[khamoud]

I do not take ConvertKit for granted. Every point I made is pointed directly at GitLab. GitLab isn't open or bootstrapped. I have nothing but respect for every company on the open startups page of Baremetrics, including and especially Baremetrics themselves.

I have worked for a few startups and I've been laid off from a couple of them. I would never believe a bootstrapped company could do what we're doing but we do and I'm lucky enough to be a part of it. We aren't unique either. Basecamp has been doing this for a lot longer than ConvertKit has.

https://m.signalvnoise.com/how-we-pay-people-at-basecamp/

Bootstrapped companies face many challenges that VC backed companies don't. GitLab isn't bootstrapped. I lament that companies with all this money don't treat their employees better when they definitely can afford it. If they say they can't then they are probably wasting money. @emilycook said in a comment below

> ...I was able to negotiate for a higher salary and they adjusted. If GitLab wants you badly enough then they'll do what every company does and try and make themselves competitive. You just have less leverage to negotiate in general because you're competing with international talent vs local talent.

So, they have the money to pay more but they are simply choosing not to.

The CEO of a VC backed company I worked for got a 40% pay raise immediately after a 60% workforce layoff. He was already the highest paid person in the company.