[jedberg]

Interesting. Have you ever had a candidate turn down the offer because the equity was too low? Do you have any issues getting senior people to join with this comp plan?

I'm just thinking for senior people, do you have trouble getting them in the door? Like, would you be willing to work at Oxide at the equity levels you're offering today?

[bcantrill]

We have a process that really requires applicants to develop their own high conviction[0]; it would be unsurprising if candidates for whom compensation is disqualifying never actually applied to Oxide.

In terms of candidates in process who did not matriculate over compensation: prior to writing this blog entry, we had had one candidate drop out over compensation (the lesson we learned was that our compensation had been shared too late in the process with the candidate). Amazingly, after we published this blog post we also had one candidate drop out over compensation (albeit earlier in the process). That one was enlightening because the candidate had read the blog entry but had assumed it was false (?!) and that everyone was actually making secret signing bonuses. Finally, we had one candidate who had simply too much equity as their existing employer to leave. This candidate was absolutely miserable at work, they were disgusted by the company they worked for (and they loved Oxide!), but simply couldn't walk away from the equity, which was vesting quarter over quarter with more money than their parents had made over decades. This was causing real angst for the candidate, even though I assured them that their decision was very understandable!

Finally, your last question is the most important one, because we have always endeavored to build the team that we wanted to be on. For me personally, yes, I would emphatically be willing to work at Oxide -- would that they would have me!

[0] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xtofg-fMQfZoq8Y3oSAKjEgD...

[steveklabnik]

I took a pay cut to work at Oxide. Coming up on year 3. No regrets.