> Why is it a secret that founders get liquidity in many venture rounds? Because it undermines the narrative of the founder who is "all-in." The story of the founder who mortgaged their house and lived on ramen noodles for years is compelling.
A lot of startup compensation seems to rely on people not having transparency and honesty. The founders, investors, etc. all have very different risk and reward situations compared to typical employees and even non-founder executives. But for most it seems like a raw deal compared to working at a big tech company, unless you’re lucky and strike gold at a place like OpenAI or whatever.
Another area where there is a lot of obscure but important detail is in the cap table, stock plan documents, and so forth. If company financials and cap tables were transparent, and if it was clear the various ways in which a company could screw over employees through various clauses deep in their documents, no one would take those jobs.
A lot of startup compensation seems to rely on people not having transparency and honesty. The founders, investors, etc. all have very different risk and reward situations compared to typical employees and even non-founder executives. But for most it seems like a raw deal compared to working at a big tech company, unless you’re lucky and strike gold at a place like OpenAI or whatever.
Another area where there is a lot of obscure but important detail is in the cap table, stock plan documents, and so forth. If company financials and cap tables were transparent, and if it was clear the various ways in which a company could screw over employees through various clauses deep in their documents, no one would take those jobs.