I've also pondered how these sorts of VC things work. Are they just targeted towards people fresh out of university who can afford to live cheaply? Seems a lost opportunity to hire experienced (expensive) people who can execute with no problems. For instance, what if say 2 experienced people went in on a startup, simply paying themselves out of eg that 500k - 125k each per year? For instance in australia that'd almost be competitive vs just taking a normal software job if you're experienced. I'm just curious how these things work :)
You take a pay cut. In return you get to be a decision maker and drive the mission of the company.
I worked a few years at a high paying job (about $100K), am single and can forgo some luxuries. I did a startup with some friends because we enjoyed hanging out and could afford to work for free. I worked on contract for $6K a month. No benefits.
Just curious what people do once they're at a stage in life (eg kids) where taking a paycut isn't very doable? Do they simply bow out of the startup world? I wonder if people at that stage have the experience to execute startups very effectively, i wonder if there's a structural weakness in how startups are financed that with a bit more capital (and there should be plenty of that sloshing around with governments printing like crazy) they could execute far better. I dont have fully formed thoughts on this of course :)
Yes, unfortunately, that seems to be the case. I've had some startup colleagues who were married with young kids, but it was rare, and often the case that their partner had a stable well-paying job. The risk simply becomes too much of a burden at a certain point in life, for most people.
The other alternative? Be rich/have a huge nest egg, or get to seed round type funding stage super early - aka actually know how to execute on a startup.
Most sane people just don’t do startups though if they are in that position.
