Forget about 6 figures, how did you made your first 7 figures?

[Anonymous]

Employee at a tech startup that was sold, and then stayed on for more stock and incentive bonuses. I think we grossed around 7.5 m one year and then 1.5 m another. But now we're back to a poor-by-DCUM $200k HHI at a new tech startup/my regular salary job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rise to the top and become CEO. A relative of mine retired at 1.2 and I'm pretty sure that's just his base.

Man I retired at 31 and got a lot of shit for it on here. 1.2!!! That's young.

You're trying to suggest 1.2m is nothing, having retired at 31? Are you sitting on a sunny beach somewhere but still reduced to trolling DCUM?

NP. I'd settle for 43.2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Employee at a tech startup that was sold, and then stayed on for more stock and incentive bonuses. I think we grossed around 7.5 m one year and then 1.5 m another. But now we're back to a poor-by-DCUM $200k HHI at a new tech startup/my regular salary job.

Were you an early employee or C level exec? When I have job offers at tech startups (like employee 50) I get very fuzzy RSU stipend (don't know % of company), and they hand wave that if company does well I should be worth $1M. But I have no insider knowledge of valuation or percentage -- just a #### of RSU without the denomination of shares outstanding.

My impression was that unless you are startup insider not just an early employee for most startups you can be diluted or have shares clawed back and don't get as big bonanzas as you describe. Can you elaborate?

[Anonymous]

Hedge funders may be more publicly despised than lawyers. 0 respect for hedge funders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hedge funders may be more publicly despised than lawyers. 0 respect for hedge funders.

You would think they would be more popular, since Pirates are all the rage still, and hedge fund managers fancy themselves as sea captains what with the carried interest and all that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Salary + comission + RSU's vesting and sold. DOD cloud.

Is that a 7 figure annua income , or just saved up earnings to 7 figures?

Annual

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rise to the top and become CEO. A relative of mine retired at 1.2 and I'm pretty sure that's just his base.

Man I retired at 31 and got a lot of shit for it on here. 1.2!!! That's young.

You're trying to suggest 1.2m is nothing, having retired at 31? Are you sitting on a sunny beach somewhere but still reduced to trolling DCUM?

NP. I'd settle for 43.2.

No, I was making a joke. Like, retired at age 1.2? It's how your post read, that's why I mentioned my age. I won't get to the beach until tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you do now, OP? That might help with some realistic options for you.

But, yes, most everyone in my life who has made serious money started their own business and had a big break of some kind. You could do some kind of entrepreneurial workshop to get some ideas started. I think Stanford has a summer program.

Op here. Thanks! I'm in I.T, a decent programmer but by no means great. Some companies do fight over me sometimes and I leverage that to my advantage, but again, I've reached my glass ceiling at $600k.

Thought about a Software company like another poster mentioned with low recurring costs, I just have no idea what type of software I can write and I lack the connection to Sales/Marketing guys to make it happen. I guess time to start work on it, only 14 years left before I reach 50!

There are very few "jobs" that pay 7 figures, even fewer for someone in a technical capacity. Frankly I am surprised at the 600k income. Must be a very very niche talent combination.

The one thing that anyone can get into, at any time, is business. Some companies have great ideas about what they want to build, but if you don't have such an idea, you can always start your own company building what others want. Start your own consulting company or something.

The problem with that is risk tolerance for most people; building a business generally will take capital, whether savings or loans -- and if the businesses fails we can be wiped out. As well as the lost income from the steady job that was left. At 45, I have young kids to support, and college to pay someday, and while it would be great to build a business and set my kids up for life, it's a roll of the dice. And the downside are very severe, since we have no safety net (savings is mostly in home equity and retirement, no family help to draw on, it's our jobs between us and poverty).

How do you others manage that risk to take the initiative to start their own company? Do you really put everything on the line, drain your savings accounts and take out home equity lines, you have that kind of confidence in your business venture?

I have family money. We have a several million dollar LOC created for us so that we don't have to touch principal on my trust. Using that for start up costs is our plan in 1.5 years when the last of those pesky RSU's vest. He will be 43 at the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rise to the top and become CEO. A relative of mine retired at 1.2 and I'm pretty sure that's just his base.

Man I retired at 31 and got a lot of shit for it on here. 1.2!!! That's young.

You're trying to suggest 1.2m is nothing, having retired at 31? Are you sitting on a sunny beach somewhere but still reduced to trolling DCUM?

NP. I'd settle for 43.2.

No, I was making a joke. Like, retired at age 1.2? It's how your post read, that's why I mentioned my age. I won't get to the beach until tomorrow.

NP again. Yeah, I got it. I'd like to retire at age 43.2. Next year. When you retire do you immediately lose your sense of humor and critical thinking skills? Maybe I can wait a little longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Employee at a tech startup that was sold, and then stayed on for more stock and incentive bonuses. I think we grossed around 7.5 m one year and then 1.5 m another. But now we're back to a poor-by-DCUM $200k HHI at a new tech startup/my regular salary job.

Were you an early employee or C level exec? When I have job offers at tech startups (like employee 50) I get very fuzzy RSU stipend (don't know % of company), and they hand wave that if company does well I should be worth $1M. But I have no insider knowledge of valuation or percentage -- just a #### of RSU without the denomination of shares outstanding.

My impression was that unless you are startup insider not just an early employee for most startups you can be diluted or have shares clawed back and don't get as big bonanzas as you describe. Can you elaborate?

I'm sorry, I'm the spouse who didn't work at the startup and I don't know these very important details
The big payout was in the year after they were acquired. And it was a combo of stock grant in the new company plus incentive payment tied to company performance. The incentive payment generated the majority of the $.
Honestly I was very skeptical and tried to get DH to see a compensation expert to make sure these founders weren't screwing him over. Luckily they weren't. DH was not C-suite, but the company was always small. Under 40 employees at its peak I believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Employee at a tech startup that was sold, and then stayed on for more stock and incentive bonuses. I think we grossed around 7.5 m one year and then 1.5 m another. But now we're back to a poor-by-DCUM $200k HHI at a new tech startup/my regular salary job.

Were you an early employee or C level exec? When I have job offers at tech startups (like employee 50) I get very fuzzy RSU stipend (don't know % of company), and they hand wave that if company does well I should be worth $1M. But I have no insider knowledge of valuation or percentage -- just a #### of RSU without the denomination of shares outstanding.

My impression was that unless you are startup insider not just an early employee for most startups you can be diluted or have shares clawed back and don't get as big bonanzas as you describe. Can you elaborate?

I'm sorry, I'm the spouse who didn't work at the startup and I don't know these very important details
The big payout was in the year after they were acquired. And it was a combo of stock grant in the new company plus incentive payment tied to company performance. The incentive payment generated the majority of the $.
Honestly I was very skeptical and tried to get DH to see a compensation expert to make sure these founders weren't screwing him over. Luckily they weren't. DH was not C-suite, but the company was always small. Under 40 employees at its peak I believe.

So it sounds like his hiring was more of a personal existing relation than he applied for a job posting at a startup? More insider, I would guess -- though it sounds like outside enough for you to worry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you do now, OP? That might help with some realistic options for you.

But, yes, most everyone in my life who has made serious money started their own business and had a big break of some kind. You could do some kind of entrepreneurial workshop to get some ideas started. I think Stanford has a summer program.

Op here. Thanks! I'm in I.T, a decent programmer but by no means great. Some companies do fight over me sometimes and I leverage that to my advantage, but again, I've reached my glass ceiling at $600k.

Thought about a Software company like another poster mentioned with low recurring costs, I just have no idea what type of software I can write and I lack the connection to Sales/Marketing guys to make it happen. I guess time to start work on it, only 14 years left before I reach 50!

There are very few "jobs" that pay 7 figures, even fewer for someone in a technical capacity. Frankly I am surprised at the 600k income. Must be a very very niche talent combination.

The one thing that anyone can get into, at any time, is business. Some companies have great ideas about what they want to build, but if you don't have such an idea, you can always start your own company building what others want. Start your own consulting company or something.

The problem with that is risk tolerance for most people; building a business generally will take capital, whether savings or loans -- and if the businesses fails we can be wiped out. As well as the lost income from the steady job that was left. At 45, I have young kids to support, and college to pay someday, and while it would be great to build a business and set my kids up for life, it's a roll of the dice. And the downside are very severe, since we have no safety net (savings is mostly in home equity and retirement, no family help to draw on, it's our jobs between us and poverty).

How do you others manage that risk to take the initiative to start their own company? Do you really put everything on the line, drain your savings accounts and take out home equity lines, you have that kind of confidence in your business venture?

I have family money. We have a several million dollar LOC created for us so that we don't have to touch principal on my trust. Using that for start up costs is our plan in 1.5 years when the last of those pesky RSU's vest. He will be 43 at the time.

Any chance your parents want to adopt me, I have some ideas for a business venture? I'm quite cute for mid-40s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Employee at a tech startup that was sold, and then stayed on for more stock and incentive bonuses. I think we grossed around 7.5 m one year and then 1.5 m another. But now we're back to a poor-by-DCUM $200k HHI at a new tech startup/my regular salary job.

Were you an early employee or C level exec? When I have job offers at tech startups (like employee 50) I get very fuzzy RSU stipend (don't know % of company), and they hand wave that if company does well I should be worth $1M. But I have no insider knowledge of valuation or percentage -- just a #### of RSU without the denomination of shares outstanding.

My impression was that unless you are startup insider not just an early employee for most startups you can be diluted or have shares clawed back and don't get as big bonanzas as you describe. Can you elaborate?

I'm sorry, I'm the spouse who didn't work at the startup and I don't know these very important details
The big payout was in the year after they were acquired. And it was a combo of stock grant in the new company plus incentive payment tied to company performance. The incentive payment generated the majority of the $.
Honestly I was very skeptical and tried to get DH to see a compensation expert to make sure these founders weren't screwing him over. Luckily they weren't. DH was not C-suite, but the company was always small. Under 40 employees at its peak I believe.

So it sounds like his hiring was more of a personal existing relation than he applied for a job posting at a startup? More insider, I would guess -- though it sounds like outside enough for you to worry.

It was a job posting. I don't think he had any insider status at the last company or this one. The last company became profitable before they were acquired, so they no longer needed outside investment which I believe would have diluted the value of his shares.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Employee at a tech startup that was sold, and then stayed on for more stock and incentive bonuses. I think we grossed around 7.5 m one year and then 1.5 m another. But now we're back to a poor-by-DCUM $200k HHI at a new tech startup/my regular salary job.

Were you an early employee or C level exec? When I have job offers at tech startups (like employee 50) I get very fuzzy RSU stipend (don't know % of company), and they hand wave that if company does well I should be worth $1M. But I have no insider knowledge of valuation or percentage -- just a #### of RSU without the denomination of shares outstanding.

My impression was that unless you are startup insider not just an early employee for most startups you can be diluted or have shares clawed back and don't get as big bonanzas as you describe. Can you elaborate?

I'm sorry, I'm the spouse who didn't work at the startup and I don't know these very important details
The big payout was in the year after they were acquired. And it was a combo of stock grant in the new company plus incentive payment tied to company performance. The incentive payment generated the majority of the $.
Honestly I was very skeptical and tried to get DH to see a compensation expert to make sure these founders weren't screwing him over. Luckily they weren't. DH was not C-suite, but the company was always small. Under 40 employees at its peak I believe.

So it sounds like his hiring was more of a personal existing relation than he applied for a job posting at a startup? More insider, I would guess -- though it sounds like outside enough for you to worry.

It was a job posting. I don't think he had any insider status at the last company or this one. The last company became profitable before they were acquired, so they no longer needed outside investment which I believe would have diluted the value of his shares.

What was his role at the company, very curious how to navigate this. I'm in tech so have been eyeing some startups but haven't gotten comp I am looking for despite experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you do now, OP? That might help with some realistic options for you.

But, yes, most everyone in my life who has made serious money started their own business and had a big break of some kind. You could do some kind of entrepreneurial workshop to get some ideas started. I think Stanford has a summer program.

Op here. Thanks! I'm in I.T, a decent programmer but by no means great. Some companies do fight over me sometimes and I leverage that to my advantage, but again, I've reached my glass ceiling at $600k.

Thought about a Software company like another poster mentioned with low recurring costs, I just have no idea what type of software I can write and I lack the connection to Sales/Marketing guys to make it happen. I guess time to start work on it, only 14 years left before I reach 50!

There are very few "jobs" that pay 7 figures, even fewer for someone in a technical capacity. Frankly I am surprised at the 600k income. Must be a very very niche talent combination.

The one thing that anyone can get into, at any time, is business. Some companies have great ideas about what they want to build, but if you don't have such an idea, you can always start your own company building what others want. Start your own consulting company or something.

The problem with that is risk tolerance for most people; building a business generally will take capital, whether savings or loans -- and if the businesses fails we can be wiped out. As well as the lost income from the steady job that was left. At 45, I have young kids to support, and college to pay someday, and while it would be great to build a business and set my kids up for life, it's a roll of the dice. And the downside are very severe, since we have no safety net (savings is mostly in home equity and retirement, no family help to draw on, it's our jobs between us and poverty).

How do you others manage that risk to take the initiative to start their own company? Do you really put everything on the line, drain your savings accounts and take out home equity lines, you have that kind of confidence in your business venture?

The OP is making 600k a year, he is in a much better position than most for starting a business in terms of seed capital.

Another point is that a consulting company can be lean. Most businesses fail because it's too easy to spend money on office lease, furniture, equipment, software, and etc, thinking you are setting things up. The successful consulting start ups I know of started with people working out of their homes using existing equipment. They didn't buy/lease things unless it was absolutely necessary to work on a specific contract. It wouldn't take more than a few thousand dollars to put up an impressive looking appearance, then just start hunting for contracts.