Stability AI: Emad Mostaque resigned from his role as CEO

Re:Stability AI: Emad Mostaque resigned from his role as CEO by manquer on Saturday March 23, 2024 @01:11AM (#39797627)

For a founder maybe , definitely not for employees .

AI startups need not an insignificant amount of startup capital , you cannot just spend weekends to build like you would a saas app . Model training is expensive so only wealthy individuals can even consider this route

Companies like that have no oversight or control mechanisms when management inevitably goes down crazy paths, also without external valuations option vesting structures are hard to ascertain value.

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Re:Stability AI: Emad Mostaque resigned from his role as CEO by alfiedotwtf on Saturday March 23, 2024 @03:06AM (#39798060)

Sometimes you need to say fuck the money, I’ve already got enough, and I just want to do what I enjoy. It may not be an ideal model for HN but damn not everything in life is about grinding, P/E ratios, and vesting schedules

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Re:Stability AI: Emad Mostaque resigned from his role as CEO by BhavdeepSethi on Saturday March 23, 2024 @03:40AM (#39798188)

Yeah, that's easier to say when you have enough. A lot of employees might not be in that privilege position. The reality for some of the folks might be addressing education loans, families to take care of, tuition for kids, medical bills, etc.

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Re:Stability AI: Emad Mostaque resigned from his role as CEO by tasuki on Saturday March 23, 2024 @05:46AM (#39798658)

Also oversize houses, expensive cars, etc...

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Re:Stability AI: Emad Mostaque resigned from his role as CEO by teaearlgraycold on Saturday March 23, 2024 @09:12PM (#39804301)

I’m grateful to be debt free

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Re:Stability AI: Emad Mostaque resigned from his role as CEO by teaearlgraycold on Saturday March 23, 2024 @01:26AM (#39797693)

As a counter-point, with no VCs there's more equity left for employees.

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Re:Stability AI: Emad Mostaque resigned from his role as CEO by khazhoux on Saturday March 23, 2024 @03:24AM (#39798137)

As a counter-counter-point that gets rarely discussed on HN, VCs aren't taking as much of the pie as people think. In a 2-founder, 4-engineer company, it wouldn't be unusual to have equity be roughly:

20% investors 70% founders 2-3% employees (1% emp1, 1% emp2, 0.5% emp3, 0.25% emp4) 7% for future employees before next funding round

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Re:Stability AI: Emad Mostaque resigned from his role as CEO by seanhunter on Saturday March 23, 2024 @04:12AM (#39798307)

This is not a fair comparison because you are not taking into account liquidation preferences. Those investors don't have the same class of equity as everyone else. That doesn't matter in the case of lights out success but it matters a great deal in many other scenarios.

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Re:Stability AI: Emad Mostaque resigned from his role as CEO by khazhoux on Saturday March 23, 2024 @06:29AM (#39798827)

Sure. My point was that most employees think that VCs take 80+%, and especially the first few employees usually have no idea just how little equity they have compared to the founders.

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Re:Stability AI: Emad Mostaque resigned from his role as CEO by killerstorm on Saturday March 23, 2024 @05:39AM (#39798631)

You can't run a sustainable business if you take VC money. VCs need an exit.

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Re:Stability AI: Emad Mostaque resigned from his role as CEO by hsjsbeebue on Saturday March 23, 2024 @01:47AM (#39797760)

If valued $2bn then even a 0.1% is $2m. Not bad.

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Re:Stability AI: Emad Mostaque resigned from his role as CEO by teaearlgraycold on Saturday March 23, 2024 @02:02AM (#39797810)

Early employees may have gotten 2-3% and are completely undiluted.

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Re:Stability AI: Emad Mostaque resigned from his role as CEO by hsjsbeebue on Saturday March 23, 2024 @04:33AM (#39798386)

Yes indeed! Probably furiously vesting now!

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