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I'm about to negotiate the dollars on a long-term project.

What i want is to get part of my salary as a percentage of the gross revenue. So, it's gross revenue - not gross profit or stock options of any kind.

Is this too out of the ordinary to ask? Would it be a big hassle for them to arrange this - would they have any concerns? Should there be any specific terms that I should ask for in this arrangement?

I want this, because I want to be/seen on the same boat as them. It's an established, successful start-up and I like the team and the project.

This'll give us both the "feeling", right from the start, that I'm a heartful contributor and not just an employee.

UPDATE:

this is not to ask for a big chunk of their money. But merely to ask part of my salary as a fixed % of their revenue based on the last 2-3 yrs' figures. If they make more, so will I and vice versa. a company's success boils down to gross revenue. We'll be on the same side looking at how we did.

Gross profit wouldn't put us on the same boat. A company can turn thin air into money and still show no profit. It'd be like letting someone else in on managing my earnings.

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    Do you have a fallback position that's less open-ended? Perhaps bonuses tied to volume targets might be more palatable to the founders
    – Trent Bartlem
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 1:09
  • @TrentBartlem what's "bonuses tied to volume targets", why would I need a fallback position? I don't know these terms - just want a percentage of what the company makes before any deductions
    – xavierz
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 1:14
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    isn't this just asking for equity?
    – bharal
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 2:32
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    "a company's success boils down to gross revenue." No a company's success is due to net revenue (aka profit). A company that only grows gross revenue, while staying continuously in the red is one that will fail as soon as it runs out of VC to fleece.
    – Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 10:50
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    Sounds more like something you would see in MLM scams than legitimate businesses.
    – Brian
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 15:26

3 Answers 3

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Is this too out of the ordinary to ask?

Yes, it is. This would put you at risk of having negotiations cut off and binned. If that isn't a problem for you then go for it.

Anything out of the normal box is risky if you don't have some sort of extraordinary leverage in terms of skill set or perhaps personal connection.

This'll give us both the "feeling", right from the start, that i'm a heartful contributor and not just an employee.

This doesn't make sense. You may get a hearty feeling, but no one else in their right mind will.

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    Though if you are Hollywood A list you can get a percentage of gross :-)
    – Neuromancer
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 22:41
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    love the comment on the heartiness. Straight to the point, as usual, @Kilisi
    – bytepusher
    Commented Jun 10, 2020 at 22:29
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Is this too out of the ordinary to ask?

I worked in many startups. In my entire career I never encountered a situation where a portion of a contributor's salary was based on revenue, not achievement, not profits, or anything else.

I imagine it could make sense if for some reason the company cared solely about revenue, and not profitability, or quality, or other metrics.

That said, obviously you can ask for anything, no matter how unusual.

Would it be a big hastle for them to arrange this - would they have any concerns?

Other than setting up the accounting, it wouldn't likely be a hassle at all.

I suspect the major concern would be a startup giving away a lot of money to one individual, while losing money.

And as @DanIsFiddlingByFirelight points out, the company might decide you'd be difficult to work with and withdraw their offer.

i want this, because i want to be/seen on the same boat as them.

Unless there are others in your company with this unusual arrangement, I can't see how this puts you "in the same boat".

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    The danger OTOH is that by asking for something crazy you might cause the company to decide you'd be difficult to work with and withdraw their offer.
    – Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 2:14
  • @DanIsFiddlingByFirelight that's my main concern, why I brought it up here
    – xavierz
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 2:30
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    Not to mention that by asking for part of gross revenue you are making lots of cash whether the company makes profit or not, so you do not actually care about the success. It's a prosperous ask and I would see it as a joke, and when confirmed as not, end that interview right there. Actually bonuses based on gross rev will make it more difficult for the company to turn profit, hardly what "someone in it for the long haul" wants.
    – Aida Paul
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 6:41
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What you say is:

Even if there is no profit, and the valuation of the company goes down, I as an employee want to get a positive bonus while people who invested money into the company rack up losses.

So, no, probably not going to happen:

  • Even if you invest money into a company, you don't get part of the revenue.
  • Variable salary is for letting employees participate in good times of the company. What you suggest reduced the potential profit proportional to the revenue.
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