Dropbox S-1 • Hacker News Board

Re: Dropbox S-1

#401

Post by bogomipz » Tue, Feb 27, 2018, 11:11 AM UTC

nnain wrote: post #400

bogomipz wrote: post #357

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"I'll just point out that the SVP of engineering, a former Microsoft exec, received $34 million in compensation, since joining less than 6 months ago." I am curious what contributions can a single executive make to a company that justify $34 million dollars in compensation? More so what contributions did that individual make in less than 6 months that can justify this obscene level of compensation? Did they create 3…

I would guess that he was hired so he can bring in some multi million clients from his network. Such hires can sometimes bring a lot of value to the company or just be a big drain at other times (the more severe effect though can be a dip in motivation for other techies).

"Clients"? It's not a customer facing role.

Re: Dropbox S-1

#402

Post by paloaltoasshole » Wed, Feb 28, 2018, 2:26 AM UTC

bogomipz wrote: post #357

throwaway93192 wrote: post #247

I'll just point out that the SVP of engineering, a former Microsoft exec, received $34 million in compensation, since joining less than 6 months ago. For all employees that are considering joining a startup as rank-and-file engineers and putting in years of effort, remember that your compensation will be paltry compared to founders and top execs. When your work finally pays off, it will mostly pay off for them. Good…

>"I'll just point out that the SVP of engineering, a former Microsoft exec, received $34 million in compensation, since joining less than 6 months ago." I am curious what contributions can a single executive make to a company that justify $34 million dollars in compensation? More so what contributions did that individual make in less than 6 months that can justify this obscene level of compensation? Did they create 3…

> Remember this the next time a recruiter at some startup tries to tell they offer options in lieu of cash because the company wants you "to have skin in the game."

The SVP got $130k in cash and $34m in stocks

Re: Dropbox S-1

#403

Post by paloaltoasshole » Wed, Feb 28, 2018, 2:32 AM UTC

drieddust wrote: post #316

adventured wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The average NBA player salary is $6 million per year. In the next few years all of the NBA players combined (~420 players) are set to make more in salary than all the S&P 500 CEOs earn in salary combined. Should top executives at $10 billion companies (7x the average value of an NBA team) receive compensation on par with professional athletes? How does that not make sense? The US will spend $10 billion per year compe…

Executive compensation and performance is negatively correlated. NBA stars make money by exposing themselves to downside. They have fan, they generate direct revenue and last but not the least they have their skin in the game. One injury and their playing career is over for good. What does these executives bring to table? Can 10 of them alone deliver the product and services to customer? And when they fail ,they simp…

I have seen some questionable research papers claiming that but I'm not convinced.

Re: Dropbox S-1

#404

Post by totalZero » Wed, Feb 28, 2018, 3:59 PM UTC

jmalicki wrote: post #399

totalZero wrote: post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the spread that likely exists between the buyer and seller. Spread doesn't have to favor a buyer.

No, it typically favors the middleman.

You have to think about it in terms of who demonstrates excess demand for the trade.

If the buyer is more eager to transact, usually he ends up paying higher than fair value. The opposite is usually true if the seller is more eager for the transaction.

If you have an item of unique value, you may aggressively sell it, as in your initial post to which I had replied. But if you just post a price -- take out a classified ad every week, for example -- then you can wait for an eager buyer to come along.

Even the middleman often crosses the spread. A market-maker might have to clear out of excess risk/inventory ASAP, for example, which requires him to initiate transactions.