http://www.amazon.com/Outsiders-Unconventional-Radically-Rat...
“An outstanding book about CEOs who excelled at capital allocation.” — Warren Buffett
[0] http://www.amazon.com/The-Outsiders-Unconventional-Radically...
Like you said, you are in growth mode. To me, growth mode means reinvesting as much of the profits as possible back into the company. Paying yourself a large salary during this time is the same as taking money off the table.
There are some good reasons to take money off the table, like paying back personal debt or supporting family members. But paying yourself more because you're the CEO doesn't seem like a good one, because your equity position is so significant.
If you don't have a good reason to take money off the table, it signals to employees and investors that "Joel thinks the money is better spent going into his personal bank account vs. making the company's equity grow in value." That sort of logic doesn't work in a startup that is targeting high growth, where employees are hoping to receive some sort of payoff from their equity. Moreover, it casts doubt on your judgment in capital allocation, which is one of the most important responsibilities of a founder / CEO. *
Obviously, all of this logic falls apart if you're not working on a startup. Low growth businesses that have achieved much of their potential are a totally different story. But you aren't starting a restaurant. Even Uber, at its $4B valuation, is giving compensation packages that are weighted towards options vs. salary.
* http://www.amazon.com/The-Outsiders-Unconventional-Radically...
https://www.amazon.com/Outsiders-Unconventional-Radically-Ra...