Here's a hot take. VCs don't hate labor. They love money. They will do anything that makes the most money for them. If that means investing in people who they think will be successful (ie, impressive resume, past success), they will do that. If that means not investing in people who they think will not be successful founders, they will certainly not do that. Ultimately their drive to make money by backing the right horse, trumps any sort of power/status game.
Founders also don't hate labor. They love money. If they can hire good enough developers by paying them 0.5% equity, they will do that. If the market demands that they pay developers 500k/year and hire thousands of them during a bull run, they will do that. If they think paying a "superstar" CEO $200M/year creates even more value, they will do it. If they can get away with paying that same guy nothing, that's also exactly what they will do. If they can improve the company's long-term profitability by laying off thousands of developers during a downturn, they will also do that.
Labor for the most part doesn't hate anybody either. We love money. If a company hires me right after college, trains me, helps me build my resume, and another company comes around with a promotion and a 30% higher comp offer, I would take that offer. If the company has fallen on hard times and isn't able to pay me as much as another company, I would give a few months notice and then jump ship.
I find it hard to take these sort of conspiracy theories seriously. No one is purposely conducting layoffs in order to "put labor in their place." No one is purposely trying to underpay startup employees because they hate them. Everyone is trying to enrich themselves as much as possible. Partly by collaborating with their complements in order to create something of value. And partly by paying their complements as little as they can get away with. This is literally how every single free market works.
If you think your startup isn't paying employees enough, don't work for that startup. If you think all startups are paying developers too much relative to support engineers, try building a career for yourself as a developer instead. If you think all startups are too generous with its founders relative to employees, try building a career for yourself as a founder instead. If you're able to succeed as a developer/founder, great! If you're not able to succeed as a developer/founder, maybe you have a better appreciation for why they get paid whatever they do. You don't owe them anything, they don't owe you anything, nobody hates anyone, everyone's just trying to make the most money they can for themselves.
Marx would agree. People who don't know better tend to think that labor vs capital is an aesthetic or moral conflict rather than a material one. The mechanics of capitalism force the owners to exploit the workers as much as possible, or else they will be driven out of business. That doesn't necessarily make the owners bad or hateful people, though it does select for people who are able to convince themselves that they are doing the right thing in spite of the evidence.
Founders also don't hate labor. They love money. If they can hire good enough developers by paying them 0.5% equity, they will do that. If the market demands that they pay developers 500k/year and hire thousands of them during a bull run, they will do that. If they think paying a "superstar" CEO $200M/year creates even more value, they will do it. If they can get away with paying that same guy nothing, that's also exactly what they will do. If they can improve the company's long-term profitability by laying off thousands of developers during a downturn, they will also do that.
Labor for the most part doesn't hate anybody either. We love money. If a company hires me right after college, trains me, helps me build my resume, and another company comes around with a promotion and a 30% higher comp offer, I would take that offer. If the company has fallen on hard times and isn't able to pay me as much as another company, I would give a few months notice and then jump ship.
I find it hard to take these sort of conspiracy theories seriously. No one is purposely conducting layoffs in order to "put labor in their place." No one is purposely trying to underpay startup employees because they hate them. Everyone is trying to enrich themselves as much as possible. Partly by collaborating with their complements in order to create something of value. And partly by paying their complements as little as they can get away with. This is literally how every single free market works.
If you think your startup isn't paying employees enough, don't work for that startup. If you think all startups are paying developers too much relative to support engineers, try building a career for yourself as a developer instead. If you think all startups are too generous with its founders relative to employees, try building a career for yourself as a founder instead. If you're able to succeed as a developer/founder, great! If you're not able to succeed as a developer/founder, maybe you have a better appreciation for why they get paid whatever they do. You don't owe them anything, they don't owe you anything, nobody hates anyone, everyone's just trying to make the most money they can for themselves.