SaaStr · 2023-10-03
· 975d
Compensating Top Talent: Why You Must Pay People Right to Build Championship Teams
Jason Lemkin argues that SaaS founders must prioritize paying their best employees competitively, using Phil Jackson's rejection by the Lakers as a cautionary tale. The article emphasizes that exceptional talent is worth any cost, and that once companies achieve funding success, they should retroactively increase compensation for early employees who sacrificed during lean periods.
Metrics in this report
Lakers Compensation Savings Target
6000000$
annual
Year-over-year salary reduction attempted
Phil Jackson Career Championships
11championships
total
NBA coaching career
Phil Jackson Coaching Tenure
5championships
with Lakers
Professional sports team management
Typical Seed Funding Stage
500000$
referenced example
Early stage startup constraint