[rip747]

Ok... I have to ask: Why in the world would stay there for 4 years, knowing after just 1 year, that you were only going to make 20K a year?

Seriously... the only thing I can come up with in my head is greed. You told that you would eventually receive this huge payout and that clouded your judgement.

[JoeAltmaier]

That's not so different from what anybody does when they join a startup, taking less pay for stock options. Why be hard on this guy?

[michaelochurch]

I agree. We absolutely shouldn't be harsh on him. He made a mistake and has learned about it.

Yes, he did something phenomenally stupid, by taking on the credit card debt and (much worse) the fucking tax debt (the IRS are not nice people) on behalf of any startup, much less one where he wasn't a founder. Bad decision. He seems to have learned his lesson.

That said, he deserves a fuckton of credit for having the courage to talk about it. Most people sweep their career mistakes under the rug. This guy has the guts to come out and talk about something stupid that he did and I commend him for it.

These second-circle startups that underpay egregiously, are sloppy with paperwork, and continually promise that "funding is just around the corner" may be more common than the VC darlings (which are pretty ethically sloppy themselves, but more prestigious on account of selectivity). They don't get much press because few people ever admit to having worked for them.

I've done similarly stupid things. Why? Because I was young, didn't know what I was getting in to, was easy to take advantage of, and got played.

Social class and access play a major role in this. Someone from Stanford is going to know not to take $2000 per month working for a smooth-talking douchebag who "knows investors" and "just needs a programmer". Some sharp but naive 21-year-old kid from Indiana who moved to California not knowing anyone? That's exactly who the douchebags prey upon.