Ask HN: Who is willing to work for coin?

[endswapper]

To be clear this would be a new coin offering for use on an existing/launching platform.

I am curious if there is a broad appetite for this type of risk and compensation. For a variety of reasons I can see how it may be more appealing than equity. On the other hand, there is limited data over a limited amount of time on how coin compares to equity and a number of unknowns.

I am really interested in getting opinions of engineers and developers, but I'd like to hear from administrators, operations, finance and marketing professionals as well.

If you respond please identify as much as you can about your yourself to best understand your perspective(i.e., financial situation - favorable/student/struggling/etc, your position or area of expertise, and anything else you think is relevant).

This is something I am considering. If you are interested you can contact me directly at endswapper at endswapper dot com. The stack is serverless, AWS Lambda and services. Right now, the emphasis is on a CTO, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cryptocurreny and internationalization.

I hope everyone gains some insight from the responses.

Thanks for your input!!!

[mtmail]

I'm bookmarking this post as warning how delusional startup founders can be.

[nickthemagicman]

Very ambitious too!

Right now, the emphasis is on a CTO, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cryptocurreny and internationalization.

[jaclaz]

Usually "risk" is something that can be determined mathematically (think of probabilities) or however measurable and - even when not measurable with a given degree of approximation - it can be usually roughly estimated.

What you seem to propose is more like an act of faith in the unknown.

[endswapper]

Please pardon any confusion on this point. What I am considering (I'm not really proposing anything) is offering a guaranteed amount of coin for working for a short period of time (3-6 months) leading up to an ICO. After the ICO the company would buy back all or a portion of the coin at the final ICO price. Beyond that the coin could be exchanged (ultimately for cash) on open exchanges.

From my perspective the work could be done remotely, full-time, part-time, on the side, essentially whatever you like. This will likely vary depending on the role and the work being done. As would the amount of coin.

[RickS]

My cynical hope is that this is a troll whose endgame is to point out that this is a re-worded approach to startup options. "It's worth cents now, so we'll give you a bunch of it, and then you code, and thats what gives it value!"

[itamarst]

Dunno about coin, but I'd be happy to work for Pogs or Beanie Babies.

[quickthrower]

This might be appealing as a JV between a small number of people who are already experts in cryptocurrencies, probably already millionaires from BTC, putting together a new coin that solves a unsolved problem but all founders on a equal footing.

[iDemonix]

Pay peanuts, get monkeys.

[endswapper]

I am not proposing peanuts, but rather a significant sum.

The advantage of coin in lieu of equity, at least in this context, is that the participants I am seeking input from could/would be fully cashed out much sooner than in a typical equity stake.

Additionally, the point of asking the question was to initiate a conversation with people that consider this an option for themselves. It really comes down to the success of the ICO event. So, good work could be rewarded handsomely on a very short timeline. Of course, this is not without risk, and the reason I am seeking input.

[quickthrower]

Is the coin decentralized? If so no thanks I'll mine it. Otherwise no thanks I don't trust it.

[jklein11]

Would compensation include cash as well as the coin or only the coin?

[Throwaway03485]

I prefer to be paid in Schrute Bucks or Stanley Nickles, thanks.

[olivierduval]

So many buzzwords... I sure can work for buzzwords!! :-D

[bdibs]

I prefer Trident Layers, sorry.

[maxice]

Good luck