People are very bitter about comp right now, so it's spilling over into this discussion.
People are super bitter at execs right now, and the vitriol here is not justified.
FWIW I really like it, although I would love to know more about how equity is determined.
I'm just thinking for senior people, do you have trouble getting them in the door? Like, would you be willing to work at Oxide at the equity levels you're offering today?
In terms of candidates in process who did not matriculate over compensation: prior to writing this blog entry, we had had one candidate drop out over compensation (the lesson we learned was that our compensation had been shared too late in the process with the candidate). Amazingly, after we published this blog post we also had one candidate drop out over compensation (albeit earlier in the process). That one was enlightening because the candidate had read the blog entry but had assumed it was false (?!) and that everyone was actually making secret signing bonuses. Finally, we had one candidate who had simply too much equity as their existing employer to leave. This candidate was absolutely miserable at work, they were disgusted by the company they worked for (and they loved Oxide!), but simply couldn't walk away from the equity, which was vesting quarter over quarter with more money than their parents had made over decades. This was causing real angst for the candidate, even though I assured them that their decision was very understandable!
Finally, your last question is the most important one, because we have always endeavored to build the team that we wanted to be on. For me personally, yes, I would emphatically be willing to work at Oxide -- would that they would have me!
[0] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xtofg-fMQfZoq8Y3oSAKjEgD...
No, in this sad place it's either discussing how to move up through corporate ladders or joining startups with insane funding and equity. God forbids, again, anyone has personal professional goals beyond being rich.
Fwiw I like your model and opennes and I find it super fair equating equity with risk. Moreover, I feel like no comments go beyond the money to actually see the goal which is to have people collaborate over compete, remove all the bs that ruins most jobs.
The transparency is great and is clearly a value-add for candidates, IMO.
But the salary simply does not compete with HCOL Startup Senior+ Engineers (around 20- 40% lower than Staff level).
That said, Oxide is in a unique class of startups that can still hire strong talent despite this pay deficit (whether due to an exceptional product, team, technical challenge, or other rare attribute). I know a Software Engineer who just took a 25% pay cut to join a construction analytics SaaS startup because he has heard his brother (a Surveyor) complain specifically about problems this company's solving!