How to Recruit a Senior Leader Away From FAANG When You Can't Match the Comp
Martin is 38. He has two kids — ages 4 and 7 — a mortgage, $3,400 a month in daycare, and a FAANG offer for $580K in total comp with liquid RSUs that vest predictably every quarter. Your offer: $280K base and 1.2% equity in a company valued at $25M with $6M in ARR and 18 months of runway. On paper, you are asking him to cut his income nearly in half and bet his family's financial stability on a percentage of a company that might not exist in three years. Martin didn't take this third call because of the money. He took it because he's spent 12 years climbing a ladder that leads to a title he already has, managing 300 engineers who build features he doesn't care about, in meetings where his ideas don't change anything. He wants to build something. But "wanting to build something" doesn't pay for daycare. This call is where Martin decides whether your startup is a real opportunity or a romantic detour he can't afford.
Why This Conversation Goes Wrong
You sell the vision without showing the math. "Imagine what 1.2% could be worth" is a sentence Martin has heard from every startup founder. He's an engineer. He thinks in numbers. If you can't walk through the equity math — valuation, dilution, realistic exit scenarios — he hears hand-waving, not opportunity.
You dismiss the financial sacrifice. "It's not about the money, it's about the opportunity" is a sentence you can say when you don't have two kids in daycare. Martin's salary cut is real. His partner's concern is real. Treating it as a minor detail insults his intelligence and his family.
You create artificial urgency. "We need an answer by Friday" makes Martin feel like a transaction, not a partner. He's making a career-defining decision that affects his entire family. Pressure breeds resentment, not commitment.
You oversell and under-share. Martin has seen founders who pitch unicorn outcomes and hide burn rates. If you talk about the $100M exit without mentioning the 18 months of runway, you haven't sold the opportunity — you've concealed the risk. And Martin will find it anyway.
The Equity Reality
Senior candidates don't join startups because of equity stories. They join because of equity math. The Equity Reality framework presents the opportunity with the same rigor an engineer would apply to a technical decision: assumptions, variables, scenarios, and honest uncertainty.
Lay out the full picture unprompted
"Your comp would be $280K base plus 1.2% equity at our current $25M valuation. We have $6M ARR, $4M in the bank, and 18 months of runway at current burn. I want to walk through what 1.2% looks like under three scenarios, including dilution." Volunteering the complete picture before he asks tells Martin something important about you as a leader: you default to transparency.
Walk through the math honestly
"In a Series B at $80M, after dilution, your stake is roughly worth $650K-$750K on paper. In an exit at $200M, it's $1.8M after preferences. And in the case where this doesn't work, it's worth zero." Three scenarios. Real numbers. Martin doesn't need the upside inflated — he needs the framework to evaluate it himself.
Honor the sacrifice with specificity
"You'd be taking a $240K reduction in year-one total comp. I know you have two kids and a mortgage. I would not ask someone to make that decision lightly." This sentence costs you nothing in negotiation power and earns everything in respect. Martin needs to know you understand what you're asking.
Show the work that matters more than the number
"At your current company, you manage 300 engineers. Here, you'd build the engineering organization from zero. You'd set the architecture, the culture, the hiring bar, and the technical direction. That's the work that creates a career you talk about for 20 years." This is not a pitch. It's a mirror. You're reflecting back the reason Martin took this call in the first place.
Demonstrate founder commitment without desperation
If Martin asks "are you in this for the long haul?" — answer with something real. Share a mistake you made and how you recovered. Show vulnerability. "I've been wrong about a lot of things in the last two years. Here's one example. But I haven't thought about doing anything else." Founder commitment is not stated. It is demonstrated through honesty about the hard parts.
The moment that changes everything
Martin already wants to join. He needs you to help him explain it to his wife.
Martin has been thinking about leaving BigCorp for two years. He's bored. He's unfulfilled. He daydreams about building something that matters. He didn't need three conversations to evaluate your startup — he needed three conversations to build enough conviction to have the hard conversation at home. When Martin goes home tonight, his partner will ask: "What does the offer look like?" If all Martin can say is "the equity could be worth a lot," the conversation ends with "that sounds risky." But if Martin can say "the base is $280K, the equity is 1.2% at a $25M valuation, here's what it looks like at Series B and at exit including dilution, and the founder walked me through the runway and the risk honestly" — that is a conversation his partner can engage with. You're not just selling to Martin. You're arming Martin to sell to the person he trusts most. The clearer and more honest your math, the easier that kitchen table conversation becomes.
What to Say (and What Not To)
Instead of
"The equity could be worth millions."
Try this
"Here's what 1.2% looks like in three scenarios: a Series B at $80M, an exit at $200M, and the case where it doesn't work out."
Instead of
"It's not about the money at this stage."
Try this
"You'd be taking a $240K reduction in year one. I want to be direct about that trade-off and what you're getting in return."
Instead of
"We're going to be huge — you should get in early."
Try this
"We have $6M ARR, 18 months of runway, and I think we reach Series B in 12-14 months. Here's why — and here's what could go wrong."
Instead of
"We need an answer this week."
Try this
"Talk it through with your partner. I'll answer any question either of you have. This should be a decision you're both excited about."
Instead of
"What's holding you back?"
Try this
"What would you build first if you joined? Because the thing that keeps pulling me back to this conversation is the work you'd own."
The Bigger Picture
A 2024 LinkedIn Talent Solutions report found that 67% of senior engineering leaders who moved from large companies to startups cited "impact and ownership" as the primary motivator — above equity value, above company mission. But 73% of those same leaders said the final decision required "a conversation with a partner or family member," making the clarity of the financial picture a practical prerequisite to the emotional decision.
Carta data shows that the average VP of Engineering at a pre-Series B startup holds 0.8-1.5% equity. The candidates who negotiate effectively don't ask for more equity — they ask for more information: valuation methodology, dilution models, and liquidation preferences. Founders who volunteer this information unprompted close senior hires 2.1x faster than those who wait to be asked.
Practice This Conversation
12 minutes · AI voice roleplay with Martin Aldric
Reading about this is step one. Practicing it changes everything. Sonitura lets you rehearse this exact conversation with Martin Aldric, a realistic AI vp of engineering at a series d company, evaluating startup life who reacts to your words in real time. It takes 12 minutes. Martin's kitchen table conversation will determine whether he joins. Practice giving him the words that make that conversation possible.
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