I don’t agree with this sentiment: Investors, founders, and employees all believe that founders are taking more risk than early employees (this isn’t true once founders have exclusive access to liquidity)
This completely discounts how much risk and stress go into the early stages before money is raised, or before enough money is raised to pay founders properly. They often go into debt, put many aspects of their lives on hold, and undergo outsized stress that is largely alleviated by the liquidity event, enabling them to plow forward and shoot for the moon. There are outliers that are insane, but you can’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
I have always taken a lower salary than early employees. And had periods before raising money and after the money dried up where I was taking no salary. I think it is way way way more common for founders to do this than early employees.
This completely discounts how much risk and stress go into the early stages before money is raised, or before enough money is raised to pay founders properly. They often go into debt, put many aspects of their lives on hold, and undergo outsized stress that is largely alleviated by the liquidity event, enabling them to plow forward and shoot for the moon. There are outliers that are insane, but you can’t throw the baby out with the bath water.