Got an offer from a startup I'm excited about. The work seems interesting, I'd learn a lot and the team is great. The downside would be a fairly big TC hit. Current: 230k New: 140k with potential upside of Stock Options
The grass is always greener on the other side. Assuming that you accept the new startup role, Im pretty sure the excitement will wear off within a few months. Then you'll have to ask yourself if you're happy with your role and team. And that can't be answered before working there.
No good startup worth joining will low ball you. Look for a different company. Don’t join just because it’s a startup. 99% startups fail and most of them because they’re shitty.
To be fair, this is the initial offer they came up with based on wrong YoE but I agree with you 👍
20's get as much learning as you can 30's are all about the $$$$
Do your research on the startup and make sure the equity is worth it, last one paid for my house. Else comment above from Twitch is 100% accurate
How do I find out if it's legit or not?
Crunchbase.com look up their valuation, funding, the exec team, lookup the CEO his/her background and vision. If you have access to CB insights that's great as well for company lookup
What stage startup? Well funded? Promising product? Is the team competent to execute the idea? Market potential? Product marketability (sometimes it's difficult to market a product. Chicken and egg problem etc). Would your stock valuation compensate for the loss at a company valuation of 100m?
They just raised Series B (undisclosed for now), very promising product in the AV space. Lots of competent people from FAANG and already profitable. Future outlook is very positive as they keep signing on new clients and the product is perceived very well. Not sure about the stock valuation though..
Make sure you really understand the best case scenario of your equity. Most startups straight up lie about what the equity would be worth. It may not work out and equity value may be zero but no one would join a startup if they don’t believe it will make it. So make sure the upside is worth taking the pay hit + yoe + hit to work life balance (everyone puts different value to this, so you choose).
Fk...I voted do it. But only noticed the TC difference afterwards. I think the most important factor is the confidence in the startups ability to succeed. Also, are you getting options or RSU? Options tend to be better if the startup succeeds. If it fails, which 90% do, then nothing matters. For the stock component, you need to understand dilution. The more capital a startup raises, the lesser your equity is worth. But the higher a startup is valued, the more the potential stock price. If the valuation keeps growing without the startup raising any more capital, then the stock price definitely grows. If the startup raises capital, then dilution occurs because new shares are issued to the investor. So the profits will be distributed to a larger pool of shares, thus reducing the price per share. Your percentage ownership in the startup only keeps on reducing over time due to dilution. That is guaranteed. Growth in companies valuation is not. So ask for very high ownership (2-5%) as a very early employee, or a higher base component so that you can invest it in other stock in order to hedge your bets.
That's good advice, thanks. I'd be employee 40ish and don't think they're willing to give out that much equity. I do believe in the company but it probably takes a couple years until the stock options will be really worth anything so I'll opt for more base if possible for now. Makes sense?
How are options better? My understanding is an RSU financially equivalent to an option with a strike price of 0
For startups, their initial set of talent is extremely, extremely important in basically all of tech. Startups that do not realize this and/or are unwilling to invest into talent are not a good ones, by definition. Unless your current TC is really inflated relevant to your experience and skills, that is way too big of a cut.
I recently got another offer from another startup that was in the same realm as my current comp so I don't know if I'm either being low balled by this one or this should be my true comp 🤷♂️
Sounds like a lowball if another startup is matching your current TC.
Other: Keep interviewing til you find someplace you are excited about AND pays well.
Go go go. Worked at a bunch of startups before joining FAANG. Not the best decision TC wise since the startups didn’t get acquired yet but it was the years where I learned and grew the most. Don’t forget that staying at your current company is not what will make you rich. Joining the startup probably neither. You’d rather go build your skills and create your company later.