Hotshot Tech Founders Face a Dilemma: Lie Low or Live Large
Many startup founders go through months, and <i>years</i> of living on beans, struggling to pay bills and making do on a shoestring budget.  Why should they not enjoy the benefits of their spoils if they do make it?<p>I recall a chapter that struck me from Bob Taylor&#x27;s book (of Taylor Guitars).  The first half of the book was all about him building guitars in a shed, then loading them in a car and visiting guitar shops one by one, trying to convince them to buy his guitars and display them next to the Martins and Gibsons etc. that had a lion&#x27;s share of the market.<p>Many years later, when he became one of the most successful guitar companies in the US, he built himself a nice house, and he used to invite his staff around for an annual BBQ to show his appreciation of them.<p>Then one day, at the BBQ, he overheard some senior management pointing at his new pool rockery and saying &quot;So THAT&#x27;s where my bonus went this year...&quot;.  He stopped inviting staff to his house after that incident.<p>&quot;Tall poppy syndrome&quot; exists in all industries and cultures.  Personally, I don&#x27;t see why people who have sacrificed a lot in order to make money in the early days cannot enjoy it later when they _do_ make it.  As long as they maintained a high standard of ethics and principles doing so, of course.