Startups · by Maya Williams · 2026-10-06

founder salary guilt: when did you stop paying yourself the absolute minimum

Bootstrapped, profitable-ish, not rolling in it. I've been taking basically enough to cover rent and groceries because every extra dollar feels like I'm stealing from future optionality. Meanwhile I'm definitely more tired and more annoying than I was a year ago. Curious how other people decided what was reasonable.

13 sparks · 5 comments

Comments

Maya Williams · 8 likes

That last sentence was annoyingly effective, thanks

Mara Fischer · 6 likes

Founders love martyr math. Doesn't mean it's healthy math.

Sanne de Vries · 4 likes

If you had to replace yourself, you'd pay more than groceries.

Noé Petit · 2 likes

When underpaying yourself starts hurting the company, it's no longer noble.

Noah Miller · 1 likes

I picked a normal local salary for my role and adjusted from there. Drama dropped immediately.