Current CTO exploring entrepreneurship on the side; coach; mentor; instructor.
Dedicated to promoting digital literacy and ideological diversity in tech.
Being successful as a startup is hard. More fail than succeed, which means you need to operate with that mindset.
Especially for newer developers, it can be easy to get "stuck", feeling like you owe the company something if you've been with them from the start.
But sometimes you just need to know when it's time to walk away. Very often newer startups will trade pay for equity or other incentives. But you cant pay bills with equity, and cool benefits like snacks and beer can't be put away for retirement.
If you don't see a light at the end of the tunnel, don't be afraid to walk away. You need to look after yourself too, and sometimes that means making the hard choices.
Especially for newer developers, it can be easy to get "stuck", feeling like you owe the company something if you've been with them from the start.
I'm struggling with this at the moment, I have been working on my current startup for around 5 years. My "boss" is a friend of mine for a long time so I kinda feel bad for even considering moving on. On the other hand, my workload and responsibilities have increased during these years, whilst my paycheck has not.
It's somewhat okay because they are not strict and I can take some time to make my own things or work on side projects, or get some free days now and then. Which I value.
It's definitely a hard choice to move away, and scary!
Current CTO exploring entrepreneurship on the side; coach; mentor; instructor.
Dedicated to promoting digital literacy and ideological diversity in tech.
Understand your worth.
Being successful as a startup is hard. More fail than succeed, which means you need to operate with that mindset.
Especially for newer developers, it can be easy to get "stuck", feeling like you owe the company something if you've been with them from the start.
But sometimes you just need to know when it's time to walk away. Very often newer startups will trade pay for equity or other incentives. But you cant pay bills with equity, and cool benefits like snacks and beer can't be put away for retirement.
If you don't see a light at the end of the tunnel, don't be afraid to walk away. You need to look after yourself too, and sometimes that means making the hard choices.
Thanks for that!
I'm struggling with this at the moment, I have been working on my current startup for around 5 years. My "boss" is a friend of mine for a long time so I kinda feel bad for even considering moving on. On the other hand, my workload and responsibilities have increased during these years, whilst my paycheck has not.
It's somewhat okay because they are not strict and I can take some time to make my own things or work on side projects, or get some free days now and then. Which I value.
It's definitely a hard choice to move away, and scary!
Five years is a long time.
If the startup is having a hard time getting off the ground, it might be in everyone's best interest to make some changes.
For you to grow independently on your own, and for them to get some new perspectives or ideas from a fresh hire.
Then, if you still want to, you can come back later with your own new ideas from working on other things.