I went to look up the CEO's compensation package in order to post a low-effort snarky HN comment but instead found[1][2] very weird compensation data for Wayfair execs. The co-founders (including the CEO) make comparatively modest money, while the generic CxO suits make huge gobs of it (mostly equity). Is this usual?
I'd still trade places with the CEO any day, though, of course.
After the IPO, the founders owned ~30% of the company. If you own that much equity:
- you don't need a salary, and
- it's already in your best interest to make the company more valuable
People who are hired from outside need to be paid a base salary, but should expect to make most of their money from increasing the value of the company, hence the need for equity grants or equity option grants.
Correct. In the past, they've pulled the "but I only take $75k out of the company" and "I pay for when I use the company jet for personal business" when discussing compensation in the past. While true, it ignores the >$1B in stock.
If I had more courage, I would have asked if the jet was available to anyone willing to pay for it.
- you don't need a salary, and
- it's already in your best interest to make the company more valuable
People who are hired from outside need to be paid a base salary, but should expect to make most of their money from increasing the value of the company, hence the need for equity grants or equity option grants.