Leaving the FAANG league to take on a bigger role at a startup - thoughts?

Margorie52·Dec 19·3 replies
Hello, Elphas! Seeking some perspective from any of you who left a bigger company to take on a bigger role at a startup, especially in a different domain.My background: I am a Software engineer turned Product Manager. Been in the industry for 7.5 years (2 of which were as an engineer, last 1+ as a Program Manager at Netflix, and the rest has all been PMing at startups and one big gaming company). I want to get back into PM and am saying yes to almost all exploratory conversations. I talked to this FinTech startup that was a pioneer in the market 5 years back, slowed down a bit somewhere in between (in terms of innovation, their core Products kept the business healthy), and are trying to accelerate now by establishing a new leadership layer and kicking off new Product innovation charters. I *think* they will make an offer and am super confused about what to do. My decision framework:- I seek: Opportunity to create a legacy Product I can point to and confidently call mine, hopefully with a little pride- Pros with this role: They'll top my current pay, will likely offer a leadership role, more ownership, company has great traction in the market although has lacked on the innovation side (they talk about plans on how they've been changing that)- Cons/Concerns: This is a company that's always been a niche fintech player in the market (one of the first, YC funded when they started), which is great but I kinda wonder how it would "look" on my resume that I moved from Content/Entertainment into Fintech which is such a different domain. They plan to put me on a Product initiative that is more in line with my experience in consumer content/entertainment, because apparently they have a charter for setting up a new business in the Finance Media side -- but the fact that it's a new domain and their pace had slacked a bit last few years makes me wonder if they can do it. But given the leadership role, ironically, maybe it is a question for me to answer? Like, if I build it successfully then they will be able to do it else not? The leaders I've spoken to have been impressive, so I believe the founder's claim of hiring a strong leadership layer.My fears I think stem from the fact that my job switches have always been a conventional step "up" in terms of brand as well as company size. Even right now, I could wait for another opportunity within the FAANG league that I'm currently in, but it'll likely be a horizontal move. So, were you ever at such a decision point? If yes, what did you choose and what was your framework for making that decision? Big Brand or Small Brand? Domain Expertise or Leadership role? Big company or startup?
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