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Comment by jusben1369 | Hacker News Reader

Good luck with the strategy. Not sure whether the value of this will be solely in it's uniqueness but even that can be effective.

I think you're going to create unneccessary confusion though with a "Director" title while stating "with a salary range of $28-32k/year and uncapped commission." Even at a startup a Director level Sales/BD person would be around 100/100 for an OTE of $200K in a market like NY. So if I have a buddy who is a current Director level BD guy in NY looking for a new gig I'm either going to get excited then see the salary and go "Ohhhh, wooops, not a fit" or worse still send him your way and have it grind to a halt on comp. Or worse I might know a new rockstar with a year or two experience but never think of them for this because you're looking for a Director level person.

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Well, the salary is what we can afford-- and so that obviously works as a filter. We're an early stage startup, so we're hoping people will believe in our vision + recognize the upside they can help create... and that then the salary becomes less important.

Plus uncapped commission doesn't hurt (especially if you're confident you can close deals) and this position, in time, is definitely one that can earn a meaningful amount of equity. Anyway, just our take.

But anybody capable of closing the deals necessary to hit a sane compensation figure for this role is also capable of getting a job at a startup that can afford to hire them. It just doesn't seem like you are ready for a Director of BD. Sounds like you are looking for someone fresh out of college, or someone with a year of sales experience at a sub-50 person startup. Even then, they're taking a pay cut.

I am a Biz dev guy. A decent person in NYC will be walking away from at LEAST $75k a year in salary to join you. Thus you're going to have to sell them hard on the equity they're getting, because of this I'd personally not do the trick with having someone else send the resume.

I know you're short on funds, but why not bump the salary up and set a line that this person pay for themselves in 3 months or they get cut?

Understood Derek and why you arrived at your number. Look at your revenue goal for the next 12 months. Look at $18K (base = $50K) If $18K is 15% or less of your revenue goal then find a way to make it to $50K. What also happens when you're paying $50K vs $32K is you'll attract a significantly upgraded candidate which in turn will increase your chances of hitting or exceeding your overall revenue goals. Don't save $18K to get a candidate who's 80% of what you can get for $50K. I suspect that 20% equates to $100K to $200K in revenue for you over the next 12 months.

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