

Ask HN: How much does a senior engineer get at startup - tim_sw

equity wise that is.. both pre-series A vs post-series A
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mpk
Not a lot.

The founders get it all and later parcel out pieces to others, with investors
taking the huge chunks.

I'd say you're looking at some figure between 0.2% and 4.0% depending on when
you sign.

There's also a big difference in having shares or options. Then there's the
dilution factor to take into account when new shares are issued (unless you
have anti-dilution agreements in contract).

If you have to ask this question at all, you're probably new to the game.

It always boils down to 'it depends'. Every situation is different. Ask around
and everybody will tell you something different. Most of them will give you
very stupid and aggressive advice.

If the startup was founded yesterday and has no tech but you already have it
and are bringing it in to the company you're in a very different position than
where you're being brought in as the person who might be able to develop it.

Ask around (like you're doing here) and decide what you want out of the deal.
Do you want a decent salary? A position where you can do some new work and
vastly broaden your experience? Maybe you want to take a gamble on a web
startup that maybe, just maybe will make you rich in a few years (or more
likely - out of a job with no savings if things don't pan out)?

Lots of factors to consider. Get some feedback and mull it all over is my
advice.

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dryicerx
34.9%

Not really, questions like this can never be answered directly; it depends on
number of co-founders, what each person is/has contributed work and capital
wise, what is the definition of senior engineer, what the investors want, ...
so many factors.

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tlrobinson
I know you just picked a random number, but to be clear, it's wayyyy high.

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brk
Generally speaking, you should get a stock allocation equivalent to the value
you will add to the team. If you are adding a 5% net increase in the value,
you should get a 5% stock option allocation.

Most likely you will be looking at numbers in the range of .25%-1%, give or
take a bit. This will also depend on the total number of engineers likely to
be hired during that funding round, and the background of the founders
(founders who are more experienced will generally not give as much stock as
founders who are less experienced).

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siong1987
<http://www.paulgraham.com/equity.html>

You can read the article as a reference. But, the real answer is:

It depends.

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adw
There's some data on VentureHacks, but really it depends.

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jaspertheghost
It's hard to tell. For salary info go to: glassdoor.com

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tptacek
As much as that senior engineer is able to acquire through skillful
negotiation, probably not exceeding 1-2% in a company on the VC track.

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rubayeet
As a senior developer in a start up, I'll have to say good enough. But then
again it depends on the founders' attitude a lot.

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dpcan
If you actually have to ask this question ... stay corporate.

