Seattle CEO Dan Price made headlines in April 2015 when he announced that he would pay all of his staff a minimum wage of $70,000, more than the previous average of $48,000. To fund the increase, he cut his own salary from $1.1 million to the same amount, saying it was about fairness rather than political ideology.
The move received international attention, with over 500 million social media interactions. Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders praised Price for setting an example, while influential liberal blogger Ezra Klein said he loved the story. However, the backlash was swift: Fox News branded him the ‘lunatic of all lunatics’, and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh called him a socialist.
Today, Price remains a polarising figure. Some clients left Gravity Payments, angry at his policies or fearing fee increases. Two staff resigned because they thought it unfair that less experienced colleagues received overnight raises. Additionally, his brother Lucas, a 30% shareholder, is suing him.
Despite positive reports, such as an Inc. magazine article claiming profits doubled, Price is cautious. ‘We’re probably as big an underdog to pull this off today as at any point in the process,’ he said. He describes the experiment as being in the 15th minute of a soccer match, with the score still 1-1.
Price feels that both supporters and critics exaggerate any sign of success or failure. The company, which provides credit card processing services to 12,000 small businesses, continues to navigate the consequences of his groundbreaking pay policy.
