The Great Career Reshuffling: Should I Stay, Or Should I Go?

<p>In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ and Kyle unpack the career anxiety spreading across tech. They talk about AI, private-company wealth, career leverage, title vs. cash vs. equity, and why the smartest move may be getting brutally clear on the game you’re actually playing.</p><p>—</p><p>SPONSORS:</p><p>beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow, monetize, and own their audience without piecing together a stack. Its all-in-one platform brings together newsletters, websites, analytics, automations, and monetization tools, and now supports podcasts, webinars, and MCP workflows. Kyle even used beehiiv’s MCP in Claude to audit his site, prioritize SEO fixes, and analyze subscriber trends. Try it free at<a href="https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle"> <u>https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle</u></a> and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.</p><p>Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at <a href="https://www.tabs.com/run"><u>https://www.tabs.com/run</u></a></p><p>Lightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at<a href="https://www.lightfield.app"> <u>https://www.lightfield.app</u></a> and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.</p><p>—</p><p>LINKS: </p><p>Mostly Metrics: <a href="https://www.mostlymetrics.com"><u>https://www.mostlymetrics.com</u></a></p><p>CJ on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/"><u>https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/</u></a></p><p>Growth Unhinged: <a href="https://www.growthunhinged.com/"><u>https://www.growthunhinged.com/</u></a></p><p>Kyle on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/"><u>https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/</u></a></p><p>Slacker Stuff: <a href="https://www.slackerstuff.com/"><u>https://www.slackerstuff.com/</u></a></p><p>Ben on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/"><u>https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/</u></a></p><p>—</p><p>RELATED EPISODES:</p><p>A CFO Explains Secondaries</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/pENvBuXhGuk"><u>https://youtu.be/pENvBuXhGuk</u></a></p><p>Sam Jacobs of Pavilion</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/8X-JVOF-1A0"><u>https://youtu.be/8X-JVOF-1A0</u></a></p><p>Bruno Annicq of Wellhub</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/dfjSjPAXEEk"><u>https://youtu.be/dfjSjPAXEEk</u></a></p><p>—</p><p>TIMESTAMPS:</p><p>0:00 SF trip and CFO dinners</p><p>1:27 A consistent feeling: am I on the right thing?</p><p>2:47 Anthropic secondary: 75 people hit $30M cap</p><p>3:06 Anecdote 1: CFO at 50M ARR SaaS</p><p>7:58 Anecdote 2: banker pivoting to defense tech</p><p>8:03 Cybersecurity: best and worst of times</p><p>10:40 Sponsors — beehiiv | Tabs | Lightfield</p><p>13:40 Graduation speaker gets booed for AI speech</p><p>15:10 The comparison trap: luck vs. merit in SaaS</p><p>17:54 What are you maximizing for?</p><p>18:29 Is leaving tech a real path?</p><p>21:07 Advice for the great reshuffling</p><p>21:51 Lever 1: maximize equity</p><p>22:51 Lever 2: maximize base cash</p><p>23:30 Lever 3: maximize title and opportunity</p><p>24:00 Lever 4: lifestyle and autonomy</p><p>24:52 CJ&#39;s career story: consulting at 58k</p><p>28:28 OpenView: pay cut for long-term growth</p><p>29:13 Is there career arbitrage righ