<story><title>Silicon Valley&apos;s best kept secret: Founder liquidity</title><url>https://www.stefantheard.com/silicon-valleys-best-kept-secret-founder-liquidity/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>bradleyjg</author><text>All you’re saying is that in the contemporary context it’s exceedingly foolish to be an employee at an early startup. The VCs and founders have optimized away all the incentive. Eventually the message will reach even naive 22 year olds.</text></item><item><author>kneath</author><text>I have seen a lot of companies, a lot of rounds. I have known zero founders who have turned down an option to take money off the table (and zero A raises that offered that to employees). I love the idea of your universe, though.</text></item><item><author>josh2600</author><text>The best startups have a concept which is summed up thusly:&lt;p&gt;“We all go to the pay window at the same time.”&lt;p&gt;It’s ok for founders to take a little bit of money off of the table if they extend that to their employees as well. Asymmetry is where things get weird.&lt;p&gt;I’ve seen many founders who got deep into the fundraising cycles without ever realizing they could take a cent out. VCs will constantly tell you to let it all ride, and sometimes that works out, but for most people, having a little bit of financial security while you’re trying to change the world is necessary.&lt;p&gt;The best startups figure out how to manage liquidity through financing in a way that aligns incentives, keeps the goalposts at the mission, while allowing their teams to thrive.&lt;p&gt;It’s about alignment. If everyone is pulling in the same direction you’re going to execute the vision. Whether you win in the startup lottery is up to the threads of fate, but alignment is the straightest path towards a result.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>smeej</author><text>I&amp;#x27;d tweak this slightly: &amp;quot;It&amp;#x27;s exceedingly foolish to be an employee at an early startup &lt;i&gt;for the money.&lt;/i&gt;&amp;quot;&lt;p&gt;I think there are a lot of us who struggle to fit the larger corporate mold who pretty much &lt;i&gt;only&lt;/i&gt; thrive in the startup world. I can&amp;#x27;t speak for all of them, but I&amp;#x27;ve been very willing to take the balance of lower cash compensation and a fistful of lottery tickets &lt;i&gt;and not having 12 layers of middle management breathing down my neck&lt;/i&gt; over more liquidity.&lt;p&gt;I guess I&amp;#x27;m also blessed with inexpensive tastes, which helps, but I&amp;#x27;m still able to live somewhere I love and do all the things I care to do, so it works out.</text></comment>
<story><title>Silicon Valley&apos;s best kept secret: Founder liquidity</title><url>https://www.stefantheard.com/silicon-valleys-best-kept-secret-founder-liquidity/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>bradleyjg</author><text>All you’re saying is that in the contemporary context it’s exceedingly foolish to be an employee at an early startup. The VCs and founders have optimized away all the incentive. Eventually the message will reach even naive 22 year olds.</text></item><item><author>kneath</author><text>I have seen a lot of companies, a lot of rounds. I have known zero founders who have turned down an option to take money off the table (and zero A raises that offered that to employees). I love the idea of your universe, though.</text></item><item><author>josh2600</author><text>The best startups have a concept which is summed up thusly:&lt;p&gt;“We all go to the pay window at the same time.”&lt;p&gt;It’s ok for founders to take a little bit of money off of the table if they extend that to their employees as well. Asymmetry is where things get weird.&lt;p&gt;I’ve seen many founders who got deep into the fundraising cycles without ever realizing they could take a cent out. VCs will constantly tell you to let it all ride, and sometimes that works out, but for most people, having a little bit of financial security while you’re trying to change the world is necessary.&lt;p&gt;The best startups figure out how to manage liquidity through financing in a way that aligns incentives, keeps the goalposts at the mission, while allowing their teams to thrive.&lt;p&gt;It’s about alignment. If everyone is pulling in the same direction you’re going to execute the vision. Whether you win in the startup lottery is up to the threads of fate, but alignment is the straightest path towards a result.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>ethagnawl</author><text>&amp;gt; All you’re saying is that in the contemporary context it’s exceedingly foolish to be an employee at an early startup.&lt;p&gt;As a rule, it is and always has been. For every unicorn piñata stuffed with winning lottery tickets, there are hundreds&amp;#x2F;thousands? of others whose employees walk away with nothing or less (debt, strained relationships, mental health issues, etc.) at worst or a job at AcquiHireCo at best.</text></comment>