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I Just Got Paid For Work I Did 20 Years Ago.
Startups Should Work To Make Their Employees Wealthy Not Just Their Founders And Investors
Earlier this week a modest deposit appeared in my checking account, one I honestly never expected. You see, it was for work I’d performed from 2001–2003 at a startup called Linden Lab, the company behind virtual world Second Life. And when that company was acquired in late 2020 by another private party, my stock purchased in 2004 turned into cash. The transaction size was small compared to the IPO and SPAC headlines from the past few months, but I had the benefit of being an early, single digit employee, and hence a stock value of around .04/share if I’m recalling correctly. That low price was part of what enabled me to purchase my vested options when I left, a conundrum that exiting employees often face.
Thinking about this outcome, and jumping into a Linden Lab alumni Zoom over the weekend, swirled a bunch of feelings. So much has changed since those years trying to build an online community with a small group of people in Hayes Valley. I subsequently joined a larger startup that got really big and then cofounded a venture firm with a close friend/former colleague. I tried to outrun failure only to realize I need to embrace it. And I achieved ‘Silicon Valley Middle Class’ wealth status.
