Such startup CEOs truly believe they're something much better than just a regular employer. 
  
 These delusional offers have always existed. They've just become much more common in recent times as the bad market has emboldened such CEOs.

Software Developer

If I hire you, will you work 7 days a week & take a 35% pay cut on the current base? (forget my GSU & Bonus)  I understand that the market is bad right now but trust me no one is open for slavery. ...

Welcome to Product Managers's Private Community

If I hire you, will you work 7 days a week & take a 35% pay cut on the current base? (forget my GSU & Bonus) 
I understand that the market is bad right now but trust me no one is open for slavery. 🥲

Yours sincerely,
Not your slave.

A Startup CEO asked me!

Engineering Manager

A Startup CEO asked me!- Grapevine

Got a following message from a strong founder:

"For the part-time role, we require 20 hours of work per week, and for full-time, we expect 40 hours of work per week.

We are currently raising Seed to launch our product, and while the challenge is significant, the impact you can make is also substantial. Currently, none of our team members receive a salary and work for future equity, and you would be in the same situation. However, as we raise more funds (which we have already started to do), we plan to pay market wages. This is standard practice for pre-seed startups."

What do you guys think?

Need advice for a founding member role

Product Manager

Glorified slave hiring

Welcome to Software Engineers's Private Community

Hi everyone, I joined a startup back in May which started in May itself. I wrote the first line of code and it has been the backend work since then and have hired a few interns along the way. 

I took some pay cut to join this startup and i didn't receive any share/ESOPs as well in my offer letter. but whenever i talk to my friends who have worked or are working in these types of companies, ask me to ask for the ESOPs/equity from my founder. 

I did talk about  equity/ESOPs before accepting my offer letter but that time, they said, you will be issued ESOPs later on when we raise some funding. We will make some ESOPs plan when we raise funding. 

I know that our company has only raised friends and family round of amount near to 1cr. 

Now I need advice on.. should i bring up this conversation again with the company's founder ? 
And how much percentage of equity should I be asking..? 

 given that I am giving my 101% daily and leading the backend team.. although i have industry experience of only 3 years but have good academic achievements and has completed graduation in computer science in tier-1 college.

How to ask for ESOPs when you are a founding engineer

Software Engineer

Welcome to News Discussion's Private Community

Anyone else doing 80-100hrs a week here?

He's a founder and possibly gets salary and stock dividends in millions of dollars every month. He can most certainly work 80hrs a month.  
  
 Founders usually work a lot, hence the pay. There's nothing new about it.

Analyst

Tech Lead

Welcome to Indian Startups's Private Community

hey guys, I'm interviewing at a startup currently and they are asking me if I can work 6 days a week for a couple of months initially till the Product goes live. 
how do I respond to this? I want to take the offer but the 6 day work week is what pulling me back from accepting the offer.

6 day work week normal at Startups?

It’ll never be for a couple of months only :)

Private Equity

Senior Associate

HR is is trying to lowball me into accepting an offer at my current compensation stating market conditions. I don’t have any other offers yet. What can be done here? 🥲

Salary Negotiation

Welcome to Office Gossip's Private Community

I'll go first: "I want you to focus on doing good work and not on how much money you're making." Achchha aur mera rent kaun dega?

What's the dumbest thing your boss has said?

"2% is a good increment, considering the current environment"

Senior Software Engineer

Copywriter

Welcome to Business Roles's Private Community

I have been interviewing for my next role and was interviewed by a well funded startup with high EBIDTA margins, great management but when it came to offer they offered me 10% to what I currently draw.  The CHRO stated that we are a startup and not a well established multinational firm who can pay well.  On the other hand the multi national company offered me 15% hike on my existing and their VP HR stated we are not some well funded startup who can pay well.  Now this makes me wonder who is actually paying well.  I have not shared my offers with either as it's against my negotiating principals to use offers against companies. .  I can negotiate based on my skills and talent.  It's a position of chief information security officer at the start up and Director Infosec at MNC.  Job profile is mostly same.

Offerd by Startup and a Multinational Healthcare company

Information Security

Currently in talks with the CEO of a small international startup (less than 10 total members spread across 4 countries). My existing profile is an exact match for what they are looking for in a candidate (they are implementation partners of my existing company's software). 
I am pretty close to closing it but now he wishes to know my existing salary. I tried to avoid sharing it but he wants to know it before quoting anything to me. 
I wish to get a huge raise (80-100%) since i will be moving from a known brand to an unknown startup with all the skills they need and more from Day 1. 
Any tips on how I can handle this situation?

How to avoid disclosing current salary

Consultant

I am looking for a switch to a startup from a Product Based company. My salary breakup was following - 
Base - 19.5 L
Bonus - 1L
RSU- 2.5 L per yr
SignOn- 1.5L 

In the startup, I asked for a 30% hike on my base. I assumed they will take care of the rest. But to my surprise, they have no such thing as ESOPs, Bonus etc. Then, what should be my fair ask in this case? As of now they are giving me 30% on my Base and that's it. (Fixed  ) . What do I do?

Best Salary Breakup while switching

I recently got an offer from early stage startup with a paycut from my current salary. Currently I am working at a MNC with monotonous work and learning. Should I join the startup?

Early Stage Startups

Operation Manager

hey guys, I'm interviewing at a startup currently and they are asking me if I can work 6 days a week for a couple of months initially till the Product goes live. 
how do I respond to this? I want to take the offer but the 6 day work week is what pulling me back from accepting the offer.

6 day work week?

Hi All, what can help me join an early stage startup and grow up to the top close to the founders within a year? I want to be in the middle of the action 

Has anyone here done it before?

How do people climb up/become more important in startups as employees?

If they have the right culture then showing excellency in your role, helping out others in the team, having opinions on decisions taken (not just for the sake of it) should help you get closer to the decision makers. 
  
 Remember that at an early stage startup, everything revolves around the product, and you will be rewarded for aligning with that. 
  
 Speaking from experience, you will be involved in "the action" in a team of 30 people either way

Business Development Manager

Just an open ended question on why are layoffs happening on such a scale. I personally feel the skill to salary ratio has fucked up so much lately that the companies are having to fire people who are essentially useless to them. More of liabilities than just assets! What do you think?

Layoffs - who do you blame?

Absolutely agreed. Hiring in hordes because money was easily available earlier and founders/companies thought that they will be able to build more and hence get more value / valuation sooner was the core reason why the skill to salary ratio got f’ed up. And it’s good that it’s being reset now. 
  
 Coming to who to blame for layoffs - no one. It’s pure capitalism - there was money, hence there were jobs. For whatever time people got paid a lot more than they deserved - they should be rather thankful. If they built their life around the assumption that this much money was the new normal, it was their naïveté. Companies got to survive, and they have to do whatever has to be done… as long as it’s ethical. Firing is fine. Not paying salaries / dues is not.

Founding Engineer

Software Lead

Hello grapevines!
Need your help/opinion here.
I work for a big corp. ~6YOE. 48L.

The work culture here seems a bit off. Constant pressure to compete and snatch the work and prove oneself. Chaos is being glorified. Onsite team is unresponsive and hiding information. Asking for a KT is being judged upon(expectation is apparently to read through the code). Everyone is trying to earn brownie points by impressing the manage because no one seems to know what to work upon. Technical ability is being looked down upon in the name of domain knowledge.

I switched recently to upskill and grow, but seems like it was a wrong choice.

I’m looking for early stage startups to switch to. I know the current market situation is bad, but I’d take the risk as long as I’m getting to expose myself to good problem statements and less bullshit.

Looking to join early stage startups

What is a reasonable ask while negotiating with startups?

Should I ask for a match or hike of X% over my TC/annum (52lk Base + 8lk Bonus + Rs30lk RSUs), or should I negotiate only over the Cash (Base + Bonus) component?

A startup I’m negotiating with is not considering the RSUs I have and is offering a 8% hike only on the cash component, and is throwing in ESOPs (paper money) instead.

What do I do?

Need help negotiating with a startup

I recently interviewed at an MNC and my interviews went great. They also gave a case study.
At the time of final negotiation for salary, i asked for standard 40-45% hike. However they took some time and came back with an offer of almost 95%-100% and literally more than that if i include yearly fixed bonus component.

This was a big surprise to me, and they states that we have done this taking care of pay parity, etc.

I am very happy, 
However, i want to know is this common or happened with anyone else?
Are there such good companies, people and HRs...

Anyone having any thoughts on this?

Has this happened with anyone where you are offered more salary than what you asked for?

Equity Research

There’s this chap on GV who posted that they haven’t received any calls for the past 3 months. Has 2.5 years experience with a current ctc around 15L. We spoke to them only to realise their expectations are 32L (26 fixed and 6 in esops)

In a market flooded with resumes due to unfortunate situations, is it fair to have such an expectation and at the same time, call out on GV that they haven’t been getting calls for an interview?

Are high expectations in such a market valid (even accounting for cream deserves takes)

26 fixed seems pretty reasonable, I don’t know how much lower you can expect

A Startup CEO asked me!

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