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I'm in a FAANG currently with zero chance of leveling up or promotion. I see the future, maybe 6-8 months, where the layoffs will resume and my team will be replaced by contractors because leadership believes the AI models can do our job (they can't).
I have an offer on the table from a Fintech startup that received Series A has a rough valuation of $100M. The offer is an increase in base pay, equity shares, and what appears to be a positive view on work-life balance. From what I have read, I shouldn't even consider the equity as any value because I'm joining too late. They're working towards Series B but ultimately want an acquisition. And I will be forfeiting about 3-4 years of RSUs as well, but getting a sign-on bonus to cover these from any employer will be rare.
What's it like going from FAANG to a post-Series A startup? Anyone have experience in the Fintech startup space?
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Series A with a “positive view of work-life balance” is likely an exercise in futility. If you want to prioritize work-life balance look for a job at a large company that is already successful.
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Unless the fintech is doing something truly transformative, they are basically all just marketing companies except for the rare few. Everything is just APIs these days, credit cards = fiserv, Ledger and apr = service, ACH = service. Saw very quickly that it’s basically marketing dollars to get customers, to get deposits, to make the spread on apr and hoping can do fast enough
Yep. It’s extremely challenging to get customers quickly enough. Other established large financials will quickly copy anything you do if it remotely affects their business.