I want to make roughly $10M from my next gig over 4-6 years and then retire and become stay at home parent. What is my best option to achieve this dream ? Pls share your suggestions and reasoning. Here are the options I could think of : 1) Start my own company and be a founder (I have some ideas, highest risk) 2) Join as part of founding team (first 5 employees, still high risk but can leave) 3) Join early stage startup (post series B or C but in a VP / leadership role) 4) Join a pre-IPO company as a director or mid-level manager but which is likely to grow quite big . 3 and 4 would obviously be lower risk, but also lower payout. Would love to get suggestions of which such companies to target . Background: Currently in mid 30s. Eng L6/L7. YoE is 14 years ..last 5 years in mgmt.
The only option that has a realistic chance of getting you 10m in that short of a time period is starting your own company. It’s a huge risk though and very unlikely to pay off, I would suggest choosing option 4 which will still be a nice amount of money, but has way less risk.
Start with $100m and invest in WeWork
There are a lot of ways you could achieve this, but with something like 1% success rate... One way: buy powerball
🤣🤣🤣
If only the odds were as good as 1%
I think #2 has the best chance of success. As a founding member I would shoot for 3-5% ownership equity. In your timeline, you would have the best chance of relative success if you hedge, splitting your time as a founding member of a couple startups (3 years each). Even if you walked away w 1% ownership of a co. w a $billion market cap, you still gross $10m.
It’s extremely unlikely to have a liquidation event where your partners and investors are ok with you selling off what is probably the entirety of your equity when you’re still in the growth stage
2 is the dumbest unless you're very confident in the founders and the company's prospects. You take all the risk with none of the equity. You'd make a lot more with a decent exit at a small startup you start vs a big billion dollar company that you join as employee number 10 Also, nobody gives you that much equity unless you're bearing a lot of risk (first tech hire, vp Engg in exceptional cases etc)
Option 5) join FB / Airbnb / etc will have the highest EV
#2 has way too high risk. Founders could dilute your stock at any time, also very rare that the company will actually exit (and hard to tell at such an early stage). Basically gambling. I'd go with #3, and aggressively invest in stocks with your extra cash. No index/mutual funds, just individual high earners.
Yeah I agree. #2 you take as much risk as the founder but for fraction of the equity. Plus you run the risk of dilutions like you said.
You forgot trading Forex and playing a lottery as your options. Come to think of it, those are the surest options.
You only have to earn just shy of 1m a year over 6 years and earn 8% (ideally more) a year. No need for high risk plays there. Any senir role in a big company or top sales position will do.
Where did all your money go the last 14 years? You should already be a decent part of the way to $10M.
Do the math buddy. Unless they have Facebook-type growth, you are not going to make 10mil joining post series c startup. So even your lowest risk idea isn't practical.
If he could do math wouldn’t be a manager
Ouch.