[How] Should I hire my brother-in-law?

6 points

16 years ago

My brother-in-law graduated this past May with a CS degree from a middle-tier private university. After an honest shot at finding a job with nothing to show for it, he's begun to hit a wall. He's not alone, as evidenced in a slew of recent articles:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124181970915002009.html

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2009/06/25/70788/recessions-toll-most-recent-college.html

I'm beginning to get worried that his hot & steamin' degree is about to get cold and soggy if he doesn't get some work experience to keep his resume moving. He isn't as motivated as the typical entrepreneur-type on HN so I don't think he'd start his own venture by himself.

So here's where my question for HN comes in... I've had a couple of ideas up my sleeve but no time to implement them (my day job writing HFT software has me pretty tied-up). Do you think it's a good idea to hire my brother-in-law to kick off a venture that I otherwise wouldn't have the focus for?

If the answer is yes, how should he be paid? Here are my concerns:

* Paid in equity - He needs some immediate pay for his efforts. If the project fizzles out because I don't help him execute, he never gets any compensation for this.

* Paid per hour - He is very inexperienced, especially with high performance and/or web development. Most of his hours will be spent learning. I don't necessarily want to throw money out the window to train him on things that I would be doing for fun in his position.

* Paid per deliverable - This seems like the best bet, almost like hiring a consultant. Am I wrong on this?

* Some hybrid of equity & hourly or deliverable - This would provide a vested interested in the venture plus offer some immediate cash.

I've specifically avoided including "experience and training" in the compensation list because I know this has a stigma on HN. Although I do think he will be gaining some very valuable programming knowledge in this pursuit.

So, what are you thoughts?

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