TC: $120k (non-tech)
YOE: 8
EDIT: I rose to VP level and large areas of the company's success were on my shoulders, along with 2-3 other people at a similar level.
I worked for a startup for the last 8 years and finally decided to quit (company is closer to 15 years old but didn't make any money until last ~6 years). The goal posts kept moving, we'll be millionaires. This hard work will pay off "in a few years." In the end, I did learn a lot, but I was underpaid, overworked, and left with a lot of trauma from the work environment. I don't know what a "normal" company is like, and I'm looking forward to life on the other side.
If I had to do it over again, I'd leave after 3-4 years. I was chasing options that may or may not be worth much in the end (on paper, I had "millions"). No one knows or respects the name of the company I worked for, and my new role (at FAANG-like company) will help balance my resume. With that said, the company I left has decent metrics, is profitable, etc. From the outside, it probably looks like a good company and sadly I would've tried to endure it a little longer if they would've paid me what I was worth.
PROS:
-Learned a ton about sales, data & analytics, management, recruiting
-Promotions; ended up at decent TC ($120k non-tech; not including stock bc it's paper) but still way underpaid for the demands and YOE (8)
-Survived difficult working conditions. I can probably survive anything now
-Enjoyed some people I worked with
CONS:
-Beyond burned out. "Unlimited PTO" but guilt-tripped by CEO over every day I took off. Averaged ~8 days off per year for entire tenure
-Frequent Slacks on nights and weekends from CEO, including AI/ML/programming-specific podcasts, etc. that the team should learn (only 2 programmers in this Slack group)
-Weekend work every weekend for the last 7 years; small dev team wouldn't automate
-CEO flaunts expertise and knowledge over every employee; few can understand what he's saying most of the time. He is definitely very smart (Elon Musk vibes with less likeability).
-Would cost an enormous amount (over $100k to exercise stock); company is still at least 3 years from IPO if that
-Big goals and minimal support/resources to get it done
-Leadership team, including myself, are "yes people" to CEO because the fallout of defiance is not worth it. Work becomes living hell if he is mad at you. No one has the balls to tell him anything but "yes, sir"; grates at you after a while
-Even as success with the company grew, the demands never changed. With each milestone, things almost got worse.
Advice for others:
-Value yourself. There are plenty of opportunities. The TC out there is very strong right now, even for non-tech.
-Emotional abuse is not ok, and it's not normal, but most people will take the side of the person paying their paychecks or making them money, so it's better to move on. #startup #burnout
Question:
-Is this normal startup stuff? I'm always seeking out people with similar experiences, and that's what drew me to Blind in the first place.
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comments
I hope life only gets better for you OP.
I admire you for your resilience.
Blind will take good care of you from here on out.