The hourly rate example is a clear tell. If you're selling your time by the hour you're already doing the wrong work. Consulting = death, and I mean that literally. The months of our career are finite and we should allocate them carefully
No consulting is always death, you’re dividing up your energy into little packets of focus and you just can’t accomplish much
You can only get the value of your work over time though equity. If your impact really is large, nobody could afford to pay the net present value up front (and only a lowlife would want to damage the company by taking out cash like that)
I think we are using the same word to reference two different things.
Equity increasing in value, as has been discussed on HN multiple times, is not a guarantee - and businesses engage all kinds of other businesses for all kinds of help.
There are lots of ways to structure a temporary engagement that's mutually beneficial to both parties - in the short & long term.
Career is a means to an end. Billing hourly I can look after my family, not get too stressed, and focus on what really matters when I'm off the clock. Even if the EV from swinging for the fences would be higher, it's not worth the risk.
The hourly rate example is a clear tell. If you're selling your time by the hour you're already doing the wrong work. Consulting = death, and I mean that literally. The months of our career are finite and we should allocate them carefully