I've been in a similar situation during better economic times. I stayed aboard a sinking ship for too long, since I had helped the founder recruit the initial development team, talked with the early investors, etc. I was too attached. After another down round, the company eventually was sold for a pittance and all the employees got zero. If you have less than 6 months of cash in the bank, collapse is imminent. Get out now.
Ask HN: My employer has about two months of runway left. What shoud I do now?
11–20 of 31 posts
Re: Ask HN: My employer has about two months of runway left. What shoud I do now?
#12I would stay if i had savings, ie personal runway. The only reason not to stay is if you think the job market will severely soften between now and the end of your runway.
Re: Ask HN: My employer has about two months of runway left. What shoud I do now?
#13Depending on how successful your job searching is going, you should be able to negotiate offers with a postponed start date (say, 3 months in the future after your company folds). A proper job search can last one or two months, so your timing is great to start now.
Job searching while unemployed can be nice, but it's better to be safer than sorry and have a future job lined up.
Another thing to keep in mind is that not many companies hire during the holidays, so the best window you'll have to conduct your job search is now. Otherwise you're likely going to likely have to wait until January to begin job searching.
Re: Ask HN: My employer has about two months of runway left. What shoud I do now?
#14If I were you, I would start looking for work at an consistently profitable firm, ideally with low amounts of debt (especially if the debt is in adjustable rather than fixed rates).
Agreed. I like smaller companies, but I'd like something that will last for more than two years...
FWIW, I followed my own advice earlier this year, in at least one respect. I left my previous job for other reasons, however.
Re: Ask HN: My employer has about two months of runway left. What shoud I do now?
#15Get another job lined up and push out the start date. You want multiple offers anyway to leverage them against each other.
Re: Ask HN: My employer has about two months of runway left. What shoud I do now?
#16Assuming you are in the US.
Something to keep in mind is that 2 months is going to land you right in the middle of the holiday season. Companies slow down significantly around this time of year. People are on vacation and budgets are getting worked out for the following year so things generally take longer. You're also likely to see less job openings and traction for interviews in general. If you run into it, don't let it get you down. Recognize that things will likely swing back to full throttle during the first few months of the new year.
Best of luck with whatever path you choose. Switching jobs can be a stressful but hopefully you find something fast.
Re: Ask HN: My employer has about two months of runway left. What shoud I do now?
#17It's easier to get a job while you're employed than when you're no longer employed. Start looking now, in earnest. It can still take 4-8 weeks from first contact to a new job start date.
Re: Ask HN: My employer has about two months of runway left. What shoud I do now?
#18Focus less on now, and more on 5+ years from now. If you leave and it does sell, would that be a regret? If you stay and it fails to sell and you are unemployed for a couple months... is that going to feel like it was harmful to you when you picture yourself in 2027 with this being 5 years ago? The short-term advice is always going to be to jump from the sinking ship, but if there is one thing I've learned in this in…
Good perspective.
Yea, if I were out of the job for a month or two, it will not effect me much in the future.
Re: Ask HN: My employer has about two months of runway left. What shoud I do now?
#19> but I'm not 100% ready to leave yet.
You're living in the past.
It's normal for this kind of thing to go right down to the wire, but it's also normal for startups to fail (90% roughly fail; the numbers vary (a lot) by stage of the company). In a "buyer's market", you made a bet so you should see it through, and if it goes under you just get a new job.
But in today's market, I don't know. Layoffs are in the news, because they are news. Hiring freezes are rampant. But the unemployment rate is fine. So ... I just don't know! What I'd do just from that POV is make a list of top 10 or even top 20 companies I want to work for, and see how many of them are actually hiring. If that number is 75% or more, stick it out just a bit longer. 50% or less, start an aggressive job search.
Besides layoffs being newsworthy, VC funding amounts are down 53% YoY. So being this close to the end of runway and not having something lined up is not promising. But maybe you aren't part of the inner circle and know what's going on with funding.
There is a huge personal risk tolerance factor as input to your decision. To me that's the biggest factor and isn't answerable.
Re: Ask HN: My employer has about two months of runway left. What shoud I do now?
#20Like others have pointed out: it's not your company, stop acting like it is. The fact you have spent and dedicated so much time to it doesn't change this fact.
"Sorry for your loss, move on."