Startup Compensation

I checked out a chart on Ackwire that detailed the compensation for a bunch of people at startups. The salaries varied between $50k and $150k.

Equity was normally much less than 1%. Mostly it hovered around a quarter of 1%. There were some notable exceptions. One person had a whopping 25% equity in their startup, but had a very low salary. However another had a respectable 3% equity in addition to a high salary ($130k).

The valuations of the companies were mainly in the $1M to $10M range. So if you consider the average equity was a quarter of 1%, then the equity would be worth between $2500 and $25k. Ouch. I guess you better love what you are doing. Because it does not look like these people are getting rich, even if the startup is successful and gets to an exit.

Android Phones

A buddy recently shelled out $200 for a Motorola Droid 2 phone. This included a contract, so the retail price is higher. I am thinking about getting a new phone. I am considering the Android phones for myself.

There are many different Android phones. Android is actually the open source Linux based operating system from Google. Examples of the phone are the T-Mobile G1, HTC EVO 4G, and Samsung Galaxy.


Android has a number of advantages over the iPhone. The phones themselves are usually lighter. You do not have to connect to your computer to get the apps. The web browser supports Flash. It is better for navigation, and well as tethering your computer to it for Internet access.

The Android user base is mostly dudes. Developers prefer to create apps for the Android market. You can only get a true QWERTY keyboard with an Android phone. The iPhone uses a software keyboard only.

There are times when there might be different Android OS versions out there causing some confusion. I hear that Android phones are not as reliable as iPhones. I also understand that some of the Android phones have security holes. I continue to debate whether I should get an iPhone or Adroid based model.

The iPhone

I am thinking about getting a new cell phone. And I am considering the iPhone 4. This is the cooler option. It also seems to be the choice of the younger crowd. The phone itself costs $299 with a 2 year control. Otherwise it goes for $599 retail.

The iPhone in general requires service through AT&T. I hear their cell phone service is not top notch. The rest of the iPhone story sounds good. Apple design is king. The phone is easy and intuitive to use. Their batteries tend to last longer.

The iPhone has the superior software keyboard. It is the best choice for games and music. Applies app store has the most apps. One key differentiator is the front facing camera in the phone. You can do video chatting with other iPhone 4 users.

This phone does not support multitasking. Not sure if that is something I will need on a phone. I also hear the Safari web browser is slow during peak times. You get all iPhone apps through Apple's app store. Apple has a lot of accessories for their phones. The camera is better than most phones. The iPhone 4 has higher screen resolution than most phones.

The verdict is still not out. Next time I will review Android phones.

Profiting With Apps

I just finished skimming a book about getting rich through apps. The book stated that app development is getting cheaper. However a developer still will charge you between $50 and $150 per hour for coding up your app. That does not seem like an avenue to get rich, especially since FaceBook apps are free.

The details on how to create apps for both the FaceBook and iPhone platform are changing all the time. I learned that there are two varieties of iPhone apps. There is the native variety that runs on the iPhone operating system. Then there are iPhone web apps that run on the Safari web browser.

Going a little deeper, you write native iPhone apps using the Objective C programming language. However iPhone web apps are developed just like other normal web applications. You code in a combination of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Finally note that games are the best selling apps. It seems like there is too steep a learning curve to code up an app myself. I think for now I will take a pass on this money making opportunity.

Double Cross

Something was not right at my house this afternoon. The house kept getting colder and colder. Doh! The heat was not working. And the temperature was dropping. Initially I thought we might need to bunker down and get help tomorrow. However I later rethought this because it is supposed to get very cold tonight.

I tried calling my HVAC company. They did not pick up the phone. It was the evening. They must have went home. Looked up a new company. They came over within 2 hours. They figured out the problem pretty quickly. They quoted me a large fee to fix the problem. I confirmed that the cost would cover everything, and there would not be "other problems" that would cost me extra. The guys assured me there would be no more cost to get the heat working.

It took only 30 minutes for them to replace the parts and get the heat cooking again. I was taken aback by the final bill. It was almost 20% higher. I said this was not the quote I was given. Well they said there was a big service charge added. Then there was tax to deal with. The time to be clear about all these extra charges was when they gave me the quote, not when they were looking to get paid. In the end we split the difference. However the damage was already done. Poor communications make these guys look like crooks to me.

Now if I am in a bind again, I would use these guys. Two things are clear. They charge a lot. And the try to add on all kinds of garbage fees at the end. Too bad. They could have obtained a customer with their expertise.

eBook Sales Scam

Some dude had a great eBook headline. He made $40k in sales from one eBook this past year. That got my attention. He wrote about a hot new technology just as it was gaining traction. It was a very specific subject with a lot of interest.

This guy had me up until the point where he tried to sell another eBook on making money wit eBooks. Doh. Initially I had no reason to doubt this guy made $40k large. Now that he is trying to sell me something, the scam detector went off in my head.

Now I am not saying that this guy did not make any money on eBooks this past year. It is just that there is a conflict of interest here. Of course he is going to claim to have made a ton of money if he wants me to believe him and buy his scheme.

Heck. In this light, $40k don't look like much. You got plenty of other people claiming to have the eBooks to teach you how to make millions. Why stop at 40k? I wish this guy had just stated the facts and documented his win. I can't blame him for trying to make a buck. But that puts him in the company of a lot of other salesmen. So much for eBook sales excitement.

Ebay Tactics

You must read this Reddit poster's story about tricking an Ebay scammer. Here is the basic story. He put up some sports tickets on Ebay. Someone won the bid for $600 each but backed out in the end. It was took late to find another buyer. What this guy did was precious.

So he gets a throwaway phone number. He calls the bidder up, telling some sad story about how he wants to go to the game with his son, and would offer a ton of cash for the tickets. The bidder then contacts the guy and tells him the deal is still on. Guy collects cash.

The big time win was when the bidder then tries to pawn the tickets off for more money. The guy reveals himself and tells the bidder to get bent. Bamm. This is actually an age old scam technique. In this situation, I believe the ends justified the means. Check out the full story using the link above.