| Sounds like a weird and bad situation. Here's a question, you are going into debt over this company... is the CEO also doing the same? Is it shared pain? Or... are you the only one who is under pain? Or under-paid? I've seen startup situations where the CEO earns > $250k but pays everyone else < $100k. And says there isnt enough money. But the truth is the CEO himself is squeezing the company dry and killing it. Are you in that kind of company? Another thing to consider, are the founders ethical? Are they good people? Have you considered if they are sociopaths? Read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_triad The reality for me is that I would never ever ever take a startup job less than break-even cash. That means I am not paying for my day-to-day living out of savings while taking a substandard salary. Because in a properly backed startup, they CAN afford to pay people $120k a year. If you are taking major cash hits, you need to be a founder. On the founder side, it's a pretty clear cut rule... are you a founder - if the answer isnt "yes" immediately, without a doubt, the answer is in fact NO. First employees arent founders. Employees with stock options (ISO or otherwise) arent founders. "VP of X" or "Director of Y" - not a founder. "But I did the technical due diligence" - not a founder. Being a founder in major part is also about how the other founders treat you. Are you an equal business partner? Usually if you were hired in substantially after, the answer is NO. They might respect your opinion, but also reserve the right to ignore it. Real founders and partners don't get to ignore the other's opinion without consequences later on. This is true in business and your personal life as well. In short, if your founders are the Dark Triad type, you may wish to extract yourself. If they are not, you may be able to come clean with them, and come to a negotiated situation. Such as allowing you to find consulting work, or perhaps paying you more, etc. Good luck! |