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flyer.
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June 20, 2015 at 7:20 AM #21579June 21, 2015 at 4:46 PM #787393
cvmom
ParticipantSounds to me like you are looking for confirmation of a decision that you have already made. Given all the data you provided, my opinion is that you are making the right decision. Mergers are no fun when you are not on the acquiring side, I know from personal experience (3x).
Good luck and I hope the new opportunity comes through for you!
June 21, 2015 at 5:27 PM #787394EconProf
ParticipantYou have so exhaustively listed all the pros and cons of staying vs. leaving that I have no doubt you will make the right decision on your own.
No one here knows more about the choice than you do.
Your analysis shows others how job seekers should weigh the costs and benefits of a switch.June 21, 2015 at 5:40 PM #787396spdrun
Participantflu – if you have a track record of income from the properties and from work, there’s no reason why you won’t be able to refi loans that you need.
Better work/life balance sounds like a winner. Jump on the opportunity.
June 21, 2015 at 6:28 PM #787398
CoronitaParticipant[quote=cvmom]Sounds to me like you are looking for confirmation of a decision that you have already made. Given all the data you provided, my opinion is that you are making the right decision. Mergers are no fun when you are not on the acquiring side, I know from personal experience (3x).
Good luck and I hope the new opportunity comes through for you![/quote]
Thanks. The offer was verbally given and i verbally accepted. But i never think its final until all the paperwork is done.I am looking for anything I didn’t think about. This would normally be a no brainer for me if this happened in the bay area. But here in San Diego the community is smaller. I don’t see much upside by staying since the equity of my stock has already risen to above peak plus a slight premium above what the acquirer is paying for us. I doubt there will be a bigger company that will top that. And I hate the acquirer. The unvested stock will be matched by the new company in terms of fair market value. The only part by leaving now is foregoing $15-20k payout. Then again, waiting until October might close the door to this opportunity
Plus, the coolness factor of the new company kinda really makes me look the other way versus staying and trying to milk every payout possible from an acquisition, despite being in a potentially miserable environment if I don’t leave…
But I am looking for folks to try to talk me out of it with a reason just so I can think about things I didn’t think about that might be important. This is one of those times where a little negativity would be appreciated 🙂
The sucky part is I always leave before a pending major promotion. But then again, in an acquisition, the new taller grass are usually cut first. So, oh well.
June 21, 2015 at 6:53 PM #787399joec
ParticipantSince only you know both companies and have all the info, it’s going to be real tough to know what’s best for anyone (even you included).
One thing to also think about is that the “new” company ALWAYS looks better than your current place. It’s just like that hot chick you see where who can ever assume she’s actually a psycho? You also know ALL the bad things at your current place and it’s easy to feel the grass is greener on the other side.
Anyhow, food for thought, I actually know someone who just left his stable tech job of 10+ years in SD and moved to a smaller place, and is now, moving BACK to the old position now. Not sure what happened since I haven’t talked to him in a bit, but will ask when I see him.
Since we live in our own worlds and see what we want to see, one thing to look hard at is if the new place is “really” that great. To me, that’s not possible, but since it’s already public, I’m guessing the instant millions is passed so it’s mostly a type of work, balance comparison.
It sounds like the current place is a dead end long term as most acquired companies are, but the new place (being already public) to me also means that if their valuation is insane now like most other companies, may have limited upside as well and may collapse faster.
I used to do this a ton during the crazed startup days in the 90s with some of my friends/co-workers for hours and hundreds of emails back and forth. One thing I’ve noticed in my decisions (which was probably wrong most of the time) is it seems like luck plays the biggest factor of all so rolling a dice seems just as good. Money is never that different IMO (unless it’s private).
Another thing, I noticed at the company I worked at and left, some of the people who were still there will their management help are now all VPs, Directors, CIOs, etc…so staying also opens up a lot of promotions and opportunities as well since “someone” still has to man the place. If you’re connected in your current place, that someone could be you and that could lead to higher positions in the future as well.
The KEY thing I think to getting ahead is it’s critical who your manager is or who you think will HELP you get further and higher in your career (remember, the networking part)….
Your CURRENT manager is under the same gun as you at your current place so he or she is probably looking as well…If you’re close, you can ask what they plan to do. Downside of course is San Diego is so small probably for tech vs. the bay area.
I know if I left my last startup and went with an old manager to Apple (sure I would’ve gotten hired), I’d definitely be a millionaire now a few times over.
Good luck with your choice, but I think going where you think the best manager or person looking out for you will be the “win” choice.
I did regret going to some startup due to mostly greed, but in the IPO game, luck plays a bigger role than most regular jobs.
June 21, 2015 at 7:45 PM #787403
svelteParticipantSounds like you pretty well thought it through, and I would say I would jump too.
Actually, I’ve been in a very similar situation and did jump…worked out fine.
The only things I didn’t hear you mention:
– how does going back to being the newbie sit with you. With any new job, there is a steep learning curve even if it is in a field you know well. My head hurts for months after taking a new position…I go home with my head swimming with new information…maybe I should buy a heat sink and CPU fan for my head when I start something new.
– this goes hand-in-hand with having to start at ground zero building up your reputation again. At my current employer, my reputation is so solidified that I can pretty much pick the plum assignments as they come up. If I jump ship again, those years of building that reputation gets thrown away and I will have to scrap with everyone else for the plum assignments. This is a strong incentive for me to stay put at this point.Those things are somewhat offset by the fun of learning something new, meeting new people, getting a new desk, driving new roads, etc. Ruts get boring.
Since you are far enough along in your career that your family won’t starve should the new position not work out, I think you can safely jump if that is what will make you happiest. From your post, that sounds to be the case.
June 21, 2015 at 8:05 PM #787404ltsddd
Participant[quote=flu]The only part by leaving now is foregoing $15-20k payout[/quote]
In the big scheme of things, this should not be a factor of any significance. Just pretend you shorted 1000 shares of brcm before the buy-out announcement by avago 😉
June 21, 2015 at 9:07 PM #787407CoronitaParticipantWell, I guess I sort of deserve this. I went to an ivy league school, studied engineering, and tried to get a job on Wall Street because I wanted to be part of doing big business deals in tech….But nevertheless ended up in tech. Now almost two decades later, my new employer is an LBO shop that is pretending to be a engineering company… Lol, the irony… Well, if I’m going to work for a LBO shop, I’ll go work for a real LBO shop and make Wall Street money, not work at an LBO shop as an engineer working for engineering money 🙁
June 21, 2015 at 9:28 PM #787408CoronitaParticipant[quote=svelte]Sounds like you pretty well thought it through, and I would say I would jump too.
Actually, I’ve been in a very similar situation and did jump…worked out fine.
The only things I didn’t hear you mention:
– how does going back to being the newbie sit with you. With any new job, there is a steep learning curve even if it is in a field you know well. My head hurts for months after taking a new position…I go home with my head swimming with new information…maybe I should buy a heat sink and CPU fan for my head when I start something new.[/quote]
Excellent point. At this particular company, I think there are things that I can bring to the table to help, while as others who have been doing this for awhile can teach me things that I haven’t had the opportunity to learn. Plus,I do know some people at new company too, so it’s not quite as big of a steep curve. I don’t mind learning new things, as long as people don’t mind putting up with my brief learning curve.
To fairly assess the company, I’d say this is one of the few companies I would have seriously considered jumping ship to anyway, even if my current company wasn’t acquired. The vibe is just different. I’ll give you an example. Every time there’s a new project I want to do at my current employer, the response I get is “how much is this going to cost us” along with 20 or so other reasons why we can’t do it, of if so, can I use the office in Bangalore to do it…And when that happens, I’m like “never mind”…because I’d rather do it myself with my limited resources/team at that point, otherwise it’s going to take twice as long with much shittier quality…
On the other hand, this new company encourages people to push the limits and spend time finding new product ideas. It’s just a different mindset.
This was how my current company was a few years ago. But something snapped, not sure what, and what happened along the way. I think the bean counters took over, and it went downhill from there. And with the acquisition, there’s going to be even more bean counting….
Anyway, if you hate engineers. The best way to demoralize engineers and make engineers quit is to assign bean counters with no technical knowledge to run projects and bring out large spreadsheets. That is much more effective than threatening to lay them off or cut their comp packages…
[quote]
Since you are far enough along in your career that your family won’t starve should the new position not work out, I think you can safely jump if that is what will make you happiest. From your post, that sounds to be the case.
[/quote]I thought about this for a bit. I actually like to work. I wouldn’t want to do something on my own at this point (short of real estate), but I do like working with tech. But then I thought if I’m going to spend considerable amount of my time working for someone else, at least most of it should be under the terms the conditions that I want them to be. And I don’t think I’m an unreasonable, over-demanding person when it comes to my basic needs in terms of work.
June 22, 2015 at 5:21 AM #787414flyer
ParticipantMy wife is always searching for new creative properties. A couple of years ago, one of her friends told her about the author below who completely changed his life by stepping out of his comfort zone to do new and exciting things, and, although she didn’t acquire the rights, I’ve always thought it was a great example of how changing your path in life can reap unexpected rewards.
Biography
Jonas Jonasson is the author of the novel The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, which has sold more than eight million copies worldwide. He was a journalist for many years, then became a media consultant and later the founder of a sporting events production company for Swedish television. After selling his company, he moved abroad to work on his first novel. Jonasson now lives with his son on the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea.From what you’ve posted, flu, it sounds like you’re ready to do the same, and I wish you the best.
June 22, 2015 at 7:20 AM #787416CoronitaParticipantI really can’t complain about my old employer prior to the acquisition. My immediate team treated me really well. And it’s been a fun ride here for the past few years working on the cutting edge. All great parties though come to an end…At least with the nice pop in the share price that will now stay indefinitely until the M&A closes, I can sell my vested shares and pay off most of my primary’s mortgage or pay of my rentals. So it’s not the worst thing that could have happened (yet). Just kinda sad about leaving something I’ve spent so much time building.
June 22, 2015 at 10:04 AM #787405CoronitaParticipant[quote=joec]
It sounds like the current place is a dead end long term as most acquired companies are, but the new place (being already public) to me also means that if their valuation is insane now like most other companies, may have limited upside as well and may collapse faster.
…
I did regret going to some startup due to mostly greed, but in the IPO game, luck plays a bigger role than most regular jobs.[/quote]
That’s actually an excellent point. I do feel the new company is “richly valued” mainly because they are a young publicly traded company. And I’m not counting on my equity to hold value, as much as I’m sure we’d like it to. Not because I don’t believe in the company.It’s just the stock market is so unpredictable.
But the rub is that our acquirer is basically a private equity/leveraged buyout shop masqueraded as an engineering company. So while that’s great for shareholders, it’s a terrible proposition for engineers who want to spend time on R&D. So I even if those stock grants are worth something, chances are as technical person, you won’t be around to vest. So not that there was much stability to begin with at my current company, there definitely isn’t any going into this acquisition. And I don’t mind instability, provided there was some benefit from taking that risk.
But it just seems like if I view my employment prospects at my old company, in business terms, it’s a crappy deal…. We’re taking all the risk and uncertainty, and there isn’t really much of a beneficial reward for us, beyond the initial stock bump that has already been factored into the current stock price. It’s a high risk, low return investment imho to stay.
There is risk in going to a smaller company and it can go down or get acquired, but at least with that risk, there’s the potential for growth. But I think there are things I can do to hedge against that on the open markets. What do you guys think about this strategy?
[quote]
Another thing, I noticed at the company I worked at and left, some of the people who were still there will their management help are now all VPs, Directors, CIOs, etc…so staying also opens up a lot of promotions and opportunities as well since “someone” still has to man the place. If you’re connected in your current place, that someone could be you and that could lead to higher positions in the future as well.The KEY thing I think to getting ahead is it’s critical who your manager is or who you think will HELP you get further and higher in your career (remember, the networking part)….
Your CURRENT manager is under the same gun as you at your current place so he or she is probably looking as well…If you’re close, you can ask what they plan to do. Downside of course is San Diego is so small probably for tech vs. the bay area.
[/quote]I didn’t think about that too. If that’s the case, then that’s even more of a reason to leave. Everyone of the colleagues that were either directly or indirectly responsible of where I am at in my old company has left already, or in the process of leaving. I’ve probably overstayed an extra 2 years trying to rebuild teams and projects. I generally get along with everyone, including senior management… I think the only ones I bump heads with sometimes are some of the bean counting PM’s.
June 22, 2015 at 8:26 PM #787421Participant[quote=flyer]
Biography
Jonas Jonasson is the author of the novel The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, which has sold more than eight million copies worldwide. He was a journalist for many years, then became a media consultant and later the founder of a sporting events production company for Swedish television. After selling his company, he moved abroad to work on his first novel. Jonasson now lives with his son on the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea.
[/quote]I know it’s off topic, but I can’t help mentioning that I LOVE the movie made of that book. I saw it on an international flight and in order to buy the DVD, I had to order from a company in the UK.
June 22, 2015 at 10:06 PM #787422moneymaker
ParticipantIt always feels better to walk away than get laid off, most people that make a lot of money have left plenty of jobs. Sometimes seems that’s the only way to discover your true worth.
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