Lots of good advice here. Sounds like you're in a good position and appear to bring quantified value to companies, particularly to startups. Just reflect on what you really want out of this short life and go with it. That includes the willingness to walk away.
Ask HN: What's left for early startup engineers as the company grows?
41–50 of 193 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's left for early startup engineers as the company grows?
#42Skunkworks!
Re: Ask HN: What's left for early startup engineers as the company grows?
#43One thing you need to come to grips is that regardless of how smart you are, the VP of engineering is probably someone that has a lot more experience and clout than you do. If they aren't, then the senior management of the company is terrible. If your company has grown to the size of 40-50 people, that's the time when they need real experience to help drive them forward. They can't take a chance on a great programmer…
Why is it acceptable for the Founder/CEO to continue leading the company at 40+ employees but not acceptable for the engineer to lead an engineering team at 40+ employees? Seems like a double standard.
Re: Ask HN: What's left for early startup engineers as the company grows?
#44I'd focus on a repeating theme in your post, "and now they". This suggests that you already see a division between the management of the company and yourself. You haven't been part of the decision making process and feel that all possible angles have been locked out by an outside agency. How much feedback have you given to the company management that you would be interested in those positions before they where "taken" from you? Have you done a gap analysis between your current operating skill set and the expectations for those position? What skills have you tried to improve outside of "developer" recently that would show you are trying to expand your role?
You need to get past the "been told", and start communicating what you want to achieve. It might be too late at this company, but I would bet not, just because these roles are already filled doesn't mean they will stay filled, or that tasks won't outgrow the current holder. Think ahead, and aim for a goal, communicate with every means you have that your ready for that goal.
"Fortune favors the prepared mind." - Louis Pasteur
Re: Ask HN: What's left for early startup engineers as the company grows?
#45Interesting question you might ask yourself, do you want to be in management or not? Do you want to be customer facing? Or not? When companies are small the jobs are all blends because they have to be, you just don't have the resources to do more. But as the company gets bigger (presumably through growth and not just a funding bump :-) you can allow folks to focus full time on specific roles which, in theory, gets yo…
That's a valid point. I remember when I started my job, I spent about 1/3rd of my day working on support cases.
I made it very obvious that I did not like doing it, but was merely being a team player until the company hired the right people.
Again, that's why it's important to communicate where you expect your career to go.
Re: Ask HN: What's left for early startup engineers as the company grows?
#46Interesting question you might ask yourself, do you want to be in management or not? Do you want to be customer facing? Or not? When companies are small the jobs are all blends because they have to be, you just don't have the resources to do more. But as the company gets bigger (presumably through growth and not just a funding bump :-) you can allow folks to focus full time on specific roles which, in theory, gets yo…
What if you check HN first thing you get in?
Time to cash out.
Re: Ask HN: What's left for early startup engineers as the company grows?
#47Maybe it's time to move on.
A company I was at started growing so fast (factor of 10) that it lost it's identity and with it a lot of the things that made it enjoyable/interesting. We opened new offices downtown and in other cities and from then on it was time to pass on the torch.
Clearly, it wasnt about keeping the old guard, but about growth. I did learn a lot and am respected for what I was able to accomplish.
It was a great experience, but sometimes it's good to realize when you're just the launching pad.
Bowing out gracefully was the key for me.
Re: Ask HN: What's left for early startup engineers as the company grows?
#48First, congratulations.
Second, let me focus on the management point. You wrote: "I managed an entire team of 10 people without ever missing a deadline of the whole team, and now they brought in an engineering manager"
a) Do you think the (now-bigger) team needs a full-time manager? b) If yes, did you want to become that full-time manager? c) If yes, did you make your desire known?
If the answer Yes, Yes, No, that's ok- lots of people want to continue being individual contributors. It's still on you to work with management to define the right structure that works for you and the company. Maybe you become some sort of Chief Architect. Maybe you help hire the manager.
Either way, if you were as pivotal as you say you were, you should certainly have the CEO's ear to bring this up in a constructive way.
Re: Ask HN: What's left for early startup engineers as the company grows?
#49I am unable to see what exactly "you" want from the company. Did you speak to the founders about your career aspirations and they turned you down ?
Did you want to be a manager ? VP of Engineering ?
The way I see it, being developer seemed a natural thing for you. I also assume you must have got significant stock options and you must be drawing lot more salary as well.
Re: Ask HN: What's left for early startup engineers as the company grows?
#50Personally if I could eliminate all the aspects of my job that aren't just writing code I would be ecstatic.