> I mean, what founders risk in terms of opportunity costs and lower wages is usually only slightly more than very early stage employees, but their reward is ~10-30x.
A first employee is, by another definition, someone to whom a professional investor would not give money.
You're being downvoted, but as the author of the post you responded to, I don't really disagree. I've been an early employee and have learned I don't have the temperament or skills to be a founder.
My primary argument is just that if founders and VCs don't loosen their purse strings, though, they will find employees are wising up about wealth distribution in a startup and will see they have better options elsewhere, as this article suggests.
> I don't have the temperament or skills to be a founder
If only everyone were as mature and introspective.
> are wising up about wealth distribution... will see they have better options elsewhere
Truthfully, all those people will discover is that the distribution of educational pedigrees - the real predictor of "better options elsewhere" - is far stickier, nepotistic and unfair than a 9 percentage point difference in equity.
A first employee is, by another definition, someone to whom a professional investor would not give money.