Doing the opposite now. Spent the last year in a very early stage startup. Finally got fed up with the low pay ("but we're giving you equity...") and the lack of direction. It seemed like every other week we had a new direction. And the latest new direction was so bizarre that I'm tempted to make a mockumentary about the whole thing. Finally had enough of the startup scene; I'm going to go to work for a very large se…
Startups aren't for everyone and not all startups are created equal. It would be unfair to assume all startups are misdirected and low paying. There are plenty of positions that pay market rate salaries and give equity. While you can definitely make a greater base salary at a semiconductor company or "adult" job. You miss out of the potential upside of startup equity, the excitement of a growing startup, wearing many…
True. Didn't mean to imply that. This particular one was misdirected and low-paying.
> You miss out of the potential upside of startup equity
How many startups actually make it to the point where the equity is worth something? I'm guessing it's under 5% of them (even in good times). So at some point you need to make the calculation as to whether the equity that you're trading pay for is going to be worth anything. In my case I determined that it would never be worth anything.