Do you have a problem with not owning part of your org as well?
I am working in tech and reading a lot of entepreneur books and articles. I have a hard time getting my head around the fact that I am spending all my time at work only to get a fixed salary. I mean, if i have been owning a slice of my employee it would have felt better to give that 110% instead of 100%. At the same time I thrive the most when doing that little extra. Anyone else feeling the same? How do you cope with that?
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[ 5.3 ms ] story [ 23.5 ms ] threadTake a look at the cooperative movement and other employee owned companies.
By realising that very few people in a company can actually influence its success in a meaningful way. An employee in a small startup (< 50 people) can make a material impact on the company's outcomes on their own, by sheer force of will. Putting in the hours can actually make a difference.
An employee in a much bigger company can have an impact on their team, and that can have an impact on the company, but only if everything else aligns. You could put in 120 hours a week in a team at a FAANG but unless higher up managers, and their managers, and the board, and the marketing department, and all the other stakeholder groups who get to have a say, are all backing the project you'll make absolutely no difference to the share price, so your value of your equity is really nothing to do with you unless you're deeply fortunate.
Working on things you enjoy, putting in 'just' 100%, and taking home a salary is perfectly reasonable. It's what 99% of people do. If you want to put in that extra 10% find something meaningful outside of work (open source, volunteering, making stuff...)
However...
If you really want to push yourself, quit your salary job and found a startup. You can achieve amazing things when you know that it's all down to your own effort. And make loads of money. Or lose everything. It's exciting.
I mean personally, 40 hours per week is too much of my life to be spending on something, and yet too little to be a good experience. Giving a little extra is where the thrill comes in. I can start a company any time, and do better than most people, but it's less efficient and more risky than just joining an established company and getting some shares.