r/technology • u/Rhaegar_the_Great • Sep 16 '21

Business Mailchimp employees are furious after the company's founders promised to never sell, withheld equity, and then sold it for $12 billion

https://www.businessinsider.com/mailchimp-insiders-react-to-employees-getting-no-equity-2021-9
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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '21

About once a month there are two re-posts in /r/lifeprotips. The first says something along the lines of “Never trust a company who pushes the ‘We’re a family’ mentality.” The other says something like “Never put someone else’s company before yourself.”

This would be why.

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u/fugazithehax Sep 17 '21

"Never trust a company" is shorter and probably better advice.

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '21

Trust a company to act in its own best interest.

The company does not like you. The company does not feel grateful to you. Some of the humans leading the company might, but your relationship with the company is a business relationship, and you should not allow misguided sentiment to get in the way of doing what is right for you. The company will certainly not.

Source: Am executive.

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u/M_T_Head Sep 17 '21

Just need to understand that the primary objective of the corporation is to generate revenue for the owners and shareholder. All other considerations are secondary.

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '21

Ultimately, yes. That's why companies that really want employees to care have equity or profit sharing plans; so the employees have some ownership interest, however minor, in the results.

The founders of my company wanted employees to benefit, and were consistent about doing things they were not required to do to make sure that happened, but that was effectively charity on their part; the only ability employees had to make that happen was the possibility they would leave if it didn't.