Taking the job means leaving the current one

[Student]

Hello, and thank you for taking the time to read this. 

Context:
I was introduced to Extreme Ownership only six months ago, yet it has already made me better. 
I currently work for a company which I want to succeed. I believe in their mission. A year ago they took a chance on me and created a new position and put me there to lead a small team. Since that time my knowledge and skill set has increased tremendously, I attribute this to the opportunity they provided me to focus on what I want, as well as the challenges they put in front of me. My team has had some success but it has been a long, trying journey, and I am in a rut. Keeping them and myself excited about our goals is difficult. We have a lot of opportunity, but the journey to success seems to only ever get more daunting. The more we know the more we don't know.

Conflict:
I was approached by a recruiter for a senior position at a 3 year old startup which just completed a very successful series A round. Against my better judgement, as I said I believe in the mission of the company I currently work for, I took the interview. The company is first in market and solving a problem I find interesting with state of the art tools. 
The interview went well and I was offered a position at double my current salary along with equity to build another team. 

Considerations:

Cons:
What message would leaving send to my team?
I have not completed my mission yet, how is this not just cutting and running?
I don't think I deserve that much money.
Will I ever forget that I didn't finish what I started.

Pros:
Life changing salary and the potential for real wealth with the equity.
All the things that come with that, ability to be pay off all debt, set up a life for my children, take care of elderly parents.
General greater risk reward position, the success of the company, and therefore my equity, are a function of my ability to lead and execute. 




Any thoughts or perspective would be appreciated. 

-Student 

[mynewunit]

First things first.  You have already made you decision. And it isn't a bad one.  Here are some second level observations.

Taking a job with a startup is like a professional sports career.  It is wild, intense and typically over in 5 to 10 years. Understand, startups are almost never the job you retire from.  You will have another job after this one. I also can't harsh on changing jobs on the company that gives your first shot. I did it right around age 30. If you are in a good position to make a move, then do it. look around.  Kids? Spouse? House? Family? whatever? 

To leave a job in good standing, it is more important to see what is going to happen when you leave.  Who will take your position? Will it be one or two people?  What skill sets will they need? What needs to leave with you? What needs to stay?
Look at your team. What is holding them back? Who is the next leader? You leaving will create opportunities for others. Help the team to see that.

The one totally off the wall option is to tell the current boss with the intent to let them counter offer.  I don't know how that would play out. Think it through if you are going to try that.

As for not finishing the mission, there are lots of things in life you will start. You will not finish all of them.  It is not you job to finish all of them, just to keep them moving forward not going backwards.

[InsightDude]

Congratulations on the new job, and having good problems to solve.

I would agree with mynewunit in that it sounds like you have made a decision, and I agree it is in the extreme ownership mentality to make sure that your team is taken care of in your absence. This could mean promoting one of your subordinates to your position and staying until they are fully trained and as good as you or finding the right person from the outside to replace you and providing the same type of training to them. I think you can count your mission as fulfilled if you delegate it to the right next person who can fulfill it, but I'm going to stress that that is your responsibility to do so.

Just my two cents.