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Buffer Layoffs

open.buffer.com

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Re: Buffer Layoffs

#121

Post by OliverJones »

carc wrote: post #95
kybernetikos wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some startups take your equity off you if you leave.

They can't just take away equity that's vested to you. And any equity that hasn't vested isn't yours.

Most stock options expire within a few months after separation. And, if the present valuation is high, the one separated will have to come up with the cash to buy the options and pay the alternative minimum tax. If the company is private and uncooperative, they can sometimes effectively prevent you from exercising your vested options.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#122

Post by Declanomous »

kilroy123 wrote: post #87
Declanomous wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I am apparently massively underpaid. And I have to commute to work. Lose-lose.

I was thinking, a lot of them are _underpaid_. I work remote as well.

That may be true. We might also be looking at different job titles as well. I spend about 50% of my time as an analyst, and 50% of my time doing database marketing. Their employees in marketing roles and analyst roles are both paid significantly more than me.

I'm not entirely surprised though, the non-profit I work for pays poorly even compared to other non-profits. Compensation is the same for everyone on a similar level regardless of what the responsibilities of the role are. I have a much more specialized and technical role than everyone else, so there is no way that my compensation is commensurate with my experience or responsibility.

I'm not bitter about it, a huge part of why I'm under compensated is because I've been allowed to make the role my own and take on a lot of additional responsibility. In a sense I've grown out of my title. I'm just shocked by how much less I'm actually making.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#123

Post by dave2000 »

dsacco wrote: post #45
danso wrote: post #7

FWIW, here's their public spreadsheet of salaries and calculations. Not sure if it's been recently updated (on closer look, seems to reflect the founders' stated pay cuts, and new hires as recent as last month): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1l3bXAv8JE5RB9siMq36-... edit: Adding links to their blog posts: https://open.buffer.com/transparent-salaries/ https://open.buffer.com/introducing-open-salaries-at-buffe…

I admire Buffer for being so transparent with their salaries, but I don't think I would ever decide to work for a company that mandated it. In my (admittedly limited) experience, mandating salary transparency tends to increase the salaries of low performers and reduce the salaries of high performers. It usually eliminates the potential for negotiating raises and poses difficult questions about paying some employees m…

I think you're going to get perfectly good developers for $150,000. Are you going to get twice as good ones if you pay twice that, or just greedy ones? Have transparency and let someone else pay the darlings. You'll still get your work done.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#124

Post by jc4p »

forkandwait wrote: post #59
compiler-guy wrote: post #36

This may be a little cynical but: "With our culture of bringing our whole selves to work and seeing team as family, with shared values we live by,..." In the American business world, you are an employee until you aren't. Confusing being an employee with being "family" is a mistake, both for the company and the employee. When times get bad, companies do what it takes to survive, including throwing employees overboard.…

My rule is this : if I have equity then I am family. No equity, I am just an employee.

What about if your equity is in stock-options that haven't been exercised, and after you leave you only have 90 days to exercise them? :)

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#125

Post by rdoherty »

vox_mollis wrote: post #116
dsacco wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I admire Buffer for being so transparent with their salaries, but I don't think I would ever decide to work for a company that mandated it. In my (admittedly limited) experience, mandating salary transparency tends to increase the salaries of low performers and reduce the salaries of high performers. It usually eliminates the potential for negotiating raises and poses difficult questions about paying some employees m…

$155k is already pretty obscene, let alone double. Around here, $50k entry and $90k 10y+ senior for developers is fairly standard.

Salaries in the San Francisco Bay Area are very high compared to the rest of the world due to high housing costs and extreme demand for engineers. $155k is average for 5-10 years of experience at a non-startup. You can certainly go much higher or lower depending on the company, your experience and your negotiation skills.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#126

Post by mangeletti »

Declanomous wrote: post #63
danso wrote: post #7

FWIW, here's their public spreadsheet of salaries and calculations. Not sure if it's been recently updated (on closer look, seems to reflect the founders' stated pay cuts, and new hires as recent as last month): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1l3bXAv8JE5RB9siMq36-... edit: Adding links to their blog posts: https://open.buffer.com/transparent-salaries/ https://open.buffer.com/introducing-open-salaries-at-buffe…

Well, I am apparently massively underpaid. And I have to commute to work. Lose-lose.

TBH, that's a win-win. There's nothing better than being content with what you're paid, and then learning that there's huge upside potential.

The worst thing ever is finding out that you're in the top 2% of salaries for your role in the industry, and then knowing there's nowhere to go but down from there.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#127

Post by whatever_dude »

jc4p wrote: post #44
compiler-guy wrote: post #36

This may be a little cynical but: "With our culture of bringing our whole selves to work and seeing team as family, with shared values we live by,..." In the American business world, you are an employee until you aren't. Confusing being an employee with being "family" is a mistake, both for the company and the employee. When times get bad, companies do what it takes to survive, including throwing employees overboard.…

This is so 100% on point. I think the Netflix NYT article from yesterday had a more realistic tone regarding the "family" aspect: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/19/magazine/can-netflix-survi... > The key concept is summed up in the 23rd slide. “We’re a team, not a family,” it reads. “Netflix leaders hire, develop and cut smartly, so we have stars in every position.” Your last sentence here is really important. If tha…

> cut smartly

I actually think this is important. Working with an asshole is a big problem, and I fully admire leaders who know when it's time to let someone go because the situation cannot improve. It certainly beats working in a caustic environment because people are afraid to fire someone.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#128

Post by jsprogrammer »

jpna66dd wrote: post #88
hammock wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$4,000 would barely cover business-class airfare between SF Berlin for one employee. Not to mention accommodations, event space, meals and entertainment.

Are you saying it is customary to fly people business class in the Valley, rather than coach? Especially for a team retreat?

Are you saying you can fly coach from SF to Berlin and actually still engage in a "retreat"?

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#129

Post by mildbow »

joosters wrote: post #69

"We had just come out of a long experiment with self-management, where we fully leaned in to ..." What on earth does 'fully leaned in' mean? It's not the greatest of metaphors, I pictured someone falling on their face.

Love this comment. Because that's what happened. Maybe it's a cautionary tale supported by another meme -- never go full retard.

But they got up and seem to be dusting themselves off. So kudos for showing transparency when they mess up (which is when commitment to transparency actually means something).

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#130

Post by rco8786 »

dsacco wrote: post #45
danso wrote: post #7

FWIW, here's their public spreadsheet of salaries and calculations. Not sure if it's been recently updated (on closer look, seems to reflect the founders' stated pay cuts, and new hires as recent as last month): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1l3bXAv8JE5RB9siMq36-... edit: Adding links to their blog posts: https://open.buffer.com/transparent-salaries/ https://open.buffer.com/introducing-open-salaries-at-buffe…

I admire Buffer for being so transparent with their salaries, but I don't think I would ever decide to work for a company that mandated it. In my (admittedly limited) experience, mandating salary transparency tends to increase the salaries of low performers and reduce the salaries of high performers. It usually eliminates the potential for negotiating raises and poses difficult questions about paying some employees m…

> earned nearly double that for being merely "senior"

Not as a base salary. No way. They earn that, but ~50% comes from equity.

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