you just set up here seriously and not as a tourist, you’ll be covered. I count a 60yo who never contributed to the system or worked here as a tourist.

Re: Windsurf employee #2: I was given a payout of only 1% what my shares where worth

#393

Post by baq »

pembrook wrote: post #190
mawadev wrote: post #71

I'm waking up personally to the unethical side of Software development as well. You can either do little and get paid pocket change or you can provide a ton of value for pocket change next to some promises lulling you in, where the value of your work exponentially increases, but you will see nothing of it and whatever you do: you are still a replaceable cell in excel to them and there will be ways where you get dragg…

Okay, but how much do you think you deserve as an employee who has invested none of your money in the company and decided to join on a 6-figure salary only after the company is already through YC, is funded by top investors and looks attractive? If you’re instantly replaceable by any dime-a-dozen engineer than can install packages on npm and use react components and add a thumbs up to slack messages…to not get accide…

Being a founder is a job as much as being an engineer is and being an investor is - especially if you get investors early and don’t take debt to capitalize the company (which you shouldn’t if you like your life.) If you did take debt as a founder, don’t brag about your bad decisions as if they make you special.

Re: Windsurf employee #2: I was given a payout of only 1% what my shares where worth

#394

Post by hiAndrewQuinn »

BhavdeepSethi wrote: post #135
rhyperior wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They must have had a strong position from which to negotiate those favorable terms, in addition to the experience to know to do so, and the integrity to actually do it. The type of people you should follow.

I don't believe they did. This acquisition was by Flipkart, the poster child startup in India, who had a very high bar for hiring. They wanted to interview the non-founders to make sure they met the standard. The founders said you get all or you get none. To be fair, it was a small team of 6-8 employees, so I doubt Flipkart cared. :)

Wait, what are the employee protections like in India that such a deal is enforceable? Why couldn't Flipkart just take them and then fire them a few weeks/months later?

Re: Windsurf employee #2: I was given a payout of only 1% what my shares where worth

#395

Post by KingMob »

baq wrote: post #357
neilv wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> equity should be an incentive [...] and partial compensation for [...] One should value it at precisely $0 in terms of life planning.* Not very good incentive or compensation, if you have to value it at $0.

Still better than a lottery ticket.

Given opportunity costs, you could easily argue that it should have negative value.

Re: Windsurf employee #2: I was given a payout of only 1% what my shares where worth

#396

Post by bravesoul2 »

Title should be changed. Sounds like this was a choice not a fuckover.

That said...

Don't be a fool for all these AI startups that want you to burn out on 100 hour weeks. Many YC and non-YC startups are using this bravado based hiring strategy trying to get cheap labour to fuel their rockets to the moon. Don't be no fool!

Re: Windsurf employee #2: I was given a payout of only 1% what my shares where worth

#397

Post by bravesoul2 »

stan_kirdey wrote: post #75

Engineers: always negotiate for higher base salaries. In the vast majority of cases—especially during acquihires—your equity will be worth little or nothing. Founders and VCs still get paid; employees rarely do. Don't just accept promises. Ask for the 409A valuation, liquidation preferences, and pay bands. If a company won’t provide transparency, that’s your signal. Equity is a lottery ticket. Salary is money in the…

If you are gonna do that just work for a FAANG really right?

Re: Windsurf employee #2: I was given a payout of only 1% what my shares where worth

#398

Post by bravesoul2 »

chasebank wrote: post #281
kstrauser wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of house had you been dreaming of? I live in SF, and even here $3M goes an awfully freaking long way.

I'm in Santa Barbara, CA. Good friend of mine just bought a shithole 3-2 1300sqft for $2.2m. $3M doesn't go very far considering 30 years ago it was retirement status almost anywhere.

Yeah they been printing alot of $

Re: Windsurf employee #2: I was given a payout of only 1% what my shares where worth

#399

Post by pimeys »

Yeul wrote: post #182
siliconc0w wrote: post #175

These stories really kill the golden goose because it means a lot of talent just won't work at a startup. YC isn't particularly great here either, they are pro founder but not pro startup employee. Most YC companies offer pretty paltry equity to even the first few hires - and that is even assuming you aren't going to get screwed down the line.

The people who go to work for start-ups are usually young. There comes a certain time in life when you have a family that relies on you and you get old enough that you start to make plans for retirement. That's when you get a real job at a very boring stable company and stop being delusional.

Well, that depends. I'm working in a startup and I'm in my 40's. Although it's a bit different than a typical startup, because it pays quite well compared to 95% of other offers in EU to live a very comfortable life in a not too expensive European city.

Yeah, the hours can be crazy but not too often. Yes, you're expected to give your best all the time but that's part of the fun. And the best part is the challenges are always interesting.

Maybe it makes it easier for me that I'm not at all interested in normal family life and never want to have kids.

Re: Windsurf employee #2: I was given a payout of only 1% what my shares where worth

#400

Post by bravesoul2 »

moritonal wrote: post #337
chasebank wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in Santa Barbara, CA. Good friend of mine just bought a shithole 3-2 1300sqft for $2.2m. $3M doesn't go very far considering 30 years ago it was retirement status almost anywhere.

I have to ask, if they have access to get a loan of $2.2m then the friend could likely save for 5-7 years and just retire someplace cheap. Like, spending that much seems wild given the implied access to straight cash.

Yeah but let's keep the ponzi going people!
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