u/EngineeringParty59

Have an opportunity to join a US based tech start up, valuation is probably about 10-15M. Series A. Approximately 20 employees, mostly tech.

Seems like a decent PMF, 100% growth each year.

They have SDRs but the founder has been doing the closing.

Good OTE but seems risky with it being so small. My whole team got laid off from Meta (sales) right after I came back from paternity leave, so basically been out of work since December.

I don’t need a job yet, but have been applying and I’m barely getting anything (2 screens so far in the past 2.5 months).

Should I hold out, or is the market just getting worse and I should go for it?

Have experience as an AE/AM in hyperscalers + Start up experience from 1 very small company, which closed. Founding member of the start up, so did basically everything + lots of skin in the game to work like crazy.

Life/priorities changed so currently back in a hyperscalers, but looking for the next move since our team is getting all cut.

I’ve two options: Series A, (<40 people) one of the first pure sales people, some equity, probably meaningless.

Another hyperscaler, RSUs, mid market, typical AE role.

Startup: 85k base/ 150 ote
Hyperscaler: 80k base: 120 ote (both based in Germany hence lower salary vs US).

Felt a bit like a cog in the wheel at the hyperscalers, have some start up experience but unsure of the hours they’re going to expect.

Is it worth choosing the security over (potentially) position growth and IPO/sale with the startup?

Also have potential SFDC + smaller partner roles in the pipeline

Been at AWS for 8 years, currently mid level Account manager on decent money. I’ve been in the same role for years with little opportunities for changes or promotion due to layoffs and cuts.

I see all the time on LinkedIn people putting “ex-AWS, ex-meta..” in their titles so it’s obviously a desirable company for recruiters.

I want to progress in my career but I can’t see it happening here since they seem to promote on tenure and there’s a list of people ahead of me.

I’ve got opportunities to move (or interview) for other companies, but I’ve been waiting for other big tech firm opportunities (Google, open AI, anthropic etc) since smaller firms are offering less pay than what I earn.

Would say, going to LinkedIn (arguably not as attractive as the others) to get similar pay but have a “senior enterprise” role be a positive career move? Or because it’s perhaps not seen as attractive as AWS, be a sideways or down move, despite the title?

I applied for a role in a small start up which I thought was cool. Long story short, after the 2nd interview (with CEO, first was pre recorded) he pitched me a made up role. He saw I had specific skills from running my own business. Told me to sleep on it.

I was passed to the next round with another employee, who appreciated my expertise, he was 2nd in command I guess. I asked could he share what success would like I the role, how much the company had grown and what the salary range was. He couldn’t share the job spec and was cagey about the company’s worth (equity was part of the comp). He also said he didn’t know the range for pay and only the CEO would know.

He obviously liked my interview and he followed up with a take home task for me to do (pretty sure he used AI to write it). They don’t have anyone who has expertise in this area in the company, but essentially the take home project was a full strategy (seemed more like contracted work than an audition).

I was also concerned they could essentially just take my strategy and then not offer me a role (they’re trying to do what I’d help with , but without success).

The idea was to prepare this then travel 500 odd miles to their office to present it. Given I’d have to take a few days out to prepare then at least 2 days to travel, I asked again about salary and job specs.

The reply I was met was along the lines of, if you’re a good fit we’ll discuss salary down the road (I mean I’ve done 3 interviews).I’d have to move for the role.

The second problem was I was sent a job spec from the site that had been there before I ever applied, it has some elements of what the ceo pitched me but it’s not the same. Essentially the job spec entails lots of low leverage stuff that can be cheaply outsourced, they wanted strategy and hands on implementing by the same person (it comes back to why what they’re trying to do isn’t working).

Seems like a really unique product and an area I know I’d be really good at, but is this just full of red flags? How can I approach this? I have a feeling they think it’s way easier to fill this role than it actually will be.