New employer (unicorn) offering huge raise. Current employer (startup) countered

[timeforchange]

I'm stuck in a bit of a pickle. I've been with this startup since near day one. Lately, I've been a bit discouraged by our heads down focus on growth and lack of attention devoted to innovation. We've lost much of our top engineering and design talent, and are nearing a skeleton crew. Leadership has been a revolving door since the inception of the company and has more experience in marketing, not heading technologies companies. With that said, I do very much enjoy my coworkers.

To break things down in numbers– new employer is offering me a 60% raise in terms of cash & 80% including equity (I am nearly vested at current employer). Current employer just barely surpassed the offer at new employer, but will offer other concessions (allow me to move and work remote 3 days/week, hiring of staff engineers, etc).

I am looking forward to a fresh start in terms of company (no baggage) and location. I will be learning a new tech stack (some of it awesome, some of it very legacy) as well as have exposure to a much bigger pool of engineers and diversity of skills, experiences & opinions.

Any advice? My intuition is telling me too little, too late & to move on.

[geophile]

If you love technology, the new place offers it, and the old place doesn't, then that alone is a good reason for moving. You aren't causing your vested options to lose value by moving since your current employer sounds like it values marketing and sales more than technology. The only thing keeping you are 1) inertia and 2) the move and remote work. (The hiring probably doesn't compare to the much bigger pool of engineers at the new place.)

Unless the move and remote work are incredibly important to you, it sounds like an easy choice.

(One thing you haven't mentioned is big company vs. startup. Think about that too.)

[timeforchange]

This is what I needed to hear. Thank you for helping to bring me some clarity.

So, the big company vs. startup discussion gets even more interesting. I was hired at big company onto small team to work mainly on greenfield projects. Almost like the best of both worlds.

[geophile]

"Like a startup inside a big company" seems dubious. I have heard it so many times through the years, and it just never pans out. It is basically a euphemism for: you will start with a blank piece of paper and work very hard in a small team. But you will still be subject to big company policies, and of course you don't get anything like startup equity in case your project succeeds in the marketplace. So not literally the best of both worlds.

I'm not saying not to join such a team -- just that you should go into it with a clear picture. It sounds like this could well scratch your techie itch, and seems better than your current position. However, if the chance of a big payoff is important to you, I am dubious.

[sesteel]

Ask yourself this question: If my current company gave me 50% ownership of the company, would I want it, and if so, how much is it worth? Without knowing all the details it is hard to say, but working in a larger organization with more engineers to help get you going is a much better spot than trying to find good engineers to join a struggling company and get them going.

[karlkfi]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2014/07/07/why-you-sho...

[timeforchange]

I came across this earlier, but somehow got adblock-blocked, despite the fact my adblock was disabled. It was well worth opening up a different browser– thanks

[forgottenacc57]

Sell out. To the highest bidder. Set aside your hopes and dreams. Do it fast.

The rest of your life will follow a similar pattern, many small easy compromises until you find you've completely lost sight of what you really valued. May as well start that process now.

[timeforchange]

So angsty

[forgottenacc57]

You'll know what I mean in 20 years.