<i>&gt; because tech is a small town and I shouldn’t burn any bridges</i><p>to anyone out there listening - it&#x27;s not.  technology is a huge, huge, huge, huge established industry.  think about it - what does &quot;tech&quot; even mean?  it&#x27;s an umbrella term for 4 or 5 classifications that all kind of bleed into each other - including finance.  in addition, every non-tech company has a shitload of tech in it.  gee whiz.  it&#x27;s almost as if technology is critical to the functioning of the modern business enterprise!<p>this is fear-based thinking at its worst.  this is the kind of silly thing scared, gutless engineers say to each other by the watercooler while the business guys laugh out loud and backslap each other in the proverbial smoke-filled room.<p>the most powerful thing you can do in technology (and all business, really) is not give a fuck what the other guy thinks (the &quot;guy&quot; being your negotiating counter-party).  stick to your guns or just take the money and run.  if you waffle, you&#x27;re sunk by your own torpedo.