E.141 - The AI Talent War: Why Some People Are Suddenly Worth Millions

This is Jacob's fifth appearance on What Makes You Tick, and it's the wildest yet. In the last 90 days he has negotiated over $50 million in lift across deals touching eight billionaires.Jacob Warwick is an executive negotiation coach who helps senior operators negotiate better salary, equity, titles, and severance packages. He has worked with leaders across tech and Hollywood, was previously a founder and CEO himself, and has helped clients secure millions in additional compensation. His approach focuses on collaboration over confrontation, understanding motivations, and treating job searches like enterprise sales processes.We discuss:1. Why product leaders and research scientists have overtaken sales and engineering as the highest paid people in tech2. How AI collapsed deal timelines from four months to four days3. Why you can't slow a deal down when the person signing it is Sam Altman4. Why performance-based compensation signals confidence and expands the pie for everyone5. How to prepare for a negotiation by thinking like a consultant, not a candidate6. Why executives should be thinking three years out, not 90 days7. Why building an audience and IP can become more valuable than the day jobBrought to you by Tick Talent, go-to-market recruitment for early-stage tech startups: https://www.tick-talent.com/Where to find Jacob Warwick:Substack: https://www.execsandthecity.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@predetermined-mediaWebsite: https://www.thinkwarwick.comWhere to find Rich and Tolu:Rich: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richwash/Tolu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toluadebekun/Subscribe so you never miss an episode. New episodes every Wednesday, Best Bits every Sunday.