
Ask HN: Does the first developer always get screwed? - dudul
This question is motivated by my personal experience, I&#x27;ve been at half a dozen startups so far (that is between 10 and 50 employees).  I have been first developer, I have had access to compensation information of first developers and here is the pattern I noticed:<p>- the first engineer is usually hired right after seed money, sometimes after series A.  The money is tight so the salary is usually way below market value.  And the stock options aren&#x27;t that great (I&#x27;ve seen from 0.1% to 0.3%)<p>- After a few months, more engineers are hired at a <i>higher</i> salary.  Probably because the board is more confident that the machinery is working and willing to increase the budget for payroll. These second wave engineers are usually given the <i>same</i> stock options as the first engineer.<p>- After series B, salaries are sometimes revisited but usually the increase is the <i>same</i> percentage for everybody, which means that the guy who was their first is still the lowest salary.<p>Has this pattern been observed by others? Is it just pure coincidence that I&#x27;ve seen that everywhere so far or is it a real trend?
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gamechangr
I think it might be "just pure coincidence", though I think the way you
describe it takes away from the validity.

I think it's NOT USUAL for the first engineer to get the same stock options as
the "these second wave engineers". It's possible, if the first engineer is a
horrible negotiator or the founders are not people you want to work with, but
not usual by any means.

I have seen the second wave engineers get a higher salary (but lower overall
compensation package) than the first. That happens quite a bit.

Hope that helps.

