That time a client tried to pay me in 'exposure' at a coffee shop in Austin

I met this guy at a Starbucks on South Congress to talk about a website redesign. He spent 20 minutes explaining how his startup was gonna be huge, then slid a napkin over with his offer. It said '50% equity plus exposure on our social media' but zero cash. I just laughed, stood up, and told him my rent doesn't accept exposure. Has anyone else had someone try that in person, not just over email?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_morgan5d ago

Oh man, I had almost the exact same thing happen at a coffee shop in Portland! Some guy wanted me to shoot a whole product launch video for his kombucha brand and offered me "a cut of future profits" plus a shoutout on his Instagram. I asked him if his landlord takes Venmo for "future profits" and he got all defensive lol. It's wild how they think a social media tag is gonna cover your groceries.

ben_fisher5d ago

Right @shane_morgan, did that guy ACTUALLY think "a cut of future profits" was gonna pay your rent? That kombucha must be REALLY special if it's gonna cover your car payment AND groceries at the same time lol.

morganl715d ago

Honestly I used to be one of those people who thought exposure was legit payment. Then I shot a whole wedding for a "friend of a friend" who promised to tag my business and ended up ghosting me when I asked about gas money. Yeah that changed my tune real quick.