"But I was talking about the how people will perceive your comment - you came a cross as taking a hardline "Caveat emptor" line."
I'm sorry you got that from my post. It was certainly not the intent. But if I was unclear, I'll accept responsibility for any misinterpretation that has resulted.
I tend to use overly elaborate sentences. Speaking more plainly and clearly would do me a lot of good. That's a consistent problem I have on HN, and it's my fault.
If I had to sum up my OP in three sentences, it would be as follows: "People are smart, and they'll figure out if you're keeping things from them. So don't hide things from them that affect them. That being said, it's not necessarily your responsibility to get too far into the weeds on every last detail of how startup financing works."
In general, I'm in favor of transparency. I'm in favor of giving employees an honest deal. I'm in favor of treating employees as partners, not as "human resources." I don't, however, believe the CEO's job is to be the parent figure of everyone in the company. And accordingly, I believe startup employees should educate themselves as much as possible about the risks involved before joining a startup. Some of those risks are outside of the CEO's total control, in fact (e.g., Series A investors, the Board of Directors, M&A processes, etc.).
That's not meant to be a cold, caveat emptor sort of statement. It's just meant to be realistic. Ideally, a good CEO is transparent and honest. He or she should keep employees up to date on the company's finances, and on how things may change if major turning points arise. A good CEO always does the right thing by his or her employees. But the employees should still do their homework. The CEO should be transparent, but the employees should still be capable of self reliance and diligence. It's a two-way street.
(The article, for instance, brings up the case of an employee who's thinking about buying a house. It's not the CEO's job to manage that employee's personal finances. While she should share any pertinent facts with the employee, and perhaps offer solid advice, she's not responsible the employee's personal-life decisions).
I hope this clarifies what I was trying to say. And again, I'm very sorry if I was not clearer.
I'm sorry you got that from my post. It was certainly not the intent. But if I was unclear, I'll accept responsibility for any misinterpretation that has resulted.
I tend to use overly elaborate sentences. Speaking more plainly and clearly would do me a lot of good. That's a consistent problem I have on HN, and it's my fault.
If I had to sum up my OP in three sentences, it would be as follows: "People are smart, and they'll figure out if you're keeping things from them. So don't hide things from them that affect them. That being said, it's not necessarily your responsibility to get too far into the weeds on every last detail of how startup financing works."
In general, I'm in favor of transparency. I'm in favor of giving employees an honest deal. I'm in favor of treating employees as partners, not as "human resources." I don't, however, believe the CEO's job is to be the parent figure of everyone in the company. And accordingly, I believe startup employees should educate themselves as much as possible about the risks involved before joining a startup. Some of those risks are outside of the CEO's total control, in fact (e.g., Series A investors, the Board of Directors, M&A processes, etc.).
That's not meant to be a cold, caveat emptor sort of statement. It's just meant to be realistic. Ideally, a good CEO is transparent and honest. He or she should keep employees up to date on the company's finances, and on how things may change if major turning points arise. A good CEO always does the right thing by his or her employees. But the employees should still do their homework. The CEO should be transparent, but the employees should still be capable of self reliance and diligence. It's a two-way street.
(The article, for instance, brings up the case of an employee who's thinking about buying a house. It's not the CEO's job to manage that employee's personal finances. While she should share any pertinent facts with the employee, and perhaps offer solid advice, she's not responsible the employee's personal-life decisions).
I hope this clarifies what I was trying to say. And again, I'm very sorry if I was not clearer.