Goldman Sachs vs Startup

Hello guys
I recently joined wallstreetoasis and find it very helpful.
I am computer science masters student. I have two full time offers in my hand and I am really confused to which one to choose.
First one is Goldman Sachs. My position there is new associate programmer analyst (position for freshers). Other offer is from a financial buy side startup with just 10 15 people in it. Position over there is software developer.
Salary wise, startup company is offering me 20% more base salary than GS. But it lacks in other perks like 401k.

I would like your advise on pros and cons of joining startup company vs joining big company like GS.

3 Comments
 
Best Response

As far as startups go, you've basically given us no relevant information other than headcount.

Does it have funding? If so, then from whom? Does the investor know the space well? Are they just piggybacking on the idea or are they actually adding value? Is the company making any sort of material revenue? Is there opportunity for you to receive some significant package of options? Is this a truly unique idea or an imitation that thinks it can materially differentiate itself? How saturated is the space? How complex is the technology? How many other engineers developers are there already? Does this company have an active IP strategy? Who are the founders? What sort of exits have they had in the past? Who do they know in the valley?

Figure out the answers to a lot of these questions before making a decision. A 15 person FinTech startup can just as easily be an $500m company or a -$5m company, it's important to know the difference.

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