Hey Hari, thanks for sharing this extremely transparent and realistic history. Sounds like a very tough grind! There is a tendency to romanticize that startups will make you financially independent, but the reality is years of work for a low probability return -- The journey is the destination, and the learning and network are the rewards!
I worked at two improbable startups: one that went from seed to $1B series C and another late stage startup that raised $500M round at $4B with an imminent IPO. Yet to get a liquid $ from either equity :)
It’s a better financial bet to join public cos that can grow from, say, $5-10B to $100B, or even $100B to $500B. Startups don’t offer enough equity to non-founders to cover for the opportunity cost.
I really enjoyed reading your journey. Looking for asymetric upside, I have joined Series A startup. Only time will tell if it is a good or bad decision.
I do have a question though - how to buy the options from another employee. I have seen people not exercising options when they leave (various reasons: as <5% startups succeed, upside is not meaningful, not enough cash to exercise) ?
Hey Hari, thanks for sharing this extremely transparent and realistic history. Sounds like a very tough grind! There is a tendency to romanticize that startups will make you financially independent, but the reality is years of work for a low probability return -- The journey is the destination, and the learning and network are the rewards!
Thank you for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for sharing, Hari!
I worked at two improbable startups: one that went from seed to $1B series C and another late stage startup that raised $500M round at $4B with an imminent IPO. Yet to get a liquid $ from either equity :)
It’s a better financial bet to join public cos that can grow from, say, $5-10B to $100B, or even $100B to $500B. Startups don’t offer enough equity to non-founders to cover for the opportunity cost.
I really enjoyed reading your journey. Looking for asymetric upside, I have joined Series A startup. Only time will tell if it is a good or bad decision.
I do have a question though - how to buy the options from another employee. I have seen people not exercising options when they leave (various reasons: as <5% startups succeed, upside is not meaningful, not enough cash to exercise) ?