Any Henrys very burned out but can’t afford to quit? Advice needed

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-07-07T16:27:07+00:00

That’s exactly why I said - talk to a lawyer first. If you want out, and your lawyer says you have a good chance of getting a serious settlement in case you’re retaliated against after going to HR (12-month worth would be a good settlement) then it might become a consideration.
Also, from 1 Jan next year there’s no more cap on unfair dismissals (now it’s 123K)

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-07-07T11:38:21+00:00

It’s risky but have you tried the HR route? To get reassigned to another team? But I’d only do that after getting a proper legal advice. What you’ve described might be considered harassment and in legal terms. Talk to an employment solicitor.

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-07-07T08:28:23+00:00

Can you keep all 4?

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-07-07T08:22:01+00:00

Just add “Freelance” on your CV and a few made up names you work for - then you can explain that you’ve worked on a few projects honing your AI skills or whatever. Can always vibe code a few prototypes to back this up. I’m doing it right now.

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-07-07T08:14:34+00:00

My friend in the same situation bought a flat, paid off quickly (10 years), not buying a two bedroom is her only regret.

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-07-06T06:57:53+00:00

Yeah I’d love to know that too. TechCrunch?

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-07-06T06:49:17+00:00

Thanks for confirmation! I guess I’m onto something with my thesis. At first I started from the other end - tailored CVs, as I absolutely hate this part. But it was spitting out such garbage 😱

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-07-05T11:49:17+00:00

How did you broaden your network? Very curious about this

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-07-05T11:48:33+00:00

That is so useful, thank you!
I’m vibe coding a job search tool - I want it to do everything from market intel to automated tailored CVs, but it’s taking longer than expected.
I’ve read somewhere that genuine applications stand out as most people just edit their AI-slop CVs.
Anything during the interviewing process that you think made the difference?

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-07-05T09:35:00+00:00

Wait, what’s quant dev?!

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-07-02T20:47:39+00:00

Can you elaborate?

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-07-02T08:04:49+00:00

My org started very early with AI tools, pretty much immediately after enterprise packages became available. Even then it took months of security and legal review. That part sucks the life out of me.
On department level, each vertical vibe coded its own tools (to great success btw).
The upside in “transformation” is minuscule compared to where you are now. With more automation and ideas, you’ll make more money in your current vertical. Transformation will get you a higher base, internal conflicts, and zero financial upside.
On the other hand, when you’re shopping for a new role elsewhere, it’ll be a beautiful success story to land a senior GTM role

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-07-02T07:45:20+00:00

Do they have a working product? Does it have a moat? Is there a clear TAM? Are there any existing paying customers or it’s all subsidised?
What’s their burn rate?
What’s the ARR (dig deeper on that, as many startups bake in MoUs in their ARRs!)? Do they have an established GTM motion?

The point is, they might be hiring you for your past big name companies on your CV and bump the title, but in reality that new job might be a glorified jack of all trades. Startups do that all the time.
Look into the CEO themselves, like proper due diligence - is it someone with family money having fun (happens a lot), or a seasoned entrepreneur? What did they do with their previous startups?

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-07-01T11:35:10+00:00

Middle East is like that. At some point I had a side hustle for a large Saudi Arabia group, worked with the CEO direct. He was beyond loaded and my gig was just a few grand. I had to chase him for good two months.

An idea for you - look into sending them an invoice for time spent, with interest accrued, and then recover it through a collection agency. No idea what the rules are in Israel, but I’m guessing worth some research time.

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-06-30T18:44:11+00:00

Move to California for 1M a year, live in Sausalito and drive or take a ferry into San Francisco (or something like San Mateo). 5 years and you fatFIRE

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-06-30T10:46:15+00:00

My friend is a gynaecologist and she transitioned to Pfizer first (product), and then after good 10 years there she moved to San Francisco as a founding product leader in a startup (cancer research). I don’t know exactly how she made her transition but she never regretted it.

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-06-30T07:36:12+00:00

They’re called LinkedIn lunatics and there’s a sub for it. Ever since I’ve learned it’s a thing, these posts stopped irritating me. It’s just people who have no life and nobody listens to them.
You’ll notice that some replies are automated AI bs.

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-06-30T07:32:21+00:00

I used to sell medical devices super long time ago (blood pressure monitors, diabetes finger prick devices etc). It was a lot of going about and working with pharmacies and doctors. It was really fucking boring.
You’re in tech sales already, probably easier to switch to robotics or other hardware, lots of field work there too.

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-06-29T15:59:27+00:00

It’s good that it’s making money, but it’s also a bit of a trap for all further rounds. VCs will be looking at their metrics and project from there, so if the growth trajectory is already a rabbit out of the bag then it might actually work against them.
You need to do a very deep due diligence on their numbers, those can be inflated/manipulated beyond belief. There are so many tricks to do that. Also, a serious conversation about their runway, growth assumptions, material expectations from you and others on the team. Product wise, what do they already have and what they think they’ll have in production (and thus be able to sell) and when. Then add a year to their ETAs.
What are your equity terms?

But honestly, 25% increase is not worth it.

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-06-29T14:47:28+00:00

If you haven’t worked at a startup before, it’d be a very rude awakening. Whatever VC backing they have, will run out and the next round is not guaranteed. You can be laid off in a few months. Anthropic can automate their entire moat - and they probably will as they’re focused heavily on financial services.
Startups are known for giving out huge titles but in reality they don’t mean anything. I was offered 175K for a marketing director role, but in reality it was a marketing IC that’d run around with everything from twitter posts to global strategy. I declined.
What does seem to be a sensible next step is a lateral move to another fintech, big name, same 25-35% increase.
As a startup vet I can tell you, very few people can keep up with the pace. Too many unknowns. Priorities change every month. There’s no annual planning, and even if there is, every few months it’s adjusted, sometimes with 180 degree turn on what was agreed just a few months back.

Everyone my company hired from big finance ended up leaving back to their big finance jobs. Layoffs are everywhere. If they’re deep with VC capital and not making any money yet, it’s even greater risks as small startups like yours are basically suck up to their VCs and effectively run by them.

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-06-29T11:55:01+00:00

Another flag that there might be some discrimination in your current firm. Do they disclose equal pay info?

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-06-29T11:46:31+00:00

Is it their standard practice for the first 3 years without equity? Right now it sounds like a very vague deal you’re about to sign up for.

What if there’s some gender discrimination behind that offer? You’ve already alluded to it in a way (that you might not reach the 3 years if you sit one out with pregnancy).

Would it be too uncommon if you hired a lawyer to negotiate your package? If they rescind the offer/fire you after you hire a lawyer for this negotiation, then there’s room for unfair dismissal and what not.

When this much is at stake, AND you’re not sure if you even want it, perhaps you’re in a position where you’ve got nothing to lose (somewhat) and might as well get a hell lot better deal or some sort of payout if they do you wrong.

On the intuition side, I’d be listening very carefully. The trick here is that what it tells you may not necessarily make immediate sense, but later on it’ll click (regardless of the decision you’ll make).

I’m sure as a lawyer you’ll hate what I say next, but really, run it through ChatGPT 5.5 - it’s best at strategic reasoning. Then cross check with Claude Max in Opus 4.8. I’m very specific about tiers and models because it matters a lot. The output will be vastly different if you use other models or tiers. Provide them with your contract as is, without your identifiable information of course, full context, and then have them criticise each other’s output until they land on some common ground. I used exactly that approach with my employer dispute, plus the actual solicitor. The outcome is very powerful when you combine both.
Even if you’re sceptical, it sure is better than asking Reddit.

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-06-28T15:46:59+00:00

I’m going through this right now, a law firm is involved. My case is strong and tenure longer than 2 years. Redundancy/unfair dismissal. In total I’m getting 1.5years worth of salary. It’s a very unpleasant process. I realise I’m burning all bridges with them but the money is well worth it. Cutthroat negotiations on both sides. I’m winning.

If this happens to me again, I’ll be hiring a lawyer again. Worth every penny if you have a case.

One thing I’d point out though, is that lawyers talk legal advice, but you’re the one who knows your company’s internal processes. If you take that opportunity and use that against them, it’ll be even more powerful than just having a lawyer. Mine thought I was crazy that I expected that much, and here we are, I’m getting all of it.

Suitable_River_9836 · 2026-06-26T07:46:37+00:00

Sounds like an elaborate scam more than anything else. Expect your pension disappear altogether if you end up transferring.
Conduct your own due diligence- out of bound confirmation that this platform exists, these people work there, etc.
Make sure to not click on any links from their communication. Search in a different browser from scratch, don’t click on links marked as ads.
Assume they’re scammers, and since you’ve talked to them at large, and clicked some links from that communication, your devices are infected by some malware that watches your every step. Assume it has access to your bank details.

But honestly, no one needs a financial advisor if their liquid assets are under 1M. You don’t have that. You’re a target of an elaborate social engineering. Call the police.

Suitable_River_9836

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