[differentView]

What if the company was really worth $9 millions at its peak post-bubble, but its founder's good/lucky timing selling it near the peak of the bubble gave it a 100x multiplier?

Say your contribution to the company is worth 1% of the company's value, would you say you added $90k to the value of the company or $9 million?

[erobbins]

It actually weathered the bubble collapse and was sold later, in 2003, after it was profitable.

I think it's hard to put a percentage on any single employee's contribution to a company's success, but I also think it's ludicrous to say that the combined value of every employee's contribution is worth less than a single founder's contribution. It's just dishonest.