Ask HN: Question about startup salary

4 points·needadvice··8 comments

I've been offered a position in a bay area startup (10th employee) and since this will be my first opportunity working for a startup, I'm looking for some advice. The equity package is reasonable, but I'm not so sure about the salary. They're offering about 75K - I have abt 4 years of s/w experience, albeit in a different technology. Is this a reasonable offer ?

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Read this recent thread/article and reexamine your equity position:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1151743

Also, read this:

http://www.tonywright.com/2008/a-newbies-guide-to-startup-co...

What is your % stake in the company? If you aren't getting a good piece of equity then I would push for a market rate salary based on your position and years of experience.

thanks - i'm getting around 0.3%

Whats the current valuation of the startup? Raised money? Profitable?

Something else to remember is that when they get acquired, depending on where you moved to as they grew, you're left with a crappy payout and either get eliminated by the buying company or you're stuck with a well below market rate salary stuck at the company's "max annual increase" which usually tops out at 10%. Essentially, get salary reevaluation at set intervals locked into a contract with the salary adjustments only allowed upwards and based on your past and company performance.

No, that is not a reasonable offer. It is a typical offer, though.

typical of most bay area startups ?

Yes. The prevailing package for employee 10 is 70-80K with 0.5-1.5% of the options.

75k is not bad, considering "abt 4 years of experience". I would say make sure to enjoy working there before anything else.

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