Here's a perhaps weird take that I'm not convinced of myself, but it's interesting food for thought. Maybe the big companies pay so well the floor is just that high.
Let's say you, a hopeful founder, could get $0.5M/yr at a BigCo. Instead you're going to start a company where you'll earn maybe $0.15M/yr for a decade then either get a payout (10%) or fail (90%). To make them even in expectation after that decade, you need $5M = $1.5M + 10% * payout, so payout = $35M. Maybe you and your cofounder each have 25% (?) of the company at that point , so the valuation needs to be 4x that $35M, so $140M.
To take a paycut from a really good alternative, you need a giant incentive. Maybe that just means that if you would start a business that'll "only" make you $0.5-1M/year if you succeed, then in solely a financial perspective, you should just join a BigCo.
Well, as someone who just left a 750k USD a year at a FAANG with a clear path to making 2MM+ in 5 years or so, I disagree.
I am in my early 30s and have a wife and kids. At some point, your relationship with money changes. I am now more concerned about my own legacy and the example I’m giving my kids than whether my net worth in 10 years will be 2 or 20 million.
I’m also more deliberate about how I use my time. So I’m perfectly content in doing something that will net me “only” 250k or so a year.
The irony is that this might net me more if I decide to come back to a FAANG in the future.
> I am in my early 30s and have a wife and kids. At some point, your relationship with money changes. I am now more concerned about my own legacy and the example I’m giving my kids than whether my net worth in 10 years will be 2 or 20 million.
Narator: The median wealth of a 30-35 year old American is $30k.
Let's say you, a hopeful founder, could get $0.5M/yr at a BigCo. Instead you're going to start a company where you'll earn maybe $0.15M/yr for a decade then either get a payout (10%) or fail (90%). To make them even in expectation after that decade, you need $5M = $1.5M + 10% * payout, so payout = $35M. Maybe you and your cofounder each have 25% (?) of the company at that point , so the valuation needs to be 4x that $35M, so $140M.
To take a paycut from a really good alternative, you need a giant incentive. Maybe that just means that if you would start a business that'll "only" make you $0.5-1M/year if you succeed, then in solely a financial perspective, you should just join a BigCo.