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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.
My current job is a 4x10 Wed-Sat with shit hours. This would be M-F hybrid with all the market holidays off. What do you mean by valuation multiples?
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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.
Theyre in the trading space for banks and business to execute trading on their SaaS. No retail customers, focused on large quantity trades.
I'd look at it less as FAANG vs. startup and more as your next 3–5 years of growth if you're genuinely stalled where you are and the startup has product market traction, strong leadership, and a clear path to Series B, it could be a much better career move than waiting around for a promotion that may never come
From the interview process it seemed like they knew the path to Series B. However the equity offered to me will be diluted even more, making it worth less over time. Is it safe to assume that and not consider it as a "bonus"?
What are the two or three main reasons that you're transitioning? Is it that you're looking to grow faster into managerial roles, or are you expecting this to be an improvement in terms of finances? Or is the environment in your current company uncomfortable or toxic? I worked at two moderately successful NYC fintechs , and I can tell you that you will never have the same work-life balance at a startup as you will in big tech unless you are the exception. You will generally do worse in comp because RSUs are liquid and your equity is not. Also, salaries typically are higher at big tech than at startups. The one reason that you should be transitioning is if you're looking to make significant managerial progress in the next few years, and you get lucky with the team is growing rapidly, and you're willing to put in the type of hours that dwarf all of your teammates and demonstrate that you deserve the managerial position over somebody else.