A place for developers to talk about building on Farcaster.

/dev

Something that’s been bugging me today:

At a previous company, I was given a total compensation estimate based on an equity value per share that was significantly inflated. I’m talking more than 3x the actual value. On paper, the offer looked strong. In reality, I was severely undercompensated while being sold an unrealistic dream.

Taking a risk on startup equity is part of the game. But when the numbers are manipulated to inflate your comp package, that’s not risk. That’s misrepresentation.

If you’re joining an early-stage company, ask detailed questions.

What is the current 409A valuation? 

When was it last updated? 

What is the strike price? 

How many shares are outstanding?

And how do those numbers translate to your real, present-day compensation?

Equity should be a reward for taking a chance, not a smokescreen hiding a weak offer.

New devs, for the love of god, please stop being allergic to making money. Spend your next marginal hour *not* learning that new library and read about how equity works in startups. There's an entire industrial complex that makes it seem "unaligned" if you don't ask serious questions about your compensation, but this is just HR psyops. 

@nicki is 100% correct in thinking about this. I have worked for startups which basically screwed over myself and other employees with illiquid RSUs, while executives were actually allowed to sell shares in new funding rounds.

Book below on this that's a really good introduction to this world. Cypherpunk anti-finance thinking is making you poorer. You need to actually get paid.

Engineering @Anchorage Digital | 

Crypto/blockchain tech enthusiast

New devs, for the love of god, please stop being allergic to making money. Spend your next marginal hour *not* learning that new library and read about how equity works in startups. There's an entire industrial complex that makes it seem "unaligned" if you don't ask serious questions about your compensation, but this is just HR psyops. 

@nicki is 100% correct in thinking about this. I have worked for startups which basically screwed over myself and other employees with illiquid RSUs, while executives were actually allowed to sell shares in new funding rounds.

Book below on this that's a really good introduction to this world. Cypherpunk anti-finance thinking is making you poorer. You need to actually get paid.

https://www.holloway.com/g/equity-compensation/preview

The other skill devs need to learn in this age; Marketing