Coinbase Founder and CEO Brian Armstrong (Photo by Steven Ferdman/Getty Images)
Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Silicon Valley-based cryptocurrency exchange and broker Coinbase, has a history of going his own way against the crowd.
The company, founded in 2012, was a relatively early adopter and champion of the emerging trend of digital assets—Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. The exchange recently went public via a direct listing rather than the more traditional initial public offering route, usually conducted by companies the size and scale of Coinbase.
Contrary to the current social climate in Silicon Valley, in which discussions and debates over political and social issues at the office are commonplace, Armstrong told his employees that he won’t stand for it. The CEO bluntly said that he’d gladly offer a generous severance package to employees who aren’t comfortable with the new corporate policy of “political neutrality” in the workplace. In a letter to employees about this topic, Armstrong said, “Life is too short to work at a company that you aren’t excited about. Hopefully, this [severance] package helps create a win-win outcome for those who choose to opt out [of staying with the firm].”
The crypto exchange was a leader in downplaying the concept of headquarters. Armstrong advanced a “remote-first” strategy, with smaller locations for those who want to be in an office setting. The rationale was based on the belief that having a home office would imply that employees in that location would be perceived in a better light compared to those in other locations.
Now the company is planning something nontraditional once again. The company is doing away with salary negotiations for new people seeking to join the organization. L.J. Brock, Coinbase’s chief people officer, wrote about this new initiative in a corporate blog post, entitled “How Coinbase is rethinking its approach to compensation.”
“Coinbase is always evolving. In the last year, we’ve grown our headcount by 100%, hired in 6 new countries; committed to being a remote-first company; established Coinbase as a mission-focused company; and recently completed our direct listing and became a publicly-traded company,” the memo said. Brock added, “It is incredibly early for crypto as a new technology, and we’re in it for the long-haul. That’s why we take extraordinary measures to attract top talent to come build with us.”
Just as the company was sensitive about possible biases based upon where an employee works at Coinbase, Brock wants the company to get rid of any potential prejudices upon the onboarding of talent. He wrote, “We are officially eliminating negotiations on salary and equity from our recruiting process.”
The company will also be open minded with regards to the backgrounds and experiences of candidates. “It doesn’t matter what your background is, where you went to school (or bootcamp), where you’ve worked before or even what you’ve been paid before. If you pass our bar and are hired to do the same work, you get the same offer as the next candidate for a role.”
The prevailing belief amongst job seekers is that they have to fiercely negotiate salaries coming in the door. Applicants feel that if they don’t strike a good deal and get the money they want right away, they’ll never see it, as companies would only give small raises once you’re aboard.
The irony is that the people who obtain the best offers are usually the ones who are smooth, slick, sometimes pushy and sell themselves really well. Two people with similar backgrounds could start working at the same company on the same day, but one of them might be paid a higher salary.
Coinbase contends that the traditional methods of salary negotiations “disproportionately leave women and underrepresented minorities behind, and a disparity created early in someone’s career can follow them for decades.” To remedy this situation, the company wants “to do everything we can to ensure that’s not the experience at Coinbase. All employees in the same position, in the same location, receive the same salary and equity offer. No exceptions.”
Once the person starts, compensation will be driven by demonstrated performance and outsized impact on the company and its customers. This means excelling will be financially rewarded and “compensation commensurate” with the impact they make.
Coming out of the pandemic, it’s exciting to see companies thinking big and outside of the box, finding the best ways to attract, retain and continually motivate employees.