Gemini vs Akuna Capital
Kind of torn between these two offers. Comp is better for Akuna, but some of the reviews I’ve read have me worried about WLB/culture. On the flip side I’ve also read some negative reviews about Gemini, but it feels more exciting to work here since they still have a lot of potential room to grow in a new industry. Gemini is also fully remote, while Akuna is hybrid. I think both would be good opportunities to learn as the teams I’m joining seem to be very solid. Both positions are for an entry level C++ position. Akuna TC: 125/50/50 base/bonus/signing Gemini TC: 135/12/20 base/bonus/signing Coming from a much smaller prop shop with very relaxed WLB and TC 85k. #engineering #software #swe
Gemini SWE has been great so far fwiw!
Great to hear! Do you mind me asking how long have you been working there and on what team? For someone in a more junior position do you think it’s a good environment for learning?
Obligatory “depends on the team” but a ton of people are new so very much plenty of room to learn
Doesn’t Gemini also give PIUs?
Yes they do! They won’t have any real value for the forseeable future though (company would need to go public or be purchased), so I’m not giving them much weight at the moment.
Yea hard to say what they’re worth, kinda makes it tough to consider working there.
Never heard of Akuna. Working for Gemini does carry some "coolness" factor with it for what it's worth because it's a relatively big name in the crypto space. In general, every startup is going to have bad reviews since they're all going through growing pains, I would take those with a grain of salt.
Thanks for the input! Definitely gotta keep in mind that most people who post seem to be focused on the negative, so it can be hard to get an accurate picture if any company!
how come Akuna only offers 125k base. Try negotiating for like 150k.
Yeah I’m sure there’s some wiggle room! The salaries aren’t so different from eachother though that they’re a huge factor in my decision.
I honestly don’t think the WLB at Akuna is that bad, there are like 2-3 teams that do have poor WLB but they’re mostly seniors
Ok that’s great to hear! Does it tend to stray that front or back end has it worse? Or does it really just depend on the team? Also mind me asking how long have you been at Akuna?
i only see a couple ppl in the office past 5 and they’re sprinkled throughout the teams
Thanks to all that contributed! Ended up going with Akuna!
Wise decision!
Poor decision, they just decided we can't have internet on our developer machines for "security" reasons.
What’s your YOE? Offers seem very low.
2 YOE, but I wouldn’t realistically count those as normal years. I’ve been working in a real weird environment where I didn’t learn much in terms of engineering, so I’m kind of treating these jobs as if I’m restarting my career out of college and I’m fine with that.
Front office in akuna? I would not join a HFT/hedge fund unless I’m working in front office, else your work is boring