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I think I misread your comment, so I deleted my earlier one. Sorry. You’re right: if you’re going to work hard, you may as well choose the path with the highes

I think I misread your comment, so I deleted my earlier one. Sorry. You’re right: if you’re going to work hard, you may as well choose the path with the highest rewards. If Stripe can’t make it worthwhile, is there a good reason to trade away what you’d get at FAANG? So the hard workers have a lucrative path (FAANG), and the ones who want to spend more time away from work have a more lucrative path (BigCo). That doesn’t leave a lot of reasons to choose to be an early startup employee.

Godel_unicode 4y ago
First, for some people front loading their earnings is important so they can enjoy more of life. Second, as another thread goes into, the risk-adjusted picture of startup vs established tech company is quite different.
rattray 4y ago
FWIW I joined stripe at around 600 people and almost certainly will prove to have done much better there than at faang financially (and quality of life/work). N=1 but I expect the same is true of most people who've worked there even until recently.
- scarface74 4y ago
  But statistically, the chance of any startup succeeding is about 10% and buy “success it just means that the investors didn’t lose money - not that you made a killing
  - dasil003 4y ago
    Joining Stripe at 600 was not that kind of bet. It was significantly derisked by that point was really a question of how far that early momentum could carry them.
    - scarface74 4y ago
      So isn’t it still risky since you can’t get access to your equity? My RSUs are deposited into my account every six months and I can sell and diversify them.
      - fallingknife 4y ago
        Eventually the tech market will turn around, and they will be able to IPO. Stripe is projected to turn a profit this year, so there is no runway, and they can wait as long as the want for the right time. So Stripe equity isn't that risky. For 95% of startups it would be, though.
        scarface74 4y ago
        How does that help someone with financial needs now? I’m not one of those people who keep my RSUs after they vest. I diversify over six months. I wouldn’t buy 30% of my company’s stock with cash if I were getting paid in cash , why would I keep my RSUs instead of diversify? Of course that doesn’t mean I think the company I work for is going to disappear anytime soon.
        fallingknife 4y ago
        It doesn't, but if you accepted an offer where the base salary doesn't cover your financial needs, then that's on you. And it's good to remember, that while RSUs are nice for the reasons you state, companies that give them out tend to pay a lower cash salary because of that, and if those stock prices go down, so does your TC, and it could be quite a big drop.
        scarface74 4y ago
        Well, all indications are that the BigTech companies are issuing new stock to at least keep people at their initial cash+stock compensation grant+a modicum of a raise. I’ll know myself in a couple of months. I’m in my 3rd year and my first full year of base + RSUs instead of base + 2 years prorated signing bonus + back heavy vesting schedule. (Yeah I know, how do I say where I work without saying where I work)
bboygravity 4y ago
As a European I feel like both those concepts (big money jobs or big money startups) are a USA only concept. Anywhere else in the world that has those kinds of options? China maybe?
- admissionsguy 4y ago
  But we get frEe hEaLtHcaRe! And when you factor in the municipal bus network, a $40k salary at Klarna in Stockholm is basically the same as a $350k salary at Stripe in the US. Not to mention in the USA, god knows what cookies might be put into your browser by any random cooking blog, without warning.
  - wreath 4y ago
    You dont have free healthcare. You pay for it like tech employees in the US do and you probably get worse service. At least there is a chance in the US to make generational wealth for a middle class, but no way in hell in Europe.
    - messe 4y ago
      > You dont have free healthcare If you’re going to use that sort of reasoning, then you don’t get free anything other than air. Yes, it’s paid for by taxes (or through insurance depending on country; yes we have cheap private insurance here). Thank you for bringing that to our attention, our feeble European brains were unable to deduce that on our own.
      - thomascarney 4y ago
        In Germany, my wife and I pay together about ~2,000 USD per month for public health insurance. It's not cheap!
        admissionsguy 4y ago
        Nor is it universal: I can count at least one extended family member who is not insured and is one accident away from bankruptcy - not unlike some people in the US - except that personal bankruptcy is exceedingly difficult process in their EU country, and it would be quite doable (if not straightforward) to go to prison for the debt.

Godel_unicode 4y ago

First, for some people front loading their earnings is important so they can enjoy more of life. Second, as another thread goes into, the risk-adjusted picture of startup vs established tech company is quite different.

rattray 4y ago

FWIW I joined stripe at around 600 people and almost certainly will prove to have done much better there than at faang financially (and quality of life/work). N=1 but I expect the same is true of most people who've worked there even until recently.

scarface74 4y ago
But statistically, the chance of any startup succeeding is about 10% and buy “success it just means that the investors didn’t lose money - not that you made a killing
- dasil003 4y ago
  Joining Stripe at 600 was not that kind of bet. It was significantly derisked by that point was really a question of how far that early momentum could carry them.
  - scarface74 4y ago
    So isn’t it still risky since you can’t get access to your equity? My RSUs are deposited into my account every six months and I can sell and diversify them.
    - fallingknife 4y ago
      Eventually the tech market will turn around, and they will be able to IPO. Stripe is projected to turn a profit this year, so there is no runway, and they can wait as long as the want for the right time. So Stripe equity isn't that risky. For 95% of startups it would be, though.
      - scarface74 4y ago
        How does that help someone with financial needs now? I’m not one of those people who keep my RSUs after they vest. I diversify over six months. I wouldn’t buy 30% of my company’s stock with cash if I were getting paid in cash , why would I keep my RSUs instead of diversify? Of course that doesn’t mean I think the company I work for is going to disappear anytime soon.
        fallingknife 4y ago
        It doesn't, but if you accepted an offer where the base salary doesn't cover your financial needs, then that's on you. And it's good to remember, that while RSUs are nice for the reasons you state, companies that give them out tend to pay a lower cash salary because of that, and if those stock prices go down, so does your TC, and it could be quite a big drop.
        scarface74 4y ago
        Well, all indications are that the BigTech companies are issuing new stock to at least keep people at their initial cash+stock compensation grant+a modicum of a raise. I’ll know myself in a couple of months. I’m in my 3rd year and my first full year of base + RSUs instead of base + 2 years prorated signing bonus + back heavy vesting schedule. (Yeah I know, how do I say where I work without saying where I work)

bboygravity 4y ago

As a European I feel like both those concepts (big money jobs or big money startups) are a USA only concept. Anywhere else in the world that has those kinds of options? China maybe?

admissionsguy 4y ago
But we get frEe hEaLtHcaRe! And when you factor in the municipal bus network, a $40k salary at Klarna in Stockholm is basically the same as a $350k salary at Stripe in the US. Not to mention in the USA, god knows what cookies might be put into your browser by any random cooking blog, without warning.
- wreath 4y ago
  You dont have free healthcare. You pay for it like tech employees in the US do and you probably get worse service. At least there is a chance in the US to make generational wealth for a middle class, but no way in hell in Europe.
  - messe 4y ago
    > You dont have free healthcare If you’re going to use that sort of reasoning, then you don’t get free anything other than air. Yes, it’s paid for by taxes (or through insurance depending on country; yes we have cheap private insurance here). Thank you for bringing that to our attention, our feeble European brains were unable to deduce that on our own.
    - thomascarney 4y ago
      In Germany, my wife and I pay together about ~2,000 USD per month for public health insurance. It's not cheap!
      - admissionsguy 4y ago
        Nor is it universal: I can count at least one extended family member who is not insured and is one accident away from bankruptcy - not unlike some people in the US - except that personal bankruptcy is exceedingly difficult process in their EU country, and it would be quite doable (if not straightforward) to go to prison for the debt.