>"Another thing that made this situation complicated was that Kyle and I are recently engaged"
Even if she got double (or even four times) the equity, does nobody else think this is a disaster waiting to happen?
How I negotiated my startup compensation (with numbers)
41–50 of 222 posts
Re: How I negotiated my startup compensation (with numbers)
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
It feels like her role is an auxiliary function, like Office Manager or QA, so I think her generic analysis works. If her role was central to the business, then I don't think she would be valuing her contribution with a one-liner like 'Employee’s value-add to the company (I used 15%, which I think is pretty low!)'. Instead the question of her value-add would be the starting/central point of the negotiation.
Her twitter account says she's an engineer. What makes you think her role is Office Manager or QA?
Not to mention her current salary is 140k (after bonuses), which I think would be quite a bit above what most office managers and QA people make.
Re: How I negotiated my startup compensation (with numbers)
#43“I think there are some pieces missing from your calculations. What’s the value of the experience you’re going to get from building a company? And you’re underestimating the value of the relationships you’re going to build, and the mentorship you’ll have through our investor network. And if it doesn’t work out, your experience here will make you even more valuable to the Amazons, Facebooks, and Googles of the world. I’m confident this is the best move you can make for your career.” -- Kyle (CEO)
If I had $1 for every time I heard that about a startup, I'd actually have a lot of real money instead of the worthless monopoly "money" a company offers you as equity. At least you didn't get common stock so it could be diluted to nothing later when the VCs and angels come in and eat up the company.
Then again, if you're sleeping with the CEO, you actually get that option. You also get the option to create a place full of nepotism that's doomed to fail. Just my experience.
Re: How I negotiated my startup compensation (with numbers)
#44Interesting post, though $70k to live in San Francisco? That's going to be pretty tough, honestly it's crazy expensive here.
OP also mentions $12k worth of rent subsidy. Not bad, I think. I believe there's an implicit "keep up with the Jones" factor here. Surely there are plenty of non-programmers living with less than $70k in San Francisco. In Japanese companies, you need to get to senior level (implying at least team lead but more likely project manager) to earn $70k a year. And it's not like Tokyo is a cheap place to live. I told a Japa…
"rent subsidy"?
Are you kidding? Man, I must be living in the wrong town. In Florida, the fact that we offer medical insurance and matching 401k sets us apart from most business here.
Though we do have a few other perks.. you cell service is covered by the company. Also everyone gets an ipad (it's yours once you past 6 months). But really though, these "perks" help us (the company) more.
But this just proves, bubbles exist.
Re: How I negotiated my startup compensation (with numbers)
#45Interesting post, though $70k to live in San Francisco? That's going to be pretty tough, honestly it's crazy expensive here.
Did you miss the rent subsidy part? It was listed at $12K, so $1K/month. But lets step back from that for a moment. $70K gross income. Lets say you put $2K into an IRA (no 401k) so $68K after that. Estimated federal tax is $10,592 [1], Another 6.2% goes to Social security so $4,340 [2], estimated state income tax (CA) is about $3,922 so rolling that up, $68K - $18,854 in taxes thats not quite $50K left over ($49,146)…
Honestly, I missed the rent subsidy part which makes it a bit easier. Still, thanks for the breakdown! I guess I waste a lot of money or something because I somehow manage to spend a lot more here!
Although saying that, I prefer to put a lot more away towards savings and retirement and like to travel a lot too.
Re: How I negotiated my startup compensation (with numbers)
#46A tip for people writing on corporate blogs: let us know who you are up front. Whether there's a byline under the title or a short intro sentence/paragraph preceding the article, knowing who you are gives the reader a way to frame what your story. Because the tech industry is so heterosexual male-dominated, when I read that the author was engaged to the CEO, I first assumed I had misunderstood, then I thought the aut…
I came here to say the same thing. I had to do a CTRL+F to search for "Michelle" to see if I had missed where "Me:" and "Kyle:" turned into "Michelle:" and "Kyle:".
Re: How I negotiated my startup compensation (with numbers)
#47Interesting post, though $70k to live in San Francisco? That's going to be pretty tough, honestly it's crazy expensive here.
Did you miss the rent subsidy part? It was listed at $12K, so $1K/month. But lets step back from that for a moment. $70K gross income. Lets say you put $2K into an IRA (no 401k) so $68K after that. Estimated federal tax is $10,592 [1], Another 6.2% goes to Social security so $4,340 [2], estimated state income tax (CA) is about $3,922 so rolling that up, $68K - $18,854 in taxes thats not quite $50K left over ($49,146)…
The rent subsidy is ~$600/month after tax.
Re: How I negotiated my startup compensation (with numbers)
#48Interesting post, though $70k to live in San Francisco? That's going to be pretty tough, honestly it's crazy expensive here.
Did you miss the rent subsidy part? It was listed at $12K, so $1K/month. But lets step back from that for a moment. $70K gross income. Lets say you put $2K into an IRA (no 401k) so $68K after that. Estimated federal tax is $10,592 [1], Another 6.2% goes to Social security so $4,340 [2], estimated state income tax (CA) is about $3,922 so rolling that up, $68K - $18,854 in taxes thats not quite $50K left over ($49,146)…
Its 2 people sharing an apartment(Im assuming from them being engaged), so that is easier). Also rental insurance is fraction of what you mentioned, especially if its part of your auto insurance coverage.
Re: How I negotiated my startup compensation (with numbers)
#49I wrote a tool a while ago to do this math:
http://options-vs-salary.com
Re: How I negotiated my startup compensation (with numbers)
#50A tip for people writing on corporate blogs: let us know who you are up front. Whether there's a byline under the title or a short intro sentence/paragraph preceding the article, knowing who you are gives the reader a way to frame what your story. Because the tech industry is so heterosexual male-dominated, when I read that the author was engaged to the CEO, I first assumed I had misunderstood, then I thought the aut…
Also, Michelle mentioned that she was "friends with all of the founders of Keen." No small detail there.