
Ask HN: Should I quit my highly paid startup job at a failing startup? - suemployee
I work for a well-funded startup with no traction (no users and no revenue). The company is over 9 months old, and I&#x27;m well-paid. The product is a SAAS web&#x2F;mobile app. Should I quit my job before the company runs out of money? Why or why not?
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poof131
Most SaaS startups take time to get going, about two years according to
saastr, so it might take awhile. [1]

But a lot of really bad founders have raised money during this bubble cycle.
The VCs are screaming about the market changing behind closed doors. The
founder where I work was recently pressured to fire the team and sell the
company.

Make sure you look after yourself. Get your interview skills up and have a
list of opportunities. Don’t overcommit to 50+ hour weeks. If they want to pay
you 25% more than sure, but don’t fall for the overwork peer pressure by
founders who have a 20-100x equity win over you.

Make your own personal assessment of the team, product, and market, and the
likelihood of success. Recognize that founders “sell” their belief and my not
be honest about issues. I’d probably try to stay to the one year mark and move
if you don’t have a strong belief in the company, but be ready to be dropped
at a moments notice.

[1] [https://www.saastr.com/if-youre-going-to-do-a-saas-start-
up-...](https://www.saastr.com/if-youre-going-to-do-a-saas-start-up-you-have-
to-give-it-24-months/)

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Zelmor
If you predict the company folding, make sure you have enough savings to get
by a couple months. If they pay so well, that should not be an issue. If it
is, deflate your cost of living. 6 months worth of living expenses in the bank
account is what I'm aiming for all the time.

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smt88
If I remember correctly, the average tech startup makes its first dollar at 18
months. If the company has runway, 9 months without revenue isn't the end of
the world (especially if the market is big).

That said, it sounds like you have pretty good management. Ask them the exact
amount of runway given today's burn rate. Ask them again every month. Also ask
them to let you know when you're at ~2 months of runway so that you can be
prepared.

~~~
saluki
Don't ask, just be prepared. I think asking and appearing prepared can open
you up to being more likely to be let go early if there are rounds of layoffs.

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chipperyman573
Do you anticipate your company running out of money any time soon? Is it
possible that your company will turn around before it does? Does it pay enough
in cash (not stock) to make it financially viable to keep working there? And
most importantly, do you enjoy working at your company?

~~~
suemployee
I like working there. I don't know the exact runway, but suspect it isn't too
long. I think it may be hard to find another job that pays as much cash.

I kinda doubt it will turn around, but I suppose I could be wrong. How can you
tell for sure?

~~~
tanapolsh
As financial is a good point to consider, IMO, you should also consider more
about management. How good they manage company? How fast they execute
something? Are they good in doing business and have experiences you trusted?

If they're keep discussing all the time without taking real execution or they
can't make conclusion fast enought. It might make sense that they will run out
of cash before figured out a way to survive.

~~~
suemployee
Management is honest, but execution is slow.

~~~
meric
Hey, if you like it, stick with them till they fail to pay you the last
month's pay check. Then at the end of it all you can all go to a bar and cry
together about the whole thing. I think the experience would be invaluable to
you as a person. That experience would be worth more than the reputation
damage it might do to your career.[1] All you need is a four to six month's
expenses in the bank account.

[1] The purpose of a career is to enable the enjoyment of one's life
experiences. No point going to a grave with a great career and nothing else.

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ex3ndr
As CEO i can't recommend to do so. In most cases even when company have no
traction or something can be pivoted to make revenue or gain user's
attraction. Most of the employee usually can't understand this and make
decisions too fast and you quitting can easily kill a startup, not lack of a
traction.

Our company (Actor.im) was in such situation. And eventually we spent all our
money and for a month we have nothing. During this we go open source (after
advices on HN:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9757243](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9757243))
and in a month we got our first customers and in a next year we was much more
stable than before. We wasn't able to predict this. CEO have a chance (only
small chance) to predict, but employee usually don't think about big picture
long enough for this.

Try to think about people with whom you are working with, if you like it, stay
with them. You will never regret working in dying startup with a nice people,
but if you will quit...

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zerohp
Get out before the pressure mounts. Speaking from experience, the stress that
leads up to the bust is on an exponential curve.

Worse than a bust, many SAAS startups become a regular small business with a
few big clients but everyone is disgruntled because the dream of a big payday
died. There's nothing wrong with a small SAAS business as long as it doesn't
start with "shoot for the moon" fantasies and VC cash. This kind of "exit"
will hurt your career. It's better for the entire company to fail. Your future
interviewers will not see this kind of business favorably.

You could ride this out until it busts but you could be playing a game of
musical chairs. If the company busts due to a problem in the greater economy,
then you're stuck trying to land a job before the music stops.

Right now you have the opportunity to turn a well-paid job without stability
into an equivalent or better paying job with stability. It is much harder to
find a job when you don't have one. Our field is full of pretenders that are
out of work. That's why people fail FizzBuzz. You risk being lumped into this
category if you're looking for a job after your company busts (or the economy
is down.)

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b3b0p
Be patient. It sounds like you have a good gig going. Patience pays. Relax,
work hard, but not overly so and keep working at making the product better.
When it does succeed and pays back you will feel infinitely better (or feel
bad you left before it took off). It sounds like this is an opportunity to
have a very profound impact on the outcome. Take advantage of it as much as
you can while it lasts. If it fails, I would still think that's a selling
point for your next job and a great learning experience.

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saluki
Stick it out . . . if you're well paid and they have funding see what happens,
save for a rainy day, learn and be productive.

~~~
cakes
Same thought but adding that if it's causing you stress/impacting your life -
factor that in.

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edoceo
Your own doubts about the future of this company could negative impact your
own performance and thereby kill the company.

If you are feeling that happen, express to CEO and maybe bail.

Its not hard to find the next gig, if you have the "right stuff"

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baybal2
From my own experience, I tell you that you must. Work for a failed start-up
is a black mark on a resume.

It is better to quit and portray your work there as a short-term gig

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J_Darnley
No. You are employed. You are well paid. You said you like working there. What
more can you get by switching? Keep going until it goes bust.

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bzalasky
How many employees does the company have (roughly), and how much money has
been raised?

