Late stage statup ppl, whats your experience?
For those who joined late stage, around Series D and E, what happened to your comp after four years? Is it comparable to FANG? What’s your advice and experience like in terms of comp and wlb, would you do it again?
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Roku roku! Aug 1, 2019
Roku turned out good for me.
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ja_rule Aug 1, 2019Net worth ~12m after two such startups. Comp went through the roof due to stock appreciation. Current TC over 1m after IPO. I would recommend but be smart about the company you choose.
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dnb Aug 1, 2019Which two start ups?
Square Tenderlion Aug 2, 2019
Any advice on choosing start ups? What’s a good approach?
Not remotely comparable to FANG after 4 years. Plenty of people leave after vesting at Square. Statistically you won't make better than FANG even chasing series D and E. Uber's valuation has been stagnant for over 2 years, all the meanwhile being paid less than FANG. Join a late stage startup if you're excited about it but not if you're chasing for a larger than FANG payday.
But the comp at late stage isn’t significantly lower either, so I feel that the risk/reward ratio is a lot better. Doesn’t square pay a lot?
It actually can be fair amount lower. There are exceptions like Pinterest and whatnot, but a fair amount of series D and E companies are below what FANG pays. Also consider that at those startups you aren't guaranteed to get refreshers, raises, or bonuses. Depending on your level we're significantly below competitors. We lose people to Snapchat and Facebook regularly. I'd say at my level I'm below 40-60k offer of what I'd get at FB, not to mention no cash bonuses, meager raises, and laughable refreshers. By year 2/3 it's a significant difference.