To me as VC it doesn’t matter if you’re laud off or not. If you’re laid off it’s just fire in the belly and it forced you to work hard. 
 If you have PMF we readily invest

But getting to the stage of pmf is so tough😭

Software Engineer

How would VC even find out that you got laid off?

From what I have gathered, they do thorough ref checks with your past employers

Growth Manager

Bro, leave when you feel like it.  
  
 Only one argument for layoff. If your Notice is a lot, then get laid off buddy to secure the bag and leave ASAP.  😂😂

Product Manager

So, I have been working at one of these marquee highgrowth startups for the last couple of years. On the side, I am also working on my own idea for the past couple of months & was about to put in m...

So, I have been working at one of these marquee high-growth startups for the last couple of years. On the side, I am also working on my own idea for the past couple of months & was about to put in my papers. 

However, today I got to know that I might be getting laid off (50% chance). This got me thinking, should I stay and get the severance (I could really use the money as I'm starting up) or the lay off tag will be a turn off / put my competency in doubt in a VC's mind? 
Money is important to me, but not so much that I spoil my future chances. 

Any perspective from people who have faced a similar situation or someone working with a VC is highly appreciated, thanks!

To be or not to be

To be or not to be- Grapevine

I don't know why everyone is making a big deal out of layoffs. Even the ones who laid off are not that concerned than the ones who comment.

Laid off employees literally get free money upwards of 10 lakhs in many cases of senior developers who are laid off from top tech startups. Companies pay severance equal to 3-6 months salary of laid off employees. Some even offer other benefits as well.

I personally know a couple of Devs who got around ~9-10L in severance pay. So, yeah if there are layoffs happening in funded tech startups or leading tech companies, considering their pay range, laid off employees get handsome severance pay including employee benefits

Layoffs a big deal? Positive side of layoffs

Hope you get laid-off & get a good severance package! Will see how your job search goes.

Engineering Manager

Product Designer

I got laid off in Jan. Took 4 months to land a job finally and joined a new company in May.
This new company seems to be silently laying off people now in the name of cost cutting and likely be trying to raise next round of funding although they previously raised previous round in Aug-2022.
Although right now it's more of they need me (my role, I'm the only person of this role) more than I need them, I'm 70% confident that I might not be impacted, but the 30% chance is keeping me sleepless. What do I do? Pretty traumatized from the first layoff.

What should I do?

Business Analyst

Last year March, I was hired as Growth & Marketing Lead in one of the companies abroad at 30LPA (Remote). Now, they are shutting the project I’m in and have received a notice. 

I’m a Marketer by profession with expertise in 0-1 growth in startups. I’ve 8 YOE. Now the problem is, 0-1 startups in India can’t afford me easily and other startups say I don’t have experience in series B and further kind of startups. 

If 0-1 have got good funding amount, they still want to hire someone who has experience of scaling Series A and further kind of startups. 

The basic chicken and egg problem. 

Although I’m trying to apply for the companies abroad, I’m super confused what should I do now. I’ve emergency funds to sustain 3 months but don’t want to rely on that.

Being Laid Off. What should I Do next?

Welcome to Software Engineers's Private Community

I am working in a Pre Seed GenAI Startup (2020 Founded) as Head of Engineering (Team of 20 with 5-6 in Engineering, No CTO) 

It's been 3.5 years (3yrs Full Time + 6mon Internship) Previously it is in EdTech now in GenAI Space 

My CTC is 8 LPA + 0.45% ESOPs (10-12L in 25cr valuation). 
Skills: Nodejs, Nextjs, Monorepos, MongoDB, AWS, Serverless

1-2yrs ago we were thinking about scaling the tech team, etc but then that EdTech model started failing and then we went to a war time after that we pivoted currently also we are burning money revenue is there but very less (25% of the expense)

I was of the view that I want to lead teams and scale products That's why I was there in the team It can be the case tomorrow if we scale 

but Now I am confused whether I should switch my job and or stick with the startup maybe the startup grow tomorrow or a big VC fund us to scale (as I have ESOPs) or it will just be a waste of time or opportunity cost

Please guide 🙏 Anyone with a similar startup experience would really appreciate your help 🙏

Need Career Guidance in Tech (Switch or Not?)

I've 3 yoe, currently working in a very small startup as full-stack dev. Company's revenue is declining from Q4 last year.

Every month layoffs are happening in each team. Last week, a dev was laid off from my team.

No hike till now, working here from last 1.5 years. Although, got performance bonus twice.

I want to work on a few ideas, tried to work on weekends but it led to burn out and started affecting my health, suffered from mental fatigue.

Please suggest.

Work on own startup vs switch to another startup

If you get laid-off, would you look for a new job immediately? Or take a break? Or explore for an alternate career?

Senior Software Engineer

Welcome to Office Gossip's Private Community

Worked for ~8 months as a Product analyst at my first firm. Interviewed and recieved a Product Analyst offer from my dream company in my industry of choice and an APM offer from a startup. 
Took up the APM role planning of switching to the dream company as a PM at a later point of time.

2 months into the job, recieved a text from the SVP that they'd be happy to offer an APM role at the dream company. Coincidentally, current firm has paused all appraisals and there's a small chance of layoffs as well. Do I make the switch?

Pros of switching: Higher Pay, Higher quality of work & Product, No risk of layoff (Since dream company is bootstrapped+ highly profitable), much better exit opportunities

Come of Switching: 2 switches within a year so would have to stay for atleast 2 years irrespective of the work environment, higher work load, no wfh (currently working in a good hybrid system)

If I decide to stay here longer and the SVP leaves the dream company, I'd be stranded as well. Please suggest.

Need advice regarding early-career switches

Trying to see companies that people here have had the dream to join, but didn’t ultimately work out. Have you now grown over it?

Which company were you obsessed with joining, but never could?

For me it was McKinsey 
 It was the best job out of college, status wise. 
  
 Did well in college and made it to the final shortlist. Was obsessed with it, read books and all about The Firm. 
  
 Then the interviews happened, couldn’t convert. Was a downer.  
  
 But 5 years later, doesn’t matter much. I feel life taught me better things. And my fascination of consulting jobs has changed drastically since :p

Corporate Strategist

I was working at a Start-up more than a year back. We were required to either raise funds or do something else, against what we wanted to do, to move forward. 

One day, the co founders got us on a call (<10 people team), and explained the situation to us. 

Either an acquisition or a round of funding was the only chance. We hadn't raised any round up until then. 

Unfortunately, we had to bid goodbye to something that we were passionately working on.

Lay-offs!

But, we got 2 months notice. And on top of that, we were encouraged to prepare for interviews throughout those 2 months (while giving minimal importance to work). 

I literally cried multiple times because of the thought of having to leave the amazing team. 

The founders helped us with all the support, and made use of their network to help us get through as well. We're still in touch with the team, and all of us are at relatively good positions now. 

(Although anonymous, just wanted to share this out there with all of you folks. And I try to 'help it forward' as much as possible)

Good layoffs!

Yoe: 2 years
Tc:32 lpa fixed.
Bg: top 5 IIT, 2 years of PM experience where I led two major 0-1 products to completion independently and had a direct revenue impact of around 25 Cr.
At a crossroad in my career where a top partner in a tier 1/2 VC firm wants me join his investment team (nothing concrete, just expressed his interest in a gathering). Was curious as to how the VC career ladder looks like! I was always interested in a VC career. Just afraid, whether there will be any exit options say 5 years down the line if I want to move out or get stuck. 
All advice, opinion, help will be appreciated. Thanks!

PM vs VC track.

Hii, I'm a front-end developer having around 3 years of work experience. I got laid-off in 2023 just after 1.8years in an organisation. Then I joined another company and got laid off in 6 months. Now I have an offer from early stage startup but I'm too scared to accept it because of my experience. But on the other hand I don't have any offer as well. Will it look bad on my resume. I don't know... I've started thinking that something is wrong with me otherwise what is the chances of getting laid off twice within same year. 
First I loose my peace of mind because of work pressure and then I loose my work... pretty f**cked up situation.
I have never been this unde confident. 
What do you think shall I take the offer from startup again or wait few more months or more to get into good mnc??

2 Layoffs in 2 years

Software Developer

VC with 5+ yrs of exp - AMA

Community Manager

I have 2 options, either to take a 40% pay cut or leave the company (get laid off), what should I do? Would taking that high pay cut will lead to negative impact for my next employer?
How does companies/hr takes this while hiring?

Should i take a pay cut

As I'm entering a new stage of life, I'm starting to reevaluate my career priorities. In my 20s, I was all about climbing the ladder and chasing prestige. Now, I'm more focused on finding work that aligns with my values and allows for a balanced lifestyle. 

Have any of you gone through a similar shift? How did it change your career trajectory? And how do you define success for yourself now versus when you first started out?

Redefining success: How have your career priorities shifted as you've grown older?

Man, this hits home. I used to be all about the fancy title and corner office. Pulled 80-hour weeks, missed family events, the whole rat race thing.

Then my dad got sick last year. Spent a lot of time in hospitals, thinking about what really matters. Realized I couldn't remember the last time I took a real vacation or had dinner with my kids without checking emails.

Ended up taking a step back at work. Less pay, but more flexibility. You know what? I don't miss the stress. Sure, the ego took a hit at first, but I'm actually enjoying work now. Plus, I'm finally learning my kids' friends' names!

Success for me now? It's about having time for the people I love and work that doesn't make me dread Mondays. Still figuring it out, but dekhte hain baaki :)

I am Interning at a very early stage startup in the Growth Team. My stipend is ₹15,000 p/m and the work is decent - community mgmt, content, product gamification & market research. It’s a pre-seed startup so sometimes I feel lack of resources are putting a cap on my abilities to execute. Though, the founder has assured that we’re close to raising pre seed. I am pretty good friends with the Founder and I’ve met him a few times.
Now, coming to the main part of problem - I casually applied for an Internship in a early stage startup but the team is sorted. They have funds and their founding team is super experienced. Stipend offered is 2x of what I’m getting.
I was wondering If I should opt for that? Or, keep my head down and work for the same startup, ignoring the money aspect? Pls lmk folks.

Optimise for Work or Money?

Founder

Hi folks,

I got laid off today from a YC-backed startup (W23) citing a shift in product focus. Was part of the core team since Oct '21, initially as an intern then later converted to FTE in '22. Got a decent (30%+) increment this year. I was leading the mobile platform but currently, I'm on a notice period. CTO is supportive and helping me via their network.

I'm a recent graduate and this is my first time experiencing a layoff. What should I do now? What things should I keep in mind looking for the next opportunity? 

Also, if you are hiring and looking for a full-stack engineer, do reach out via https://t.me/GrimBeard75

Got laid-off from a YC backed startup

Product Engineer

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

Welcome to Business Roles's Private Community

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

Hi,

I am a 1.5 YOE backend Dev at an mnc. I have been laid off due to a pf overlap of 1 month. As my previous employer didn't process my resignation and put my doe of jan 23 one month after i joined my current company. I had already informed my current company at the time of joining that my previous company is processing the resignation and taking time and have not filled doe yet. They agreed to it and said they have no problem. 

Now, after 1.5 years of working in the company i suddenly got called one week ago in an hr meeting to explain about this situation. i gave them the relevant documents and our mail conversation where they said they have no problem. Yesterday i got laid off on the basis that there was a one month of overlap in my pf. 

PS: I never worked for my previous employer it was an on campus placement from clg and resigned within a month. Acc to emp in current company they are laying ppl off and hence finding reasons to do so. 


I would like to have some advice from experienced folks here. Does this put somewhat of a dent in my career, hindering my future chances. Idc about getting laid off i care more about my future. Seeing the current job market is depressing and makes me anxious. I also have an option to do Ms from us but i first want to try myself out (if that makes sense) 

Thanks

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