Startups Stack Exchange Archive

Negotiating salary as funding for developing a SaaS product

• posted by: DaGhostman Dimitrov on 2015-07-27
• tagged: software, saas
• score: 2

Until recently I was developing a plan for a software startup, but due to financial instability I will not be able to fund myself and due to work conditions I would not be able to postpone until I get some savings.

I have found a potential co-founder/advisor¹ with whom I could start working in the next couple of weeks, but I feel kind of insecure to leave work just yet, but if I decide to not leave I only have Saturdays and Sundays available for whatever I need to do (working on the startup, consulting with them and including supporting the project as everything goes).

My Question:

• Is it a good approach to ask for a minimal salary² as funding for the product, during the initial development?

Note:

1. The advisor/co-founder is starting in the niche in the following weeks and was interested in my overall look at the problems which am trying to solve and was willing to help with whatever he could, hence advisor.
2. Minimal as to cover my living costs initially after the product launches, shouldn’t be more than a 6 months

Answer 5861

• posted by: Matiss on 2015-07-28
• score: 1

Shortly - don’t leave your job till you have secured yourself.

This is actually a very common problem among startup founders, and it is also a very common mistake by it’s own merit - you should be able to sustain yourself independently of the project you are making. Yes, that means you will need to dedicate your evenings, mornings, nights and holidays to your startup - but if you quit your job and the project fails in its initial stages or your partner makes an unexpected exit - you will have no safety net whatsoever.

Of course you can ask your partner to finance the project and your work, this happens quite often if the partner has finance he is willing to invest. But again - secure yourself first. Maybe dedicating some free time at first is a good option.

Another one you should consider - maybe you can work part time at your day job and dedicate the other part to your project? Sometimes people even change jobs (even fields) to have less load and more free time. There are many options - however, relying solely on one source is not something you want to do.

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