Every time I've left a job, I've been uncertain and conflicted. Every. Time. Then, a week or two into the new job... Every. Time. ...I thought, "Wow! I should have done this sooner!"
- Shut up a few more times because I’d trust more the managers, and just followed the stream,
- Accepted to be patient about being a developer on a boring project, because what stressed me was “I don’t know enough to reach the career level that can allow me to ever buy a house.”
- Made 4 millions instead of 1.
I regret leaving and aggressively seeking for a better career, but at the time, things snowballed negatively because I wasn’t getting enough emotional attention. Of course it was a rational choice on both sides, but it was a mistake overall.
On my leaving card, all my colleagues wrote variations of “To the most motivated guy every” – proof that I was putting in decent work, albeit not working cleverly enough.
It’s like saying I should’ve invested in X which got quadrupled in price last year.
Most stocks (even very promising ones) didn’t achieve anywhere near that growth.
So you choosing the right one among the many to “shut up and stick to it just a little bit longer” has a low chance of exceptional returns on your investment.
You cannot see the future, even the most sophisticated analysis can be wrong, and even the best companies can stagnate for a loong time before getting lucky.
1. It’s incredibly good that the startup founders were actually honest (no last-moment dilution),
2. Stock valuation is poker, although a bit more when you know the company from inside,
3. I’m incredibly thankful towards the owners (Although I’ll hide their name because I don’t have perfect reputation),
4. I’m incredibly thankful towards the economic system which allows us to get at least that.
I just wanted to give an example where leaving early wasn’t the perfect choice. But it was as optimized as could be.
Poker isn't just about the cards you're dealt, but also the the players you play (with). I wonder if there is a similar idea/point about startups?
For every success story, there are many more failures, where after years of hard work, the company still doesn't succeed, where the managers that look like idiots are really idiots, and the stock options end up being totally worthless.
Ignore the money, divorce your happiness from money, and do what makes you feel happy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.
Value comes in many forms. OP message shouldn't imply that money alone is the only variable in the equation of "am I compensated fairly".
No one should sell themselves short, but choosing, say, a 100% worse environment or a dead-end technology stack for a 5% higher pay (or whatever) is not wise.