<p>DS went to a great school and had been able to secure internships with good companies each summer. This year the internship didn't work out, so he started applying for others a month into summer. There was a well funded startup who wasn't interested in a short time assignment, but offered him a full time job with an equity position in the company that he accepted and has worked for about a month - a lot more work than play, but he seems to like it.</p>
<p>It's now time when the schools are asking for next term's tuition and commitment, and it looks like he wants to stay in CA rather than return to PA. The company has agreed to fly him in to wind up his apartment and pay part of the lease he had for next year, and also allow him some time during the day if he wants to take courses in CA to fulfill his degree requirements. Returning to PA and working remotely wasn't on the books. DS found out there was a small grad school campus of his home college in driving distance, to see if he could get a few credits there. His feeling is that working in a <10 man outfit in Silicon Valley would give him more experience in startups than any school work, and just having turned 20 this month, thought this risk was worth taking even if it didn't work out.</p>
<p>What would you do to support your child in this position? Does anyone know whta the success/failure rate is for very small startups, and what typically is the equity offered to employees at this phase of the company? We certainly want him to get his degree, either by taking courses in CA if possible, or if this job doesn't work out, perhaps in six months, return to PA and complete.</p>
<p>No, there is time for everything. Get his degree then get a job. There are so many start ups and they are using “equity” hook to get free labor. I know few of my friends (adults) who are using that hook to get kids from Stanford and other schools to do that. He will be working for the rest of his life. There will be other jobs.</p>
<p>I also think it’s better to work at a big company at first, get paid and learn from some of the best, then take that experience to start a company.</p>
<p>Check his school’s policy in withdrawl (in good standing) and readmission. If they are willing to readmit him after time off from school, then he can try working at the startup and then return to school if it does not succeed (most do not, and it usually does not take that long for the unsuccessful ones to fall).</p>
<p>As hard as this would be for me to see my son choose too, I can see where he is coming from. And the time working may help him hone in on his longer term plans/school. It will be a good learning experience for him, whether the company fails or not. The hard part, as I personally am too well aware, is making returning to school a priority once you are in the workforce. That paycheck is a powerful force that is difficult to give up, and life can get in the way. Good luck with this. I will be interested to see how this turns out for him! I hope that the company he as joined is a new “GOOGLE”. LOL</p>
<p>I did two about 10-15 years ago. I knew they were good business model because of my past experience, and I didn’t get my return until years later.</p>
<p>If you can’t take a chance at his age, you never can.</p>
<p>I’d say have him take a leave of absence from his college and go for it. If it doesn’t work out, he can return. The experience will be invaluable.</p>
<p>I asked my son to stay in college rather than go for the start-up. Well, that start-up is in the class of Microsoft and Google, but we didn’t take the time to explore. I do know they had far more than 10 people, and he would have received a salary. However, he hadn’t worked there for a month and didn’t know the people. </p>
<p>I like the idea of 6 month trial period. I do know kids who remained with an internship thru Dec., with the hope that the experience would lead to a job after graduation.</p>
<p>We asked our son to return to school for his senior year when he was offered a full-time position at the end of a summer internship. This was also with a Silicon Valley start-up and the compensation package was tremendous (more money that my salary at the time) with benefits and stock options. After much contemplation and deliberation (including the horror that he might miss out on investing in the next big thing), he did decide to return to school and get his degree. The same company offered him another shot at the job after graduating, at a slightly higher salary and comparable benefits and stock options. They even added in relocation expenses. He went from being their third employee to their 15th and the company continues to grow.</p>
<p>Based on this experience, I think the urgency to take the job immediately and forego finishing a degree is short-sighted. Start-ups are a dime a dozen, and if his skills are transferable he should be able to also find a great job after graduation.</p>
<p>I think that if my son asked me that question, I would encourage him to take a leave of absence from his college, see if he could get some part time credits locally, and test his wings on the full time job. There’s no shame in taking a semester or a year off to work.</p>
<p>Most fundings do not come until years later, investors are more risk averse now. One company I was involved with paid lower level people (programmers) market, but as time went and the product begin to take shape, with possibility of invester, instead of giving those programmers more money, they were given some stock options. This company showed some pretty healthy cashflow before first funding came through. It was a nice wind fall for many of those programmers who started with the company. </p>
<p>I know of 2 start-ups now in CA, one hedge fund and another online retail (with new concept). The hedge fund is getting students to create trading models for practically nothing. The online store is getting professional photographers, models, writers, marketers to do a lot of work for free in exchange for some equity. </p>
<p>I just wonder how a 20-22 yr old suppose to know if a start-up has a good business model, and why should an entry level person take on any risk in a company? I think a fair model is to pay entry level people at least 80% market, and 20%(or less) in equity. Whoever has more say about the business model should take on most of the risk (equity).</p>
<p>I would check out the package, make sure it’s not one of those internship without pay where parents end up subsidizing those companies.</p>
<p>Getting a leave of absence for a year may allow your son to see if this start-up really has legs. Although it can take years for a start-up to pay off, you may be able to see in a year how things are trending: is the company continuing to make progress, how is the money situation, are they expanding/hiring, are they bringing aboard outside management, etc… </p>
<p>You don’t need to be at the next Google to learn and build skills for the next job or start-up if this doesn’t work out. You also don’t need to be at the next Google to have financial success. We aren’t talking about someone with 20 years experience and a family to support. This is a young man who can take some risks and go back and finish his degree if it doesn’t work out. Sounds win-win in this economy.</p>
<p>Just make sure the leave of absence is approved for back-up :)</p>
<p>One more thought … if he takes the leave of absence from the college for a year, could he complete half of his remaining credits while working over the next 12 months, then take a leave of absence from the start up and finishes his last semester full time … could that work? He might even be able to take that last semester in California and work part time for the start up.</p>
<p>If he likes the job, I say he should stay there. Even if the job doesn’t pan out, he can always leave later and go back to school if he wants to; meanwhile he’s making valuable contacts for the next startup job.</p>
<p>Early in my career I turned down a job at a very early pre-IPO Microsoft, not one of my better business decisions but oh well. I worked at two Silicon Valley startups neither of which paid off, but which were nevertheless good experiences. Especially the first one-- we were all young and excited. My husband worked at two startups or was it three, and eventually one did pay off somewhat, which was cool.</p>
<p>Thanks for your varied opinions. The job isn’t exactly a freebie, but the cash salary is significantly below the going rate for someone from his school who has a completed CS degree. In Silicon Valley, this appears to be about $120K plus stock options (based on a what a few of his friends who graduated this & last year divulged to him).</p>
<p>He has spoken to a counselor in the main PA campus who is corresponding with someone at the small grad-school campus in Mountainview to see if he can be permitted to complete there, and whether he can get the dual CS/ECE degree or just one.</p>
<p>I would only take the job if I am a key contributor of the startup company and the product of the company has potential success. There is always a job out there.</p>