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Big Tech Company Salaries Are Hurting Startups

thestartupconference.com

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Re: Big Tech Company Salaries Are Hurting Startups

#31

Post by charleslmunger »

znq wrote: post #17
krschultz wrote: post #7

If you are a startup and are trying to compete head to head with Google / FB / Amazon / Apple / Microsoft for the same people, you are going to have a really hard time recruiting. But there are plenty of great engineers that don't want to work at those companies for various reasons. There are plenty of great engineers that want to work remotely and don't have that option at the large companies. There are also plenty…

Very true. For both of our companies [1][2] we pay a fair salary plus a quarterly bonus on top of that based on what we can give (based on the company's quarterly profit results). We also offer remote retreats (so far Cape Town, Thailand, Martinique, Spain and Skiing in the Alps) and the biggest contributor to everyone's satisfaction is that we let everyone work from where ever they want and as much as they want as l…

Out of curiosity, what makes your salary "fair", if it results in an offer that's significantly lower than BigCo? How do you decide what's fair?

Re: Big Tech Company Salaries Are Hurting Startups

#32

Post by [deleted] »

throwaway2016a wrote: post #21

I work at a startup that isn't profitable yet so our salaries are very low... - Our typical junior makes $50 - 60k - A typical mid makes $65 - 75k - Seniors (including CTO) make $90 - 110k In greater Boston. It is VERY difficult to hire at those rates. We had someone come in interviewing for a senior that I would place as a mid (generously...) and he accepted another offer for $150k. At our scale he would be making $…

[deleted]

Re: Big Tech Company Salaries Are Hurting Startups

#33

Post by mosselman »

notliketherest wrote: post #6

Absolutely 100% spot on. We don't even interview Googlers anymore for this very reason. They literally think a "pay cut" means 300k+.

What else would you call it?

Are you jealous? I know I wouldn't mind earning 350k. It isn't as if I'd move anywhere for Google to start earning that, at least not right now, but to be honest, if you are going to earn 300k less that WOULD be a pretty big pay cut.

Re: Big Tech Company Salaries Are Hurting Startups

#34

Post by comstock »

ozi wrote: post #11

This article is basically arguing that farm teams should be able to afford pro athletes... Having engineers who "perform in the top 10%" is a nice-to-have, not a requirement for startup success.

This is true.

For many startups the technical issues are not even the most significant problem they face. It's more about marketing and business focus.

Re: Big Tech Company Salaries Are Hurting Startups

#35

Post by throwaway2016a »

comstock wrote: post #28
throwaway2016a wrote: post #21

I work at a startup that isn't profitable yet so our salaries are very low... - Our typical junior makes $50 - 60k - A typical mid makes $65 - 75k - Seniors (including CTO) make $90 - 110k In greater Boston. It is VERY difficult to hire at those rates. We had someone come in interviewing for a senior that I would place as a mid (generously...) and he accepted another offer for $150k. At our scale he would be making $…

Increasing equity is great, but in general my view is that increased equity does two things: 1. It compensates for the increased risk of working for a startup (you don't have as much runway as google, might fail to raise your next round). 2. It gives the employee a stake in the company, and aligns their interests with making the company successful. I.e. Not just doing whatever they're told, failing to raise potential…

I actually agree with you. I am in disagreement with our CEO on that one. But unfortunately it's all we can afford to give so at least it is something.

I have had a number of heart to hearts with devs to make sure their expectations on stock options are set right.

Re: Big Tech Company Salaries Are Hurting Startups

#36

Post by likpok »

hashkb wrote: post #8

I don't think the average engineer with 5 years of experience makes 250k; not even in the top 10%. And startups DO pay that much, it's just reserved for powerful exec hires. Just pay more if you want the best engineers. Asking for a world where top talent works for less money is stupid.

The average engineer at google with 5 years of experience makes at least 250K. To put it bluntly: I'm pretty sure the average cash compensation (that is, disregarding RSUs entirely, which is likely at least another 100k/yr) is going to push 200K. The same is substantially true of the main competitors to Google (Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft).

Re: Big Tech Company Salaries Are Hurting Startups

#37

Post by upquark »

notliketherest wrote: post #6

Absolutely 100% spot on. We don't even interview Googlers anymore for this very reason. They literally think a "pay cut" means 300k+.

Is this slave mentality or what?

If I make 350k+, and a startup is telling me I should take their 150k base + worthless options deal, or else I've "pigeonholed myself in the current role" (actual quote), I think they're just being stupid and unrealistic.

Re: Big Tech Company Salaries Are Hurting Startups

#38

Post by yesimahuman »

These moments feel like validation for sticking to our guns and not relocating to the valley. From what I hear from our coastal investors, hiring engineers is a major major problem in their portfolio and it's only getting worse. Frankly, we don't struggle to hire engineers.

Re: Big Tech Company Salaries Are Hurting Startups

#39

Post by RomanPushkin »

One of my friends was rejected while interviewing for some SV startups. But was not rejected by Google. Now he works in Google. Startups should re-think how they're interviewing people. Seems like they suffer more from broken interview process, not Google salaries.

Re: Big Tech Company Salaries Are Hurting Startups

#40

Post by seanmcdirmid »

krschultz wrote: post #7

If you are a startup and are trying to compete head to head with Google / FB / Amazon / Apple / Microsoft for the same people, you are going to have a really hard time recruiting. But there are plenty of great engineers that don't want to work at those companies for various reasons. There are plenty of great engineers that want to work remotely and don't have that option at the large companies. There are also plenty…

I've heard that Google often has A class talent doing B or C class work; e.g. an expert in PL will often be working on ads. Sure the pay is great, but it can feel soul sucking. A startup can be appealing to some talented people if the work is interesting, even if the pay isn't as good.
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