Top Tier Remote
Hi, I'm Thanasis
- Working remotely for > 4y
- SKGTech co-founder
- DEVit co-organizer
- Founder of netscan.co
Currently working at waldo.photos
3 of 3 in remote series
- 1st: Youtube: "thanpolas howto freelance"
- 2nd: https://speakerdeck.com/thanpolas "Getting serious with remote"
tl;dr:
- You are a company
- You are a brand
- Be industrious
- Be persistent
Today's Menu
- Prerequisites for Top Tier
- Where to find top gigs
- How to get top gigs
- Monetary deals
- How to deal in stock
Prerequisites for Top Tier
Office experience required
- At least 2 years of office experience
- Optimally 5+ years of office experience
- Good understanding of office mechanics
- Developed work ethics
- Discipline and focus
Prerequisites for Top Tier
Remote is not for everyone
- The social factor
- The timing factor
- Communication
- Self driven
- Ability to sell yourself
Prerequisites for Top Tier
About you
- Personal website
- Links to all your digital existence
- Blog is a big plus
- Showcase your work and experience
- Technical / Social Proof
- Github / SO / Projects / Linkedin
- Twitter / Facebook / Talks
- High degree of specialty
Prerequisites for Top Tier
Living on the edge
Top Tier requires nothing less than the best of you; it is championship grade, life-long training.
Prerequisites for Top Tier
Strive to be amongst the 1,000 world's best in your domain of expertise
Where to find Top Gigs
2017 Go To Places
Where to find top gigs
2017 ~meh places
Where to find top gigs
2017 Resources & Companies
Where to find top gigs
How to get top gigs
Attitude
Attitude
Attitude
It takes a while
How to get top gigs
The bigger your skillset and the more expertise you have, the harder it gets to find the right fit
Know what you want
How to get top gigs
- Job security
- Next level tech
- Leading role
- Ground up building
- Multiple part time gigs
... but be pragmatic with what you can
Enjoy it
How to get top gigs
- Take the time to find the right job for you
- Each interview is a learning experience
- Train yourself to read behind the job ad
Be Industrious
How to get top gigs
- Check job boards daily
- Keep track of which companies you contact
- Keep full minutes & notes of your interviews
- Let your network know you are in the lookout
On bootcamps and exercises
How to get top gigs
- It's an acquired skill
- Train yourself
- Time restrictions forces you to unlearn what you know
- Avoid doing them up front
- Ensure your time is not wasted
- 9 out of 10 are bullshit, don't feel bad
On bootcamps and exercises
How to get top gigs
no pressure...
Questions you should ask
How to get top gigs
- Funding status
- Ratio between remote / local workers
- How the company will use remote workers
- Workflow and methodologies used
- Short and Long term hiring plans
Monetary Deals
Warning!
Here be dragons!
The Numbers
Monetary Deals
| Monthly | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | $6,000 | $50 |
| Typical | $10,000 | $90 |
| Can go up to | ??? | $300 |
Why Hourly?
Monetary Deals
- Good for trial period
- No long-term commitment
- Part-time / Occasional
Why Monthly?
Monetary Deals
- Long-term commitment
- Full and Part time
How much to charge hourly?
Monetary Deals
- Required hours per week
- Required total hours (project based vs ongoing)
- Level of expertise required
- Urgency of job
Contract vs Employee
Monetary Deals
Contract
- Higher Pay
- Your insurance
- Your equipment
- Off / sick days are unpaid
- Vacations unpaid
- Maintain your own company
Employee
- Lesser Pay
- Company's insurance
- Company's equipment
- Off / sick days are paid
- Vacations paid
- Self-improvement budget
- No personal company
- Exclusiveness
- Company perks
- Travel
- Gym, hackathons...
OK to sign
Monetary Deals
- NDA
- Contractor's Agreement
- Any per-country required tax documents
NOT OK to sign
Monetary Deals
- NDA with monetary penalties
- Exclusive Agreements
- Rights to work you produce off the clock
- Non compete
...not without monetary equivalent
How to deal in stock
Two types of agreements
How to deal in stock
Stock Options
Gives you the option to buy company stock at a reduced price.
Restricted Stock Agreement (RSA)
This is essentially founder stock that is directly vested over time.
When to use which
How to deal in stock
Stock Options
Post Series-A.
Restricted Stock Agreement (RSA)
Early on, up to employee No 5, give or take.
Percentages for RSA
How to deal in stock
- 3% to 5% for first hire / CTO
- 0.5% to 2% employees 2 to 4
- 0.1% to 0.5% onwards
Percentages for Stock Options
How to deal in stock
- Percentages don't apply much
- BUT, to figure out, ask how many stocks issued in total
- Ask company valuation from last round and compare stock purchase price
Things to check for both cases
How to deal in stock
- Single / Double trigger provisions
- Vesting plan
- 4 years is standard, 3 optimal
- Vesting intervals (quarter vs month)
- Cliffs
- Typical is 1y but in contracting you can do way less
... a lawyer would scream, surely there are more
Why deal in stock
How to deal in stock
Stock's primary purpose is to provide incentives for you to stick around and be more engaged with the company.
If you reduce your price for stock then this is an investment that you make.
Summary
- Stay on top of your game
- Be persistent and industrious
- Know your market value
- Know how to work with stock
- Enjoy life
Shameless plug time
Thank you
Questions?
Top Tier Remote
By thanpolas
Top Tier Remote
This is the 3rd and final part of the remote series, in this presentation, we talk about how to remote for top tier senior developers.
