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My experience with startups has actually been quite positive. I negotiate compensation on the assumption that anything stock-related has zero value. Then I ju

• stevenwoo 9y ago
  So do you try to get a fair market salary + enough to cover equivalent benefits at a mature company - if the stock-related stuff has zero value?
  • DoofusOfDeath 9y ago
    I'd say total compensation has worked out roughly the same. It's a little hard to compare since I've sometimes worked remotely, and with companies headquartered in Silicon Valley, Cambridge (MA), and in less techy regions. The non-startups were actually located outside of Silicon Valley and Cambridge. If I adjust for the different regions' cost of living, the (salary+benefits) dollar value were about the same across the board. One caveat: The non-startups in SV and Cambridge gave me stock grants that vested over a number of years. If I'd stayed long enough for them to vest, the total compensation for those non-startups would have been about $7k-10k/year higher (pre-tax) that the compensation I got from startups.