Were investors and early employees screwed? Sure. But these execs could likely have gotten similar payouts over similar timeframes by simply jumping ship. As for Eero the company? Sounds like it was dead.
I don’t want to sound like I’m justifying this kind of behavior. But the main deceptive thing is calling this acquisition a “successful exit” — it was far from that!
I hope stories like this continue to break, and potential startup employees internalize the economic reality of working at a startup.
For most startups that raise a series A or beyond, founders win no matter what, even if not financially: they build connections with funders and founders, develop experience with management, extend their networks, and get a broader view of their sector. This is true even for companies that just straight go bankrupt.
Emoloyees usually get none of these things (but often get even less of those things at a big company).
Treat your salary as your total income and equity as a lottery ticket?
That way we could exercise our options as they vest, instead of holding out until an event to get some liquidity. It keeps people trapped.
There is more to the quality of a job and your life than having the highest total comp possible.
Having a lasting and enjoyable connection with your teammates is valuable too; you spend hours a day interacting with them, and teams of people you can really get along with are few and far between.
If jumping ship every 6 months maximizes your comp, but you never get the chance to create professional relationships as you jump from ship to ship, I'd say that's going to usually be a bad tradeoff.
There are other axis as well, such as a team with a reasonable manager who lets you spend time with your family, or a company that works in an area that aligns particularly well with your interests.
Everyone has different morals and ethics I suppose.
Employees who had been stiffed on pay are effectively the first priority creditors. Common stock is last.
There is no reason that all the stockholders should have voted to approve this sale unless they were going to walk away with something to pad their pockets so... did some majority shareholder sell out to amazon and get some separate remuneration? I feel like that should definitely be illegal.
Edit: Oh, so the founders assumed they'd be acqui-hired and got screwed over after screwing over all the regular employees. Okay I'm totally fine with that.
Being poor is having no idea what that reality might seem like.
Corporate speak. Put a positive spin on everything!!!