No Free Ride for Free Riders
First published on PlantoStart.com Of all the plethora of popular economic concepts, none is more aggravating to the hard-working entrepreneur than the free rider problem. This occurs when someone enjoys the benefits of an activity without paying for it or, in the case of a start-up company, without working as hard as others. Of course, this is a problem in all aspects of life, but especially poignant when a start-up team member, having received equity compensation, reaps the benefits of a liquidation event even though their contribution to the company’s success was smaller than the...
Read MoreThe Early Bird Gets the Pie
One initial concern that I get about Slicing Pie is the fear that founders won’t get enough of the pie even though they were there during the beginning. Most people assume that the earlier you join a start-up the more risk you are taking and the more reward you should receive. Therefore, early participants should receive a higher proportion of the pie than later participants. This may not always be true, sometimes early risk is quite low because nobody has invested anything but spare time which isn’t the same thing and leaving your job a working full time, but I digress. This concern...
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