How to Pay Startup Employees Fairly | Hacker News Reader

How to Pay Startup Employees Fairly

medium.com

5 pointsjprocopio9 comments

How is this advice any different than the same old thing every company does?

What do you want to be making at your next job? What is the minimum you’d take and still come to work happy every day?

That is still based on negotiating ability. I have no problem coming across as a “mercenary”. I go to work everyday to make money. The same reason he started a business.

Good points. I hope I addressed them in the post, but thanks for the chance to summarize them here.

So the difference is this: Most companies, the vast majority, including startups, fall into a salary schedule based on ranges and grades, which serves nobody except the books. It's my belief that job-hopping is so prevalent when companies tell talent they can't pay them anymore because they've hit some sort of artificial ceiling. I'm calling for an individual assessment in salary, from the very beginning (i.e. startups) to be able to get max value. IOW -- pay the employee what they need and make sure we get value back for that money.

Nothing wrong with being a merc. I've been a merc. But I don't do what I do just for the money. If you do, that's great, that's your motivation and you probably return that with tons extra in your output. So when your employer comes to you and says, "Hey, we can't give you more money but here's a fancy title." That's NOT you, right? They should be aware of your motivation and pay you accordingly.

I hate to be blunt. But your bio says.

I’m a multi-exit, multi-failure entrepreneur. Building Spiffy, sold Automated Insights, sold ExitEvent, built Intrepid Media.

Your history for starting businesses is to sell them and to make money from them. There is nothing wrong with that but don’t pretend that you’re doing this to feed starving children in Africa.

But yes, after being the dev lead at a previous company. I negotiated at my current job not to be a team lead. I have no interest in titles or official leadership positions. I would rather mentor and advise from within a team.

No, please, be blunt. This is all honest. Let me put it this way. In my 20s, I was 100% money driven. In my 30s, probably 75%, now in my 40s, about 50%. I'm not saying I want to feed starving children in Africa. That'd be a good thing, but my thing is different. I get offers, not a ton, but some, that are for more money, but I'd have to give up things I care about more. Time with my family, doing what I love to do, working with people I might not want to work with, etc. Everyone has these.

So now why is this a thing and not just me-- If you look at millennials, they're nowhere near as money driven as my generation or the one before mine. I've seen it time and again. It's not black and white -- there are some that are mercs, and the ones that aren't are not 100% saints, but the mean is shifting away from money.

Thanks for the feedback.

Even so, from your side, your motivation from being in business is for your own work life balance and to further your goals - which are not necessarily financial.

But unless I as an employee think that I’m doing something for a higher calling, what motivation do I have to work for your company besides either making more money now, or to learn skills where I can leave and make more money later? In other words, I may be willing to make less for a non profit but not for a for profit business.

And that’s not meant to be judgemental. You would be hiring me because you can arbitrage my talents and pay me less than you can profit from me. On the other hand, I would work for you to get the most money I could and at the same time understanding that you are profiting off of me in exchange for me not having to worry about all of the headaches of running a business. I think negotiating is about coming up with a mutually agreeable amount.

I think we agree on those points. Most people don't get to negotiate, especially younger people earlier in their careers, especially when it comes to things like incentives, base/bonus, and milestones. If you negotiate, you're the exception. I know I am.

You might come out as “mercenary” or “not passionate” guy for the companies but I think your pragmatism has helped the industry as whole to some extend.

I was very much your typical computer geek. Started programming in assembly in the 80s in middle school, loved programming, etc.

But, too often, I see business owners taking advantage of developers who have “passion” and drink the kool-aid and are getting underpaid and overworked and then the company has an exit and the owners get rich and rtf developers get very little.

Or there is an acquihire. Even in the case of failure, the contacts and the industry connections that the founder makes leave them with a relatively soft landing.

Hear ya. Same here, loved computers and to build stuff.

For long time, I thought meritocracy was there for us, (maybe because we tend to be more rational?) And it sort of worked this way the first years but once I got up to political levels that’s when I realized people are taken advantage quite often.

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