> would you rather eat ramen in a flophouse or make proper money in an investment bank
Not a real choice. Ramen-stage start-ups don’t need CFOs. And investment banks don’t hire CFO types.
The real choice is between a growth-stage company and private-equity sponsored company. In summary, do you want to be compensated for your risk in cash or ownership?
The last CFO I dealt with had a weird balancing act: a conservative accountancy background but now involved in juggling risks and the job needed a fairly optimistic outlook.
CEOs seem to be expected to be optimistic and over-confident - and perhaps rewarded for that too.
I'd join successful startups planning to IPO within a few years and be the one to take them public. Look at the background of Stripe's current CFO for an example. He did Aruba Networks, Palo Alto Networks, Confluent, and soon Stripe.
Not a real choice. Ramen-stage start-ups don’t need CFOs. And investment banks don’t hire CFO types.
The real choice is between a growth-stage company and private-equity sponsored company. In summary, do you want to be compensated for your risk in cash or ownership?