I’m a new grad SWE who is talking to seed and Series A startups and am considering joining them over Nuro and big tech companies. What should be needed in order to make taking this risk worth it? The main startup I’m talking to is a Series A fintech startup with 20 employees. They raised a 35 mil Series A from top VCs and founders of top companies in fintech. They have a well known post-IPO company as a customer and some other customers that are Series B to other post-IPO. The founders were within the first 30-35 employees of Robinhood. A lot of the engineers come from Robinhood as well. The main competitors are Stripe and Square. The core product the startup is building is similar to an existing product these companies have but I thought it was a really good sign that the startup managed to attract a well known post-IPO company that was previously using Stripe. I am ultimately interested in being a founder in the future, and I heard joining an early stage startup is the best way to set yourself up for this. However, obviously joining a startup that is this early is still very risky. What else should I ask to make sure that this place is worth taking a risk on? Based off what you’ve heard so far would you think the startup is worth joining?
Most likely it's not worth the risk. You wouldn't be able to convert stock options into real money for many years to come, but if you leave, it would be a headache to keep them. In terms of tech skills learning experience could also be questionable. But in terms of seeing the kitchen behind startup growth, it could be eye opening.
I’m facing a similar decision OP. Series A with similar funding, mid 100 million. They likely won’t pay what fang pays because they simply don’t have that sort of free cash flow. Are you willing to take less? That’s the question. Startups often make these claims: Work life balance Ownership over work With risk comes eventual reward if IPO happens. The thing is, you can get WLB with the right team in fang. Similar with ownership. And with big co, you’re immediately taking in 2x TC. So it’s not clear why you would join a startup given the only differences are between cons. When it comes to the “pros”, the big co has an advantage. Sure you can get lost in a big co. Detached from what matters. But a startup may decide to let go half its workforce once their product reaches beta. I would take more money. And stop perpetuating the idea that to join a startup you need to take a pay cut. If you believe in an idea so much and can envision its execution, do it yourself with 100% ownership. It’s not that hard to play the VC game and get your own series A.
The team at the startup you’re referencing is super legit.
Good to know :)
I spent ~5 years in FAANG (SDE) and then dipped to a series A (VP). I can’t imagine doing it the other way around - I would have learned some truly bad habits
By bad habits are you referring to the engineering or something else?
Everything. You rise up very quickly at a small company when you’ve been a part of fast growth at a big company. You know how to turn an organization into a well oiled machine that takes in ideas and spits out revenue. From the engineering side to the business side and everything in between.
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It’s really up to you. Hate to be that vague and cliché, but follow your heart. If you truly believe in the early stage company then join. Those are usually the best / most impactful early stage employees anyway. If you don’t believe in the opportunity or think the risk is worth it, then go with the sure thing. Unless it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, there will be more opportunities.