As the founder of a potential 1.2M annual revenue project, I realize that the least I take the more my company has to spend, that being said, I want to be rewarded for my work and have the ability to splurge into ventures I am interested in, as an interested angel investor.
If you're bootstrapping, pay yourself less and re-invest in the company.
If you've raised money, then pay yourself average salary as you aren't subsidizing and getting more stock (for the $$) as an investor would - so once you raised, then it's a shared risk - don't make the financial subsidy a thing you take on.
I see this happen so many times where venture funded founders pay themselves little (ex: $40K / year) to look good, but the truth is you should be making $75K and instead you don't have the financial resources to a) pay off personal debt, b) hire help to be able to have more time to work, c) enjoy life with your partner/family and in turn burn those relationships.
Don't make that mistake if you have financial partners as investors. Be fair, but don't take a financial loss every month to save face.
Answered 11 years ago
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