Karma first, cash later – why you •should• work for free in the startup scene

I've spent too many important years getting someone else rich while getting paid.

I'm not going to do it for free.

Why should I give you anything for free when you will quickly drop me if I'm not an "expert" in new technology X.

The elephant in the room that nobody wants to acknowledge is that the startup culture is very much driven by "What have you done for me lately?". I feel this is caused by the relative youth and inexperience of many community members that causes them to be attracted to the "latest and greatest" even if it doesn't offer any improvements.

As a dev I have a relatively short shelf life. Please don't ask me to donate any of it to you.

The expectation should always be that you are paid for your work, side projects or partnered projects are the only situations where intrinsic compensation is ok. It's disrespectful to the one working for free and shameful to whomever asks someone to work for free if they are in fact a 'business'.

"Karma first, cash later"

Sounds a whole lot like the business philosophy Silicon Valley was trumpeting in the heyday of the .com boom.

Kids, don't drink that kool-aid. It's tainted.

I want to believe it's a joke or trolling.

Nice try Startupbootcamp guy. Won't fell for it.

The only free work I'd do is working for myself.