[flacon]

"That said, as an engineer being a startup "employee" is a sucker's game. You'll never get enough equity or intangibles to compensate for the risk/effort/opportunity cost."

As someone that just left a startup I couldn't agree more...

[samt]

So what's your plan now? :)

[angstrom]

I would sell the equity and invest it in a six pack of socks. Honestly, I think anyone working for a startup should continually re-evaluate their commitment to the vision every 3-4 months. If it pains you to see where things are going you're better off cutting lose. I've seen people waste 4 years at a startup only to leave empty handed.

It can be very much like a gambler's dilemma. The more time/money you invest the harder it becomes to walk away. Eventually they realize they've stayed not because they agree with the vision, but because they don't want to cut their losses.

One such startup I know of is going 10 years strong. I think the VCs are in the same situation as the former coworker I mentioned; throwing good money after bad.

[fookyong]

wow. I want to upvote this 100 times - you basically describe my exact situation.

I'm leaving a startup next month. I'm in a senior position so it was a very difficult decision to make in addition to what you said about the time invested / gambler's dilemma.

But in the end, like you said, I just don't agree with the direction the company is going - whilst at the same time I have no doubt that the company will continue to successfully raise VC, for the exact reasons you describe.

In a nutshell, get out of my mind, sir!

[acgourley]

I know for certain there are startups that pay at or above bigco rates. I think rather than calling it a suckers game you should say the experience is highly variable.