[tptacek]

The 37signals management team pays themselves in Wisconsin farmhouses and (note plural) supercars. They seem to be doing just fine. I'm wary about C.W. that suggests founders should suffer for suffering's sake. Then again, 37signals never really went out for VC, either. I don't know anything about Fog Creek internals, but Joel and his partner don't seem to be suffering too much either.

I think many teams find that by the time they've scaled headcount even to a minimal degree, the founder's take-home pay is no longer a major budget concern. At least, that's how I've seen it rationalized.

(Don't ever worry about offending me, but thanks for the concern.)