Is it true your TC can be 30-50% less working for a startup vs for a big company?
Is it true if we work for a startup that hasn't gone IPO, out pay could be 30-50% less, but that we are gambling 10% chance the IPO can be big and our stock can be worth $1 million or $2 million? (for the saying that only 1 out of 10 startup can "make it"). But if working for 4 years for the startup... $2 million / 4 = $500k, and 10% chance, so Expected Value is $500k x 10% = $50k, so it is $50k only... and we can work like hell, working 10 - 12 hours / day sometimes. --- For a startup that has not gone IPO, the TC can be $180k, vs for a big company, can be $250k, so $180k x 1.388 = $250k, so it is 38.8% more $250k x 0.72 = $180k, so it is 28% less and I guess if the TC is $300k, then the difference is even more. $200k x 1.5 = $300k, so it is 50% more $300k x 0.6666 = $200k, so it is 33% less #startup #tc #ipo #pre-ipo
It's much lower than 10%. Look at all the startups that tunnelvisioned one thing and are failing right now because their product is too niche to survive the quarantine.
I would be willing to take no more than 30% hit for a promising startup. Some startups have private liquidity events where you don't need to wait for them to go ipo for realizing profits. Hell, a startup I got offer from they also pay dividends.
Startups are hit or miss .. unlike Google I won’t suggest blindly for anyone to be a fan of startups. I had that startup bug when I was working for big Corp because of one of my colleagues. Went with one didn’t clicked, tried another one even worst. Things are flexible in startups but again comes with a lot of responsibility. The better you are the more you get screwed. I would prolly prefer mid size stable proven ideas then gambling my time with yet another +1’s out there
10 - 12 hours a day? Not all start ups are like that.
Join the startup to climb the ladder and learn a wider spectrum of technologies than is otherwise possible. Hoping to make it big in a startup is hoping you’ll hit the jackpot
Worked at a startup for 4 yrs, had a lot of fun. Learnt a lot of things, was doing some amazing research, published a couple of research papers and got out. I would say it was one of the best experiences I had.
While OP is generally correct, there are exceptions of course. And many startups fail, some get acquired, and very few others IPO. Working at a startup is a different experience, and highly dependent on the founders and culture. If the work is interesting to you and otherwise works for your situation, it can be a great experience. Just know the outcome is a bit of a gamble.
If you ONLY focus on TC, you maybe right. But I don’t. I focus on having a good boss, team and culture, which seems to be more prevalent in startups.
Yes it's true. But startup is more fun, and if you are single, young, driven id suggest spending some time at a startup before pivoting to big money, low impact and boredom
Say it louder for the kids in the back
Wait until OP finds out Paul Graham’s article