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Anecdotally, I worked as a software engineer at a very small (10-15 person) startup that just got acquired by FANG, and I, as well as almost everyone else there

Anecdotally, I worked as a software engineer at a very small (10-15 person) startup that just got acquired by FANG, and I, as well as almost everyone else there, generally worked 40 hour weeks. My relationships were fine, I went to the gym most days, and I worked on a masters in AI on the side, and I also learned a lot more than I would have at large companies since I got to own way more complex and interesting projects than I would have if I had just taken a job at FANG. I feel like a lot of it comes down to how strong your management team and market position are. Our CEO had a pretty crazy track record, and drove the company into a really interesting, strong position, and then wanted himself to have a good, sustainable family life, and would constantly reiterate that he wanted everyone else to do the same. I have other friends who have had roughly the same experiences, again, anecdotally.

x220 8y ago
That's really cool. Any tips on identifying startups with this work-life balance?
- brianwawok 8y ago
  Ask during interviews? Most people aren't going to lie to your face that a normal week is 40h if they expect 80.
- halbritt 8y ago
  You can ask, but the ones that are terrible will tell you point blank that they care about work life balance and then simply fail to follow through. My advice to folks is that if you don’t have a very significant chunk of the company, ie >1% then the payoff can never be good enough to compromise work/life balance. If you’re a founder or very early and have 5% or some such the. That’s between you and your family. Probably still ain’t gonna pay off.
- ezrast 8y ago
  Look for places with diverse workforces. My experience is that managers who expect long hours also expect everyone to be 100% aligned with the company vision, and people with different backgrounds tend not to last. Consider the compensation package a company offers. Companies that want young go-getters are more likely to offer high cash and equity; great benefits packages are better for drawing in risk-averse family types. Also don't be afraid to ask straight-up what the working hours are like during an interview, ideally from the lowest-ranked person they'll let you talk to. Disclaimer: I don't have strong data supporting any of this, just my personal experience and intuition from working in the bay area.
- SeanAppleby 8y ago
  I can't really say for sure, but some things that stood out: People skewed older than I expected for a startup. Most people were in their 30s, and the C suite people were mostly in their 40s. No one other than me was below late 20s, and everyone seemed laid back but competent. I probed at it during the interview and was told that everyone leaves between 5-6, and that the CEO wanted to go home to his family and didn't expect anyone to do differently. When I asked engineers things about how days and weeks went there they were very direct about how people didn't stay late and didn't dance around the subject. The CEO had already sold multiple startups while raising his family, so I assumed that he would be able to make the company successful without setting a precedent of burning yourself out and without us being under constant threat of death. Also yeah, I didn't make nearly what I make now that I'm at FANG. But I ended up in a higher role and with more leverage than would normally be possible at my age and experience level in the new company, and got some cash from the deal, so it's been pretty great. But yeah, if I was just trying to maximize short term dollars earned it wouldn't have made sense to work there, since I couldn't have realistically known that this was the outcome.

x220 8y ago

That's really cool. Any tips on identifying startups with this work-life balance?

brianwawok 8y ago
Ask during interviews? Most people aren't going to lie to your face that a normal week is 40h if they expect 80.
halbritt 8y ago
You can ask, but the ones that are terrible will tell you point blank that they care about work life balance and then simply fail to follow through. My advice to folks is that if you don’t have a very significant chunk of the company, ie >1% then the payoff can never be good enough to compromise work/life balance. If you’re a founder or very early and have 5% or some such the. That’s between you and your family. Probably still ain’t gonna pay off.
ezrast 8y ago
Look for places with diverse workforces. My experience is that managers who expect long hours also expect everyone to be 100% aligned with the company vision, and people with different backgrounds tend not to last. Consider the compensation package a company offers. Companies that want young go-getters are more likely to offer high cash and equity; great benefits packages are better for drawing in risk-averse family types. Also don't be afraid to ask straight-up what the working hours are like during an interview, ideally from the lowest-ranked person they'll let you talk to. Disclaimer: I don't have strong data supporting any of this, just my personal experience and intuition from working in the bay area.
SeanAppleby 8y ago
I can't really say for sure, but some things that stood out: People skewed older than I expected for a startup. Most people were in their 30s, and the C suite people were mostly in their 40s. No one other than me was below late 20s, and everyone seemed laid back but competent. I probed at it during the interview and was told that everyone leaves between 5-6, and that the CEO wanted to go home to his family and didn't expect anyone to do differently. When I asked engineers things about how days and weeks went there they were very direct about how people didn't stay late and didn't dance around the subject. The CEO had already sold multiple startups while raising his family, so I assumed that he would be able to make the company successful without setting a precedent of burning yourself out and without us being under constant threat of death. Also yeah, I didn't make nearly what I make now that I'm at FANG. But I ended up in a higher role and with more leverage than would normally be possible at my age and experience level in the new company, and got some cash from the deal, so it's been pretty great. But yeah, if I was just trying to maximize short term dollars earned it wouldn't have made sense to work there, since I couldn't have realistically known that this was the outcome.