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Ask HN: I am a founding engineer leaving a startup

Ask HN: I am a founding engineer leaving a startup that will likely be successful... I wanted to ask a question on the HN. I am a founding engineer in a SaaS software stratup that is gathering significant traction. I have helped build the startup from ground up and directed non-technical founders along the way to the proper software engineering process. (If you ever tried to explain features vs. quality to a sales guy - you know what I mean). I have recruited a very good technical team and wasn't afraid of firing fat. One of the founders provided the capital to get the company going and operate for a year. Quite a few times it looked that the startup would flop, but we all persevered and pushed through. Because the founders are non-technical, the product is to a large extent my work and my baby. I voiced disagreements, fought for MVP and controlling the scope. There are many other people working on this product, but I have a disproportionate contribution. Now, that the startup is steaming along and gathering users, both founders seem to have rose glasses on and hiring VP of Sales/Biz Dev and VP of Product, CFO, buying other companies without consulting with me. I think those decisions have merit, but are suboptimal to improving the product and having happy users. I feel we already have a world-class product, but there is definitely room for improvement. I think we have lots of dev challenges ahead and should staff up on the developers(we are a software product after all). Nobody is asking my opinion though and I disagree with the direction. I also don't think it is a good idea to bring VP level guys whose initiative the dev team won't be able to support unless we have more developers. I do want to say that I was well-compensated (for Toronto, Canada) during this time, but still provided incredible value. I am not boasting - I have a key position in building a 30-million-dollar company and 150-180K/year is not quite as good a compensation for that. Moreover, I was side-tracked on compensation negotiation, ESOP, etc. And, I feel that my significant software, management, negotiation skills are being devalued. I feel that I no longer want to enrich people that don't provide the value back to me. One founder is a nice guy with whom I have a good relationship, another one is riding the success. I was a successful freelancer before and I am considering quitting and looking for work elsewhere. I already have a contract lined up. I pause because if a product becomes wildly successful financially - it would very positively reflect on my career and I can play that card for a few years after. So what do you say HN? What would you do?

sganesh 15y ago
I have been there before. I walked away. I did a contract for about a year then took off for a few months traveling and is part of a new startup as a technical founder, that went live this Monday. If the other startup is wildly successful financially, I stand to gain a bit financially, but I also believe, my contribution to the old startup will always be with me. I learnt a lot about people, process, growing a company, building a product, making connections, hiring, management etc. And I believe those are the things that will enhance my career. Such an experience also brings an odd predicament in the form of infallibility and also may cloud your judgement about other non-technical people you're going to be involved in the future. My suggestion, is to keep an open mind, have well-defined expectation of business partners and their roles, learn & use delegation and trust & verify people.
maxdemarzi 15y ago
You sound like you need a different attitude toward this. You wrote the software and it feels like your baby, but it's not. The baby is not the software, it's the business... and "they" built that. You were a great hire and performed herculean feats of development, but it's their business. It sounds like you learned and improved a lot while working there. You probably worked crazy hours and have some work/life balance issues. Take a break, relax, VEST, and get ready to start your own baby. Nobody appreciates you more than YOU. Stop being an employee, you're an entrepreneur, you have the technical chops to get it done, and the tenacity to never give up.
- softwareguy116 15y ago
  I like that " Nobody appreciates you more than YOU."! Great point. I have pretty much made a decision to strike on my own again. I won't be building a product, but will keep growing a consulting business.
seasoup 15y ago
The next company you get in, if you want to have as much say as everyone else you have to be in on the ground floor and get an even split of the equity, otherwise you will always just be an employee of the company. It sounds like this time around you have built up your abilities and confidence and the next time will be able to step up your game and have an even stake in the company.

sganesh 15y ago

I have been there before. I walked away. I did a contract for about a year then took off for a few months traveling and is part of a new startup as a technical founder, that went live this Monday. If the other startup is wildly successful financially, I stand to gain a bit financially, but I also believe, my contribution to the old startup will always be with me. I learnt a lot about people, process, growing a company, building a product, making connections, hiring, management etc. And I believe those are the things that will enhance my career. Such an experience also brings an odd predicament in the form of infallibility and also may cloud your judgement about other non-technical people you're going to be involved in the future. My suggestion, is to keep an open mind, have well-defined expectation of business partners and their roles, learn & use delegation and trust & verify people.

maxdemarzi 15y ago

You sound like you need a different attitude toward this. You wrote the software and it feels like your baby, but it's not. The baby is not the software, it's the business... and "they" built that. You were a great hire and performed herculean feats of development, but it's their business. It sounds like you learned and improved a lot while working there. You probably worked crazy hours and have some work/life balance issues. Take a break, relax, VEST, and get ready to start your own baby. Nobody appreciates you more than YOU. Stop being an employee, you're an entrepreneur, you have the technical chops to get it done, and the tenacity to never give up.

softwareguy116 15y ago
I like that " Nobody appreciates you more than YOU."! Great point. I have pretty much made a decision to strike on my own again. I won't be building a product, but will keep growing a consulting business.

seasoup 15y ago

The next company you get in, if you want to have as much say as everyone else you have to be in on the ground floor and get an even split of the equity, otherwise you will always just be an employee of the company. It sounds like this time around you have built up your abilities and confidence and the next time will be able to step up your game and have an even stake in the company.