Why this VC founder doesn’t believe in cash bonuses.

The founder of Mercury (which is a startup bank for startups but don’t call it a bank because it’s not really) thinks all forms of cash bonuses are a bad idea. His view is that equity is the only good long-term incentive alignment tool. I agree with part of his message: a company-wide discretionary performance bonus is more like a holdback of salary that employees come to expect. But I disagree with him on individual performance bonuses and the universal applicability of equity. ~ learn more