4 ms·

I think there’s a sweet spot in well-funded Series A companies. You get the benefit of a small team and large impact inside the org which feels nice to a certai

by Swizec 6y ago

I think there’s a sweet spot in well-funded Series A companies. You get the benefit of a small team and large impact inside the org which feels nice to a certain kind of person. The company is big and mature enough that you get decent impact on the world as well. Also great for many people And most importantly, the company can afford to pay well. Not quite FAANG level, but plenty for you to reasonably plan to retire (in a FIRE way) at 50 instead of 65. And heck if it does hit, you’re early enough for a nice cushy bonus. edit: yes the difference in comp is easily 100k+, but making 180k+ cash to not be a small cog in a gigantic machine, to me, doesn’t sound that bad

ffdjjjffjj 6y ago
Not even close to FAANG level compensation in my experience. I’m just a moderately experienced backend/infra person and VC backed startups would straight up tell me they can’t compete when I told them what FAANGs had offered. We’re talking well over 100k difference in TC, and a significant difference in cash, and that’s not even accounting for liquidity.
- ghaff 6y ago
  It's not just startups. The reality is that (as a developer or certain other types of positions) if you can get a job at one of these companies and are OK with working for them, especially in SV, no one else outside of maybe finance for certain skills is going to seriously salary match. Some people are less concerned about the money but many are indeed focused on maximizing their comp.
marcinzm 6y ago
The cash difference (RSUs are cash) between startups and FAANG is something like $200k+/year if you're moderately senior. That goes up if you're lucky or good enough to get promoted further within FAANG. Startups tend to cap compensation for ICs pretty heavily. That's a lot of money to give up.

4 ms·

I think there’s a sweet spot in well-funded Series A companies. You get the benefit of a small team and large impact inside the org which feels nice to a certai

by Swizec 6y ago

ffdjjjffjj 6y ago
Not even close to FAANG level compensation in my experience. I’m just a moderately experienced backend/infra person and VC backed startups would straight up tell me they can’t compete when I told them what FAANGs had offered. We’re talking well over 100k difference in TC, and a significant difference in cash, and that’s not even accounting for liquidity.
- ghaff 6y ago
  It's not just startups. The reality is that (as a developer or certain other types of positions) if you can get a job at one of these companies and are OK with working for them, especially in SV, no one else outside of maybe finance for certain skills is going to seriously salary match. Some people are less concerned about the money but many are indeed focused on maximizing their comp.
marcinzm 6y ago
The cash difference (RSUs are cash) between startups and FAANG is something like $200k+/year if you're moderately senior. That goes up if you're lucky or good enough to get promoted further within FAANG. Startups tend to cap compensation for ICs pretty heavily. That's a lot of money to give up.