Burned out at startup: worth staying for the money?

New / Eng
Wattt

New Eng

Wattt
Oct 4, 2018 18 Comments

Evening blind.

I work at a startup, joined very early, and I’m burned out as hell, I’m truly not motivated to do any work here any more, don’t like the work, don’t like the people, don’t like the management.

I have an E5 offer at FB for 180 base/15% bonus/600k RSU in 5y/75k signon, and a Netflix offer for 400k cash.

The startup is currently paying me 230k cash and my equity is worth on paper 3M (I’ve done the accurate math, considering the option price, current dilution and everything), of which I vested 1M, so I’d keep that with me in case I leave.

Is it worth leaving that money (still not liquid, but relatively safe, I’ve had multiple investors offering to buy some of my shares at basically that price in secondary transactions) to pursue something better from a work quality point of view? The startup is also still growing, roughly doubling every 9-12 months, so in the best case the equity could grow still 2-3X in a couple years.

8 year of experience.

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TOP 18 Comments
  • Can you take a long leave? What caused the burnout?
    Oct 4, 2018 4
    • New / Eng
      Wattt

      New Eng

      Wattt
      OP
      From what I discussed with my friends working at FAANG, the people there are incredibly senior, talented and knowledgeable. In a nutshell, these 3 aspects are night and day from my current work environment. I crave learning from brilliant engineers.

      When I say corporate I mean more like “Cisco” than Netflix, if that makes sense.
      Oct 4, 2018
    • Citibank / Eng
      TQtT37

      Go to company page Citibank Eng

      TQtT37
      I see. Well they have no shortage of brilliant engineers so seems like the right move. Best of luck
      Oct 4, 2018
  • Amgen
    Fin4eng

    Go to company page Amgen

    Fin4eng
    How long to vest the other $2mil? Is there a big year in next year or two? If you leave how long can you keep options without exercising?

    I’d probably stay and just slow down your work schedule to not burn out and take a good vacation. You should have enough institutional knowledge to be efficient with your hours.

    If you choose to leave, sell some to investors before leaving if you need the cash. It’s easier IMO while still employed there
    Oct 4, 2018 5
    • New / Eng
      Wattt

      New Eng

      Wattt
      OP
      I definitely know the startup could go bust or sell for peanuts. All I know is that the numbers I shared are the fully diluted ones based on the very last valuation, and people tried to buy some from me at that exact same price. Obviously the market could turn but the same is true to some degree at FAANG (see FB recent stock changes).
      Oct 4, 2018
    • Amgen
      Fin4eng

      Go to company page Amgen

      Fin4eng
      Regardless of whether you stay or go, it’s worth considering if you should take some off the table to diversify. I’d guess $1 mil is a huge chunk of your net worth and with $2 mil more in pipeline diversifying is a great idea. That’s a great call out from @sturtping
      Oct 4, 2018
  • New
    sturtping

    New

    sturtping
    Dude, I swear I know someone exactly like you.

    If you are my coworker or not. Just go to FB or Netflix, I’m starting interviewing myself.
    Oct 4, 2018 1
    • New / Eng
      Wattt

      New Eng

      Wattt
      OP
      Haha I guess we’ll know if we see each other again there
      Oct 4, 2018
  • GE
    Bpositv

    Go to company page GE

    Bpositv
    What series is the startup?
    Oct 5, 2018 1
    • New / Eng
      Wattt

      New Eng

      Wattt
      OP
      D.
      Oct 5, 2018
  • Amazon
    hyyw2sop

    Go to company page Amazon

    hyyw2sop
    Mind sharing Start Up name?
    Oct 4, 2018 1
    • New / Eng
      Wattt

      New Eng

      Wattt
      OP
      No sorry, too paranoid. It’s a solid startup selling a solid enterprise product (no consumer), currently in the few hundreds mil valuation, in the South Bay. Being so early with this big package, if I shared the name and someone were to read they’d recognize me immediately
      Oct 4, 2018