[paulcole]

> It would take > 3 senior people to replace me.

Everybody thinks this and it's rarely (if ever) true.

> my non-compete pretty much covers every industry you can think of.

They can't afford to pay you but they can afford to sue you?

> The company owes me more than $60k back pay.

You are never going to see this money.

> I know for certain 3/5 of the remaining devs would definitely leave if I left

You don't know this for certain and even if it is true, not your problem.

[throwawayAug16]

Your first point is a fair one. Although in this situation I think it falls under the "rarely" category, for a few reasons:

- I do architecture, middle-tier, front-end, backend, DBA, devops, and engineering management. I have only met a few people my entire life at my level with all of those skill sets.

- I work an ungodly number of hours and a single new hire is unlikely to be willing to do the same.

- I have a significant amount of proprietary knowledge that while not unusually is very unusual to find in a single person.

I can't say for certain it would take three people but I can say for certain it is either multiple people or one extremely rare person who is going to have a lot of demands and take a long time to find.

And I say this as someone who does hiring. I have interviewed literally hundreds of people.

Per your second point, as I answered previously. I'm not entirely sure the CEO and/or investors wouldn't fund the suite personally. I can't go into detail here on why I feel that way. And even a small chance at a suite is not something I'm willing to risk.

Per your third point, it was more. They have actually paid me back some so I'm optimistic about the rest.

Per your forth point, either its true or they lied and I can't see why they would lie. The team team trusts me and they confide in me. More so they they do with the CEO or even HR. It may not be my problem if they leave but it doesn't bode well for the company.

Edit: as an aside we have had a job listing out for someone to take over just part of my job. We haven't even had anyone apply... and no, I didn't sabotage the listing. HR wrote it.

[paulcole]

> I can't see why they would lie.

To encourage a workaholic coworker with an overinflated ego to leave so they could replace him with someone they like better?

Not saying this is the case, but from what you've said, the possibility is certainly there. Also, how do you know what they are/aren't saying to HR?

[throwawayAug16]

I had a longer reply but I deleted it because I was here for advice not to defend myself and I would get nothing but terrible useless advice if I lied.

The possibility of your explanation being legitimate is certainly not there. It only makes sense in a world where someone following me out the door is a good thing. And seeing as I have a lot of stock options it is most definitely not a good thing. It is motivation to stay not leave.

I'm sorry you are so jaded you think someone can't be good at their job.

I'm also sorry you apparently live in a world where complaints to HR go unacknowledged. Because at our company they get addressed head on, not buried.

I'll rest easy at night knowing that 7 out of 10 of the developers who left have kept in touch after and thanked me for my mentorship. Something they had no obligation to do. Because if you treat your team right, as I do, and you consistently have their back and mentor them as I do, you don't need to guess if they are telling the truth.