Startup vs big bank
So I'm currently debating between two offers in the new year. 1) A startup with a strong team, strong founder who knows multiple global CEOs and a 2 person sales team. They are developing an app for the retail market and have a few big name people lined up. I will be joining as employee number 5 and will have 5% equity and $50k salary which is enough to get by. They will be raising a 5 million Series A investment in early 2019. However I'm the only person who is multiskilled enough to work on everything so I will have a lot of stress on my shoulders developing the app and the backend systems. I see little career progression as I will be leading and mentoring new devs. Even if they do make it big I'll be diluted so little chance of FU money. 2) The bank is one of the biggest in the world. I have been offered a large salary $100k. I have room to progress and earn tonnes and learn big processes. I'm in my mid 20s so something like a bank would look great on my resume I think. No stress, great wlb and fantastic bonuses. But I'll be a corporate stuckup. What do you think I should go for? The founder will probably get all the notoriety and my tech skills won't he noticed but admittedly building something that will be used by a lot of people would be cool. However at the bank I will be building something massive used by people all over the world anyway. I'm stuck for choice.
Startup no brainer provided you donāt have visa issues...by the nr of customers that your code touches should fetch you millions not $100k!!
Yep room for career progression definitely. The bank will increase my salary to 200k after 1 year if I perform well
I don't mean to disappoint you but it seems highly unlikely that any company would increase your salary to 200K from 100K with a year.
Iād keep interviewing if I were you.
I agree. Be in a position where you will be debating between FANGs or unicorns.
Sounds like a bunch of MBA wanna-be founders. I concur, stay away; too many "business" people for a company that size and no product (fancy mock-ups and slides are not a product). They will have no idea what they are doing from a product management perspective unless one of their founders/CTO is highly technical and built most of the product themselves.
Bank will be a safer bet but growth will be limited. If you can take some risk ask for better salary (as the difference is double) and go for start up. You must believe in what this start up is doing else it wont make a lot of sense.
Bank. Make extra cash. Not sure how much growth retail startup will experience. I worked for one once, they are still trying to land it after 10 years.
mid 20s so you are a few years out of school. you do not have the experience or tech chops to be a CTO. 5% pre-series A employee 5 is CTO. that they would give you this offer means the technical aspect of the product is quite ordinary. doesnāt mean itās not a good way to go, just saying. $50k is absolutely laughable. get $150k āin arrearsā. $100k at a big bank is also a laughable salary. you didnāt do well in the interview. and itās obvious you are wet behind the ears as you are just looking at everything possible. decide if you want to work at a startup or a bigco and THEN compare 2 offers within the same class of employer.
Hey thanks for this I am in disbelief because you are correct on the mark with everything you said!! I did do well in the interview it's just as I'm 2 yrs out of school they don't know whether I can perform which is the reason for the low salary.. But if I perform I'll be on a higher salary in no time. I really think I need a big name brand on my resume as I've only worked for small companies before. Perhaps I can do both? A negative with startups is that at any point it could go bust and the reality is that I cannot afford it to go bust as my career would suffer. I mean, who would you hire...? A person who's worked with small teams all his life or a person who's worked with small teams and BIG teams. I am interested in FAANG but truth be told I don't want to relocate just yet for FAANG. The startup is vying to be acquired by FAANG which also makes deciding even more difficult. The answers in this thread so far suggest going to work for a startup is the best course of action. However, I've read enough horror stories to understand that startups are not the best place for early employees or the panacea for all things great. Who wants to work like a slave for peanuts with job uncertainty all the time while the founders rake in the money, fame and luxuries? Hmm not me.
If the bank you are talking about is Bank of America, stay away.
It's not :). The bank I'm taking about is currently ranked number 6 by market cap
Ok, either ways I would suggest the startup if you are not on a Visa.