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> how are you going to compete with companies that can compensate employees 2x what you can in fully liquid comp? In addition to lottery tickets, I would argue

by boulos 7y ago

> how are you going to compete with companies that can compensate employees 2x what you can in fully liquid comp? In addition to lottery tickets, I would argue that for some people the answer is easier: purpose, people, and autonomy. At all of the bigger companies with the great, guaranteed pay, you are also one of many, quite likely a cog in a giant machine. By offering someone a real, visible impact on direction, outcomes, and even a purpose beyond steady (high) income, you can get some folks to join. Others will join just to be part of a small, hopefully excellent team or having autonomy. In a company of 5000, only 500 are in the top 10%, and you might work with very few. It's much easier for everyone to be good when you're a small team (I like the pg rowing analogy here).

cactus2093 7y ago
The idea of having more purpose at startups sounds nice but really doesn’t add up to me. If you’re talking about the first employee at the company, even the first ~5 engineers, then yeah I buy it. The work is very different and there’s a lot of purpose while you are still pre product/market fit. But the problem is, if the startup is succeeding the work becomes similar to bigger tech companies pretty quickly - the PMs and designers are dictating exactly what to build, and as an engineer you show up and build that. If you were to leave, someone else could probably take over for you pretty easily. Even by like 5 or 10 engineers, the average engineer at a startup is already becoming a cog in the machine. But the startup is still a long way from being able to compete with FAANG on comp. Is it really worth sacrificing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year just to be a slightly different type of cog?
- mahmoudimus 7y ago
  That's not accurate -- at least in startups that are on track to becoming successful. If you join a startup just to become a cog, do not join that startup. It does take about 6-9 months for an engineer to become impactful from a business sense. If you can wait out that time period, you should join and expect to have impact. If your ideas aren't valued and you're not getting the opportunity of ownership, then maybe you should leave to join another startup or go back to FAANG :)
opportune 7y ago
Hmm, for me, unless I had an outsized position to gain from lots of autonomy, I would see that as a negative. Sounds like a lot of pressure to perform well without enough gain for it. Might as well just start my own company so I can have more upside.

by boulos 7y ago

cactus2093 7y ago

The idea of having more purpose at startups sounds nice but really doesn’t add up to me. If you’re talking about the first employee at the company, even the first ~5 engineers, then yeah I buy it. The work is very different and there’s a lot of purpose while you are still pre product/market fit. But the problem is, if the startup is succeeding the work becomes similar to bigger tech companies pretty quickly - the PMs and designers are dictating exactly what to build, and as an engineer you show up and build that. If you were to leave, someone else could probably take over for you pretty easily. Even by like 5 or 10 engineers, the average engineer at a startup is already becoming a cog in the machine. But the startup is still a long way from being able to compete with FAANG on comp. Is it really worth sacrificing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year just to be a slightly different type of cog?

mahmoudimus 7y ago
That's not accurate -- at least in startups that are on track to becoming successful. If you join a startup just to become a cog, do not join that startup. It does take about 6-9 months for an engineer to become impactful from a business sense. If you can wait out that time period, you should join and expect to have impact. If your ideas aren't valued and you're not getting the opportunity of ownership, then maybe you should leave to join another startup or go back to FAANG :)

opportune 7y ago

Hmm, for me, unless I had an outsized position to gain from lots of autonomy, I would see that as a negative. Sounds like a lot of pressure to perform well without enough gain for it. Might as well just start my own company so I can have more upside.