“Vinay, just listen to me. I’m telling you as much as I can – you have to trust me. Don’t do this.”
Vinay leaned back in the chair, nervousness giving way to a heady sense of pride. This was unbelievable – the CMO himself was personally asking him to withdraw his resignation! Now they finally understood his importance, how much he was benefiting the company – and now that he was quitting, they were shitting bricks.
Vinay had joined the startup straight out of college, a carefree and extroverted personality fitting him well into a business-development profile that he’d excelled in for a year. Then the pinch of a relatively low salary started making itself felt, especially when he met up with his other college buddies, who despite perennially bitching about psycho bosses and crazy targets, seemed to be able to afford distinctly pricier phones, daru, and bikes than him; they partied at hotter places, dressed flashier, and ate better. He would half-listen, enviously taking in everything, and after every catchup he would beg them for contacts, if any openings were there, any way to get what they had. And last week, it finally happened – 2 quick rounds of interviews, a brief negotiation, and an offer letter in hand offering to literally double what he took home today.
He’d walked – no, floated into office, fired off his resignation letter, and sat back and relaxed. There had been a great many rumors flying around the last few months – this buyout, that merger, seniors locked up in conference rooms with clients and who knows at all hours… he’d grown tired of waiting, for promised payoffs and vague rewards that never seemed to materialize. It was time to move on.
Now, he felt sorry for the man sitting across the desk from him. He must be regretting not giving a better joining offer, or a better hike – but that was life, he mused. The average stay, the good move on, to bigger and better things. It was a pity, but he knew he could do better – it was time to spread his wings and fly.
“Thank you for your kind words, sir,” he said, keeping a straight face. “But I believe I will have better growth and career in this move, and they are paying much better too.”
The CMO leaned back with a sigh. “I see you’ve made up your mind to go, and I can’t stop you – you’ve been a good person to have on the team, and I’m sure you’ll do well in sales – but I just wish you’d think about this once. There’s only so much I’m allowed to say right now – but remember, your ESOPs will get cashed out at face value if you quit now.”
Vinay grinned inside. Those ESOPs were worth practically nothing – he would cover that within a few months at his new job. “That’s all right, sir,” he smiled cheerfully. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
And then it was over; the handshake, the farewell party, the full & final settlement, which, when added to a cashed-out EPF, made a nice down payment for a brand-new bike, and he was off into a better life.
Six months later, the startup got acquired by a very well-known MNC. All his former colleagues got paid out an equivalent-value amount in the acquiring partner’s equity; three of the people he had shared the floor with bought apartments, four got married, five took sabbaticals and went backpacking through Europe or Asia, six went to do an MBA, seven paid off their MBAs, eight bought cars, nine set up their own businesses, and ten partied harder for months than he ever had his entire life.
And suddenly Vinay found himself right back where he had started – on the outside, struggling, looking into a glam life full of luxuries and plenty, that he should have had all along – and missed out on.
Poll: What would you have done, if you had been in the same place?
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Bad With Money 
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