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Not an expert myself, but I don’t believe $200k/year counts as a “FAANG salary” for anyone with founder-level responsibility.

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I'd argue there there aren't any single positions at large tech companies with founder level responsibility by design.

It's a pretty decent compensation though. The base salary of a mid-level position at Amazon with substantially better equity terms (no cliff, no one deciding your bonus will be cut without your input, etc). It's a far cry from the PG ideal of salaryless founders surviving on instant ramen in their garage.

I think the parent's point is that $200K would be the base in FANG, but you're missing on massive RSUs as the founder in a startup.

Yes, I got that. What I'm pointing out is that your upside isn't capped compared to a place like Amazon where your bonus will get cut if the RSUs do too well and you have some degree of control over any compensation shenanigans and layoffs.

It's not unequivocally better, but it's certainly a trade-off that some people would be willing to make.

I had no idea this could happen. How is the bonus capped if RSUs do too well?

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