Founder's mindset: Poor mindset vs Rich mindset?

I have opinions

Three Incidents

I'm dedicated to doing great work in my startup, but I started to have concerns because of the three incidents this week.

(1) I had a hard time getting the offer letter for visa entry from my founder. I was extremely stressed on the day I was flying, but my needs weren't listened to.

(2) I didn't get to go to my dream AI conference. Similarly, it was due to his delay and the high price.

(3) The offer for my salary isn't great, or maybe it's the lowest among all my friends. And the communication doesn't really go well.

For (1), he apologized in the end, but it is just alerting me that if the immediate business goal is really his own goal, can we work well together?

For (2), he said that I'm an intern, and it's not good to invest in someone who has to leave. This sounds even more concerning to hear when I, as an intern, had the responsibility of a full-time employee.

For (3), he said "We cannot compete with money, so we don't do that. But we will have fun." Even when I showed the benchmark price to him (I already asked for money that was lower than a benchmark), he responded, “All positions require 3-6 years of experience, it’s different from our situation.” Period. All these comments sound quite avoidant to me. As a good founder, I would imagine someone who says "We cannot compete with money yet, but we will strive to do that when we grow our company."

Rich vs Poor Mindset

I realized that most of the conflicts we have are based on the perception of money. He believes we need to be as frugal as possible because, as a founder, he is constantly under financial stress. Yet, it started to confine him to a poor mindset. A poor mindset leads to short-term thinking and a fixed mindset when he gives up competing salaries with other companies.

What is the purpose of a startup? It is to disrupt the system, to create things that don't exist on Earth now. If it starts from nothing, then we cannot innovate without investing. If a company believes that employees are the ones who can make the vision come true, then an investment mindset might be much better than a cost-oriented mindset.

A cost-oriented mindset might achieve short-term safety but lose out on talent and scalable growth in the long run. Passion can only drive people to a certain extent, but talents need to feel valued and respected to be motivated. This is not simply "fun" that can be compromised. If a company pays much lower than the market, even the most passionate talent will hesitate. Because salary signals how much the company values them and their work, and how well the founders are operating the company. All in all, salary isn't just about money, but about the signals that are sent to the market.

As a founding employee, I really, really love my work, but when I saw my offer and heard how my founder responded to it, I couldn't help but hesitate. Even though I'm willing to compromise my salary for my great work, I question whether this leadership will allow me to continue performing at my best.

What should I do?

One of my closest friends is a founder, and I can empathize with the stress they might be experiencing. I made the decision to discuss the cost vs investment mindset with them, not for my own salary purposes, but from a perspective rooted in management philosophy. Although I am feeling frustrated, it is important to remember that founders are human beings who require time to learn too. Therefore, I will prioritize open communication with them.