Dive Brief:

• Three months ago, Dan Price announced he was setting a new minimum salary of $70,000 at his Seattle credit card processing firm, Gravity Payments, and slashing his own million-dollar pay package to do it, the New York Times reports.
• The move drew attention from around the world. Most were enthusiastic but some, including outspoken skeptics and conservatives like Rush Limbaugh, were deeply uncertain about the new plan.
• The change actually caused quite a bit of hoopla within the company, according to the Times. To begin with, Gravity was simply unprepared for the onslaught of emails, Facebook posts and phone calls.  But it got worse: the company lost several important people and customers who were not happy with the new arrangement.

Dive Insight:

Income inequaity was the main reason for Price's decision. It's not clear if he consulted with the company's CHRO, or if Gravity even had one in place at the time (currently, the company has a job opening post for an HR Manager, which appears to be the top HR job at Gravity).

The Times reports that the reaction to his salary pledge has led him to think that if his business continues to prosper, his actions could have far-reaching consequences. “The cause has expanded,” he told the Times. “Whether I like it or not, the stakes are higher.”

The company has won back some clients and gained new ones, so it's not clear whether or not the drastic compensation decision will drive more success or the company into the ground. Nick Hanauer, a Seattle venture capitalist and an early promoter of the city’s $15 minimum wage law told the Times: “These individual acts can create a new kind of perception of what’s possible and what’s righteous.” After all, he said, two years ago, no one would ever have guessed higher minimum wage laws would be catching fire in cities around the country. “Who can tell what that last thing is that catalyzes big change?”