"But you wanted to be part of a startup with all the associated glory and rewards. That means you also assumed some risk..."
I disagree with that. This person is an employee not a founder. Therefore the risk they assume should be different. At worst, it should be that of losing their job at short notice. The flexibility you also refer to should not extend to working for long periods with no idea when you'll get paid.
Although we can only hear one side of the story here, I feel the founders were negligent in their duties to their employees. They should have made the company's situation clearer to the staff and gone over the options.
Like others in the thread, I doubt the OP will get all the money he is rightfully owed. However, simply walking away in 'good faith' seems weak (esp when that faith has already been abused).
You could say that I assumed the general risk of dealing with people, but amirmc is correct that I did not assume any formal business risk. I.e., I did not receive stock options or any other compensation that is normally given to risk-bearing stakeholders.
Comments
"But you wanted to be part of a startup with all the associated glory and rewards. That means you also assumed some risk..."
I disagree with that. This person is an employee not a founder. Therefore the risk they assume should be different. At worst, it should be that of losing their job at short notice. The flexibility you also refer to should not extend to working for long periods with no idea when you'll get paid.
Although we can only hear one side of the story here, I feel the founders were negligent in their duties to their employees. They should have made the company's situation clearer to the staff and gone over the options.
Like others in the thread, I doubt the OP will get all the money he is rightfully owed. However, simply walking away in 'good faith' seems weak (esp when that faith has already been abused).
You could say that I assumed the general risk of dealing with people, but amirmc is correct that I did not assume any formal business risk. I.e., I did not receive stock options or any other compensation that is normally given to risk-bearing stakeholders.