How to get people to stay at a startup?

I'm not sure about the size of the startup. But the smaller it is, the more should employees be onboarded to what the organization is trying to do. The environment should be inclusive as well. If this happens, people would stay, even if the company struggles, and then further turn it into a success. On a side note, the entire job ecosystem has been damaged. Most of the folks in IT fields (especially new engineers and new PMs) want to 'work' for money only, and hence the hopping. The passion required got lost somewhere between 2019 - 2020 with the support of all the bhaiyyas and didis 😂 Now it's all about 'cracking the interview' and CTC jump upto 50 LPA from X. I'm not saying that working for money is bad, but somewhere in between, there should be passion as well.

Be friends to employees and hire capable people, we grew from 3 people team to 12 people now all stayed. Also pay wayyy above market and these people will stick to you. CA is same, COO is same almost I pay everyone 70LPA+ per year intern is making 16lpa will be hired as full-stack developer in few weeks. People will stick when you respect and pay them as per their skills

Give more money. I'm not even kidding. I had joined a series A funded company as a founding engineer just based on esops and a fucking 30k salary. I curse myself everyday for taking that decision because 30k doesn't mean much when the likelihood of your startup failing is astronomically high

Don't hire assholes. And oftentimes don't be that asshole.

I think is important to understand that good relationships, enough good work, benefits + money make people stay. It is their free will to go for whatever they want to. Why should we even try to control it so much!!! Also, there some people who should leave as more people leave because of them, could be people in your core team. Keep people who draw people to your org. Also if you are a leader people will show you their non existent good side all the time. Also, you will only have time to see people through others feedback. Not sure how much one can do here, but it is definitely a blind spot worth working on. Also market standards is a very broad term, like everyone even worst paymasters use the same term. You can feel bad about the state of the market, people's attitude and be negetive about all of it or do your best and keep making your systems and process better and hire people who help you do it and be happy with you did the best and are will to become better.

Equity and ownership in the company. Otherwise it'll just be a salary slip at the end of the day motivating them to work and stay longer.

1. Esops 2. Dont be an asshole to employees 3. Have an actually great innovative idea that has social impact Remember it is your startup and not theirs so everyone is their to make money, like you are. So if you can’t pay enough, be ready for a higher churn. I wont stay on a Titanic if i can afford cruise ride.lol

Align them with your vision in the company. Accept the fact that you cannot retain 100 % of your employees. You select a set of 10 - 20 most critical employees and make them real owners of their destiny. Many companies speak BS about Ownership but ownership is not only about work, but also about getting a piece of the pie for which they have been working real hard. And for those most critical employees, be their friend, not a founder.

Fast promotions, good pay, ownership

Treating them decently and as equal human beings for starters - goes a massive way. Create a culture of celebrating even the smallest of wins. Agree that the market is cut-throat but nowadays one red flag and employees will not hesitate to move on. A salary is the least of the factors, which an employer can offer these days.

ESOPs/meaningful equity

Company vision and everything is fine, but invest in them genuinely. People have goals, help them plan and navigate. They leave for a 30% hike, because in the long term they want to be earning X LPA in Y yrs. Sit with them and help them chart out a plan of how they can do it at your place. Coach them in technical and non technical topics. Someone wants to shift to product management, help them. They want to leave for an MBA, let them know you'll write a good recommendation letter. Let people be open about their plans, including exits

No easy answers. Growth opportunities are the key. No matter how good you personally are, there is not much you can promise here. Growth opportunities would mean increments year on year, stock options at the level top companies can offer, opportunities to grow a team at mid to senior levels. You can't hire employees of high calibre, expect high quality work from them, and expect them to stay when you are not treating them at par with what the best companies in the market do. Start ups can simply not afford such people. You will get lucky with a few good employees. With others you will have to put up with them and grow with them. All this start up vision/conviction etc is not for employees to care about. It's for the founders to care about. Employees are looking for growth opportunities in terms of money and management, somewhat interesting work at times.

1. Almost a clean slate. 2. Folks with an appetite to experiment, learn and make a dent. 3. Exchange of ideas, notions and inhibitions without red tape. 4. Good and supportive boss focussed on your learning and development. P. S. Might not apply to a tech role blindsided to business/revenue

Respect others time... dont expect the employee to work like a owner... just because you pay them doesn't mean you have first right over them or their time... your start up is not going to change the world and you are not gift to humanity.

if they are coming only for money they will leave for money