💼
The council recommends
On: "I have a startup offer at a 40% pay cut with 0.4% equity, or I can stay at my corporate job. Which should I take?"
Top pick
Stay at your corporate job — the current startup terms don't justify the risk
All three experts agree: a 40% pay cut for just 0.4% equity is a poor risk/reward trade for most people. Even in a successful exit, dilution across future funding rounds typically shrinks 0.4% to a fraction of a percent, unlikely to offset years of foregone salary. Unless you have exceptional conviction in the founders and market, plus a strong personal financial cushion, the math doesn't favor jumping. Your best move is to stay put now and treat this as a negotiation starting point, not a final offer.
Runner-up
Go back to the startup and negotiate hard: push for equity in the 1-2% range (with clear vesting/cliff terms) or a much smaller pay cut (15-20%), and ask for details on runway, traction, and cap table before deciding.
Wildcard
Stay corporate but get startup exposure on the side — advise, angel-invest small amounts, or moonlight on a related project — to build conviction and relationships without sacrificing income, so you're ready to jump on a genuinely superior opportunity later.
Best time
Don't decide under artificial urgency — most startups will give you a few days to a couple weeks to negotiate terms. Use that window to get equity/vesting details in writing, assess the company's runway and traction, and only reconsider if the offer materially improves; otherwise stay and revisit if a better-structured opportunity arises.
90%
aligned
All three experts converge strongly on staying at the corporate job given the current terms, differing only in tone and the specific threshold for renegotiation.
Your turnFacing a decision like this?Council puts 3 AI models on your question and gives you one verdict. Free, no signup.
Not on this panel
Claude Fable 5.1 and Gemini 3.1 Pro didn't sit on this council.
Council Pro seats the strongest model from every lab.
Where they agree
✓0.4% equity is too small to offset a 40% pay cut given typical dilution and exit odds
✓The default recommendation is to stay at the corporate job under current terms
✓The startup offer should be renegotiated (higher equity, smaller pay cut, or both) before being taken seriously
✓Personal financial runway and conviction in the founders/market are key conditions that could flip the decision
Where they diverge
↔OpenAI frames the acceptable renegotiated terms as either a 15-20% pay cut OR ≥1% equity, while Anthropic wants ≥1-2% equity specifically
↔Anthropic explicitly proposes a middle path of staying corporate while angel-investing or advising, which the others don't emphasize
↔Confidence levels differ (68-85), with Gemini most confident in staying and Anthropic most open to nuance
↔Anthropic adds a specific runway requirement (18+ months) for the startup itself, which the others don't quantify
The 3 takes
GPT-5.6 TerraLens · risk-adjusted compensation math
Stay corporate unless the startup improves terms to a 15-20% pay cut or at least 1% equity with clear vesting/dilution terms.
78% confident
Claude Sonnet 5Lens · negotiation leverage & personal runway
Stay corporate unless equity is renegotiated to 1-2%+ and the startup shows credible traction and runway; otherwise consider hybrid exposure via advising/angel investing.
68% confident
Gemini 3.1 Flash LiteLens · statistical outcome probability
Stay corporate unless you have substantial financial cushion and extreme conviction in the specific startup's product-market fit.
85% confident
Related sessions
Take the council with you
Ask, follow up and revisit every verdict from your phone.
Synthesized from 3 independent expert passes. Treat as informed input, not a guarantee. Your own judgment is the final vote.