Ask HN: Been offered a CTO job, should I take it?
I was recently offered a CTO job at a company that raised 1.5m in seed money, I really like the idea and the people.
I am getting a fair amount of equity and I’m okay with the pay.
What would you do in my position?
Go for it.
I'm assuming the team is small with a seed round. You will get to be part of everything that happens. Even if it does not last you will learn so much that anything you do in the future will have better chances of success.
My one caveat is you will have to give them 100% of your time. There will be no time for side projects.
I've joined a startup as first engineer (promoted to Head of Engineering) and most recently CTO. Both times were really great.
Personally, I opted for more salary and less equity as I wasn't coming in as a founder anyway, but as long as you understand the way stock at an early stage company works, go for it.
I also wrote a bit about the role of CTO at this stage in case you want to read more: https://www.karllhughes.com/posts/roles-of-startup-cto
Good luck and congrats!
Thanks
Look at the expected value of the equity, not just the current predicted value