[petr_tik]

worth keeping in mind that Yandex and russian technology companies in general are used to running lean and profitable operations so unfathomed in the land of 0% interest rates and VC money on tap. If they continue as they are now (15 people) and convert customers like Cloudflare into paying engagements, there is nothing stopping them from being profitable.

[pm90]

How exactly do they get to operate that lean? It seems the most straightforward way is by paying employees less.

[spyspy]

No scrum masters, no in-house chef, few or no dedicated product managers, no middle manager(s) between eng and C-Suite.

[vxNsr]

So theoretically really just more work per dev and less compensation. I guess that makes sense.

[hunterb123]

Get out of the valley. One engineer can do a lot. Even in Texas we run slimmer. I'm the sole frontend dev. I created and maintain our iOS, Android, and Web app for a largish tech company.

When you don't have VC money and you HAVE to profit, you really learn optimize the workflow.

[ctvo]

> One engineer can do a lot. Even in Texas we run slimmer. I'm the sole frontend dev. I created and maintain our iOS, Android, and Web app for a largish tech company.

What do you mean by "do a lot". Can you deliver as quickly as a team? If so, do you work more hours or are you just better? If you're just better, why do you decide to stay with your largish tech company when we're acknowledging SV pays more? A remote role would increase your salary, no?

Breaking this down:

Russia has a great mathematics and engineering education system. Many graduates, unable to leave, take jobs with Russian tech companies. Russian tech companies pay less than US tech companies.

That's why the situation may be as is with ClickHouse. You're not in Russia.

Texas isn't particularly known for running lean. Every Big Tech has a presence in Austin. Dallas is filled with legacy financial companies burning money on IT.

[hunterb123]

Yeah, I use RN to do all the platforms. I spit out features pretty fast. They apply to all platforms since the codebase is 95% shared. I work normal 40 hours, never overtime. I could make more in SV possibly, but I like working where I'm at and I have a big influence (I decide the tech, style guide, some features etc.) Plus I don't like working with a team or too many meetings etc. I already work remote and I make a good salary. Cost of living would be much higher in SV and most companies would cut pay for remote work over there so it would be similar.

[ctvo]

> Cost of living would be much higher in SV and most companies would cut pay for remote work over there so it would be similar.

I would validate this by getting an offer. Even adjusting for location, my guess is it's still significantly higher than what you're making locally. The adjustment isn't, say, you live in SF so you make 400k, you live in Houston you make 150k. It's ~15-20% for most places, at most.

> Yeah, I use RN to do all the platforms.

I want to point out those bloated teams that aren't lean from SV? They made ReactNative. They made Flutter too if you were thinking of swapping.

[hunterb123]

400k is for FAANG, I doubt I'd get that nor do I really want to compete for it. Seems like a lot. I'm really happy where I am, even if I'm not making top dollar. Money isn't everything, I want to be comfortable, happy, and stress-free. I also just don't like California, I prefer small towns in Texas.

I know Google and FB made Flutter and RN respectively, and I thank them for that. That doesn't mean other SV companies aren't bloated, FAANG has a lot of money from their spigots (Google & FB have their ad money streams) and live on another level, not VC funding.

Cross platform has come a long way and enables small companies to do a lot more with less. Flutter is nice but has flaws, RN is the sweet spot. I could talk for days about the pros and cons of both.

A previous comment of mine regarding of Flutter vs RN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28394396

[wpietri]

Is your theory here that money is the main motivator for job choices? Some people are surely like that, but for a lot of people, developers very much included, other things matter more.

I was just talking with a friend who recently left Google. He's now trying to figure out what to work on next and has spent the months since reading widely. As we were talking, he gestured at the wall of bookcases behind him and said, "I'm not really concerned with maximizing income. I can already buy all the books I can read."

And personally, I'm at a not-for-profit because I want impact. I could make a lot more money elsewhere, and I certainly have in the past. But when I look back on that stuff, a lot of it just looks like a waste of time to me. The financial traders I worked for took in money that would otherwise have been hoovered up by other traders. The excellent code base that never got any users because the business side was kinda fucked up. The enterprise system that limped along a while longer thanks to our stress and overtime. Life's too short.

And I really get hunterb123's perspective here. I'd rather be part of a small team getting shit done rather than a highly paid developer on a vast effort to shift some ad-revenue metric by 0.2% over the next quarter. Some people like that and it's fine. But in interviews I've asked enough former FAANG developers, "So why did you leave?" that I know it's not for me.

[manigandham]

Velocity always goes down as team size goes up. Bigger teams are not about delivering faster, it's about dealing with bigger scope.

[DevKoala]

Eastern Europe talent probably. They are fantastic and their salaries are cheap thanks to conversion rates.

[ezekiel68]

Not picking on your comment, per se, but it is a pet peeve of mine that lower pay in societies with much lower costs of living is often couched as either exploitation or (reverse) unfairness to those in high cost-of-living settings. Consider a metro area in Eastern Europe or Asia. Suppose there are very few jobs available paying the equivalent of US$12 per hour [0]. Now someone starts a software shop or consultancy and offers $13, $15, or $18 (equivalent) per hour. Within that society, such opportunities can easily represent anywhere from a 200% to infinity% (for the unemployed) wage advantage.

tldr; Please consider contextual economic realities before applying reductive backhanded comments.

[0] I'm shooting from the hip, here. Apologies if my example numbers are way off for part or most of the regions I'm mentioning. Even if so, there was a day -- not very long ago -- when they were quite close.

[stackedinserter]

It's all about culture.