Stripe's arrogant compensation philosophy is misleading

Jan 26 38 Comments

I said no to Stripe's offer a few months ago(not sharing exact timeline to prevent DOXing), joining Google now. Laying down some facts here so people dont get swayed by the high base which was the only high point of my offer.

Stripe has no annual refreshers, recruiters will misleadingly show on--hire grants as annual grants, unlike annual refreshers, they are not in addition to onhire grants and dont even appreciate, a true double whammy. Stripe does have language about refreshers for top performers but on target annual refreshers are zero. Only so called top performers will receive annual grants.

High number of DMEs, the recruiter did not tell me anything about the ratios even when i asked them but a hiring manager told me around 10% of their team is to be rated low performance. Nervous smiles when asked about WLB on teams.

Stripe does not do yearly adjustments to salary. Even Microsoft gives a cost of living increase per year. Stripe has no provision for that.

Bullshit no-negotiation image. Stripe tries to put forward a no negotiation image. Its just BS. I was able to negotiate but even though the offer looked good initially with a very high base salary, when i ran the numbers with Google refreshers, Google overtook in year 3.

RSU policy - the less said, better it is. Hiring manager struggled to explain the philosophy. From fair compensation to preventing rest and vest attitude.

I wish i had done the math earlier and asked for an even higher number, if you have a Stripe offer, do the math before accepting. For the uncertainty around jobs and IPO, do negotiate hard and don't look at only year 1 compensation. #stripe

I did genuinely enjoy talking to everyone during my interviews but if they want to hire the best, they need to compete with Google and Meta. With their new RSU policy, they have significantly limited any IPO upside so why choose them over Google and Meta which over a 4yr period will probably give better appreciation.

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TOP 38 Comments
  • Stripe / Eng
    BugChungus

    Go to company page Stripe Eng

    BugChungus
    If your calculus boils down to a reduction of a job to just money, you’re right: Stripe isn’t for you.

    For me, if I’m going to spend 40+ hours a week on something, I’d rather pick an activity that is least annoying. What makes a job annoying? Colleagues I can’t trust, colleagues who are there just to rest & vest, colleagues who joined by gaming an arbitrary and capricious hiring process. All of those things annoy me.

    Stripe tends to attract incredibly smart people. Every day I suffer from impostor syndrome, but I truly enjoy working with these people. You’re right, the paper money is probably bullshit, but I make enough cash at Stripe.

    Every company has problems, and Stripe is no exception. My coworkers more than make up for any pain.
    Jan 26 10
    • Google
      oPPm01

      Go to company page Google

      oPPm01
      Lol, chug that Kool aid bro
      Jan 29
    • Meta
      GFXB01

      Go to company page Meta

      GFXB01
      I did interviews at Stripe, Google and Meta and got offers from all three. Stripe’s were by far the easiest. I declined because of the AVG crap. And I also have a few former colleagues who were bottom performers at other companies and have been working at Stripe for years. So I don’t buy the “we have super smart people” stuff.
      Feb 26
  • On top of annual grant, Stripe does have performance based refresher - which is split into 2 years. Also, Stripe do adjust the base salary and annual grant on a yearly basis.

    I am working at Stripe now. Was at Microsoft before.
    Jan 26 13
    • Google
      cyalateral

      Go to company page Google

      cyalateral
      My google offer letter mentions that annual salary is subject to periodic review. FWIW my Meta recruiter got me annual base increase numbers and annual refresher numbers.
      Jan 26
    • Amazon
      pDCL76

      Go to company page Amazon

      pDCL76
      Been at stripe for a while, there has always been comp/base adjustments, performance equity is relatively new, so we are all figuring out who gets what, but until now I have gotten yearly refreshers as well
      Jan 27
  • Stripe is now Amazon 2.0 according to Blind
    Jan 26 0
  • Stripe
    ynab

    Go to company page Stripe

    ynab
    Tell me you don’t understand how our comp works without telling me you don’t understand how our comp works.
    Jan 27 2
  • I don't like Stripe either, but to answer your last question, for a non-senior swe Stripe may provide a much better growth opportunity.
    Jan 26 0