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The idea is that we stay an independent subsidiary of the larger company. In essence they take over ownership of the company, but we gain the advantage of not having to prime ourselves in the market to get larger (and international) contracts. It's not all "maanskyn en rose" running a company and having to make sure you always have enough cash flowing in to cover salaries and other expenses. Your staff are your first priority and you work in the hope that "one day" you'll be able to give yourself a raise (never mind bonuses). I haven't had a raise in the last 3 years and I've never in my life experienced the mythical "bonus". So, in short, it is very tempting having a large player in the industry showing interest in us and I can then get back to focusing on what I'm really good at - building software, frameworks and tools for developers to do their jobs better.![]()
That does sound like a win-win. I'm lucky (?) enough to also work for a small company, we have shitloads of work, but constant cashflow issues, and with me wanting to start my own company some day, I'm keeping a close eye on these sort of problems and how to deal with them (or not to deal with them). Seeing the directors and some of the senior guys here forego salaries every now and then does put the romantic side of running your own business into perspective.
So ja, someone taking care of the marketing and feeding you work while you maintain some autonomy sounds wonderful.
Not knowing much of the infrastructure side of IT, that sounds fairly specific to your environment. I'm always quite wary of interviewing candidates solely on the tech and processes I use on a daily basis. I rather look at their ability to learn, their fit into the company culture and their dedication to helping the company grow as a whole. I guess being in a small startup (11 people) you can always get people up to speed on the tech you use and rather focus on someone you can invest time in. A high staff turnover is the death of any small company.
I think that's our biggest problem. About 50% of the engineers has less than 5 years here. It's beginning to look up now, where more than 80% has more than 2 years, but I'm also sensing some turnover coming in the next 6 months.