Just got a mid level engineering offer from an extended series C (total of 130m) startup in NY. Base 140k Options 8600 vest over 4 years, $4 strike, current preferred share price is $10. And current ownership is ~0.02% Current TC in Seattle is 120 base, ~roughly 25k of RSUs vesting per year, ~6k performance bonus I really liked the team and the company seems to be growing well. I’m just not sure how to evaluate the offer while accounting for cost of living differences. Using the smartasset take home calculator it seems like the offer is still a slight increase if I were to live in the city. Unfortunately it looks like there’s no room for negotiation because they want to keep the comp packages the same for everyone within a level. I would also be losing a 401k match (~10k per year) and HSA contributions. Am I overestimating the value of those? To be honest, the second biggest reason I really want to accept is because it would let me be close to my best friend, but I’m not sure how much of that is caused by the whole pandemic thing.
Another thing I’m finding hard numbers to compare to is the funding amount. The recruiters say 100m is massive but is that actually true or just average?
100m in total funding? so it’s worth 130m with 100m raised in rounds?
Regardless of your answer, bragging about 100m raised seems weird. Some startups have different capital requirements based on their industry so it’s not like a startup is better because it raises more money in a round.
No, when it comes to salaries under 200k, all benefits matter.
So I should keep interviewing?
I can’t answer this specific question. Just wanted to point out that health insurance premiums + 401k matching + HSA contributions + vacation time aren’t necessarily TC but they all affect your take-home pay. I have gone from one job to the next and my base salary only increased by $5k but the difference in those benefits above was $20k. Startups usually have crappy benefits so you’ll want more base to offset it. If you feel your offer is reasonable, then there’s no reason not to take it.