I have made another post regarding my offers and now I have shortlisted two companies but currently in analysis paralysis mode. This is the first time I am considering joining a startup that is about to IPO in a fintech (more of mortgage company) and would love some feedback on what to choose. YoE - 10 Current TC - ~170k Location - SF Bay area Better.com: L6 (Remote from anywhere - same salary) Base - $220k Annual Bonus - 12.5% ($27500) RSU - $400k (for 4 years) Refreshers - Could not get a number but it does exist. TC - 1st year (including bonus) - $372500 Pros: Pre-IPO so RSU might 2x or 0.5x; Remote is a added perk but I am not planning to relocate out of bay area. Cons: volatile. Not sure how the company is going to fare post IPO Nvidia: Software Security (IC4) Base - $225k Annual Bonus - 0 RSU - $360k (for 4 years) Sign on - $35k Refreshers - 25-50% of initial grant/4 TC - 1st year (including bonus) - $350k TC - 2nd year - $315k Pros: Great HM, good team, hybrid WFH Cons: Security domain. I read the aurora acquisition documents for Better.com, looked at how other mortgage companies did after their recent IPO but could not decide which one to choose. How do I assess the risk of joining a company that is about to IPO - should I consider that the stock price can go down 50% ? Please advise. #bettermortgage #nvidia #offer Please vote and add comments as well that will help me make a decision. Cheers !
Poll
Don’t think about the future. In 5 years the industry could completely change. Sharing my 2 cents. In the present the pros for Nvidia are working in a hardware/technical company, I’m not sure how much security plays a role in Nvidia’s business, you are the best judge of that. Nvidia’s SDKs are pretty good and they have an edge in the market. AMD is catching up and not sure if Apple will put something in the near future. In finance and mortgage, the business is well regulated and security plays a larger role in the business, I maybe wrong with better. Post IPO valuation depends on the fundamentals in their top line and bottom line growth. Talk to the HR/hiring manger about financial statements- revenue, operating costs, profit/loss etc. If the fundamentals look good the upside is huge.
Why is security domain a con?
Good question. It's just a fear of unknown. I might or might not like it. But the reason why I chose Nvidia is that even if I don't like it, I will look for other teams within Nvidia (like Geforce cloud).
Do they have layoffs on the engineering team quite often?
What are u optimizing for? Beyond the comp what might either role unlock for u in 2-3 years (think domain exp, role exp, prof network etc)
Better.com - If I perform, upward mobility might be high - Mortgage industry experience - Startup experience - Python shop and I am a java guy - so might learn a lot Nvidia - Upward mobility might be tough but compensation will be stable - Stock upside ? - Security exposure and the team looked super brilliant so might learn more from them. - This role entails working with other teams to build security as a product so its an opportunity to build some contacts within Nvidia. - I have a better vibe from Nvidia's HM when compared to Better.
Who told you better.com a python shop…..
We use typescript and Python. Monolith is node, lots of microservices are Python.
Now I understand why the recruiter keeps saying they do not have a team matched to my experience. I am a Java guy lol
For NVIDIA you can ask for more joining bonus and they can give 2nd year bonus as well.
Do they have lot of layoffs in engineering at better.com?
Yes
Where did you go
Nvidia
Poll