Is anyone interested in equity only part time jobs?

[vekleew]

I'm trying to launch a startup and hire some employees for equity only but not sure what good resources are out there to find people who are willing to work for equity/experience.

Are there a lot of people out there who would be interested in equity only jobs? I'm not really looking for a cofounder, moreso a junior engineer who would be able to contribute on a part-time basis and receive equity.

Also, I imagine most people who are interested are those looking to get involved in a side hustle, which is why I mention part-time, but full-time is great too for anyone who can already financially support themselves.

[aaronrobinson]

Nobody is going to work for your company for free. Your equity is worthless. Almost all startups fail so you’re asking others to take on your risk. Not being unkind but trying to manage your expectations.

[wg0]

Also - Why are they not going to be co-founders if the risk profile is exactly the same?

[vekleew]

Cofounders get much higher expectations so they get more equity. Basically the same thing, just less equity.

[4d4m]

Yes and I'm curious what pool of workers don't need to get paid but would be open to gambling their time on the riskiest of bets

[vekleew]

What else what they put their time on? side projects that for sure don't make any money?

[NonEUCitizen]

Their own startups. Your startup, from their perspective, is just your side project.

[vekleew]

So whose equity is not worthless? I guess there's no point in having ycombinator around anymore then since all equity is worthless.

[aaronrobinson]

All new equity is worthless. If you persuade someone to buy some it's a little less worthless and if you demonstrate value by generating revenue then it a little bit less worthless again but of say 1000 new companies, 50 may generate revenue and 5 may get investment and 1 might and that's a big might, give you a return on your money. Ultimately you need to pay the software engineer for the risk they take and you can do that in many ways but I'd say unless it's a technical founder who really is a founder with you - i.e, they said to you, hey I've got this great idea but I need help to realise it, then you need hand over money.

[omgCPhuture]

What the other guy said, but also depends on the product, part in it, travel, and of course, if there are cool toys - maybe even ones that would be beneficial for a potential applicant who may or may not have their own projects they are working on that may be out of reach to part-timers due w/e reasons. I had a thought like this a while back, but locally most folks with the technical ability to contribute are securely employed.

[JohnFen]

Once you're talking "work for equity instead of pay", you're not talking about employment anymore, you're talking about soliciting investors.

A decision about whether or not to make an investment (and this would be a particularly large investment) is necessarily dependent on very different factors than a decision on whether or not to work for an outfit.

To be attractive, your solicitation for investors needs to come from that perspective, in my opinion.

[4d4m]

I've seen countless founders chase this equity only worker marketplace. It's not aligned with the real world nor rewarding enough for the risk takers whom would try it.

It's akin to asking your mechanic to invest in fixing your broken car instead of paying the invoice. Delusional, but attractive enough to be tried over and over again.

[vekleew]

Can you tell me more about this? What marketplace are they using? Is this from your personal experience, or can I read more about this elsewhere?

[aaronrobinson]

I think he was talking about a theoretical marketplace

[emocin]

Not a chance in hell.

[vekleew]

Why take a risk to be rich when you get guaranteed pennies