Regretting the Golden Handcuffs: Beware the Costs of Burnout

It's nice to hear about a situation closer to most startup outcomes. When Matthew notes that someone sent him the acquisition terms and the founders made out well while line level / low level managers basically got nice severances, it's something everyone here should keep in mind. It's great if founders make out well as long as everyone else does too; it's when those outcomes diverge that it rankles.

If a potential employer tries to put nonsense like a 2-year noncompete -- during which of course they don't pay you -- plus ownership of side projects into your contract, it's a sign you're dealing with assholes. If you can, you should just walk away. Many of us live in CA, so some of this can't happen, but a startup here tried something similar: their 16 page (!!!) employment contract specified that if I used my personal media device or laptop for any business purpose, they had the unlimited right to inspect/search them on demand. By my reading, even something as tenuously related as two factor auth on work gmail being sent to my personal cell, or taking a business call on my cell would have counted. The founder tried to blame it on boilerplate their lawyers inserted; he couldn't even take responsibility for what was, after all, the contract he was asking me to sign. I walked away. Read those contracts.

to anyone out there listening - it's not. technology is a huge, huge, huge, huge established industry. think about it - what does "tech" even mean? it's an umbrella term for 4 or 5 classifications that all kind of bleed into each other - including finance. in addition, every non-tech company has a shitload of tech in it. gee whiz. it's almost as if technology is critical to the functioning of the modern business enterprise!

this is fear-based thinking at its worst. this is the kind of silly thing scared, gutless engineers say to each other by the watercooler while the business guys laugh out loud and backslap each other in the proverbial smoke-filled room.

the most powerful thing you can do in technology (and all business, really) is not give a fuck what the other guy thinks (the "guy" being your negotiating counter-party). stick to your guns or just take the money and run. if you waffle, you're sunk by your own torpedo.

There is a middle ground between signing and not signing here: set boundaries up front. Let them know "Hey, I'll sign this and help with the integration, but just know my heart won't be in it. I don't know that I can promise you more than a solid 45 hours a week. But I can't deliver that passion I had building the product because I'm really not passionate about this."

And yeah, those employment contracts are bullshit. Before you sign a contract, you are under no obligation to do anything. A good tactic is to just redline anything you want thrown out and send it back to the lawyers without comment. Also realize that many companies throw these bullshit clauses in just so they can negotiate them away later (as opposed to having to offer you more money).

If it's important enough to the founders, they will find the money to make it worth your while. An extra hundred grand out of a big payday to ensure a critical employee is present to handle the sale is just a cost of doing business. Unless you would go out for drinks with someone after you stop working with them, it's not going to hurt your relationship (they may even respect you more for it).