The best reason to work at a startup is if you are a founder and have significant equity. The other reasons to join are if you are enamored with a technology that they specifically use or want to get experience quickly wearing a lot of hats.
There are no other reasons to work at a startup. You will work much harder, for less money, and poor benefits relative to larger companies. You work in uncertainty. Unless you are a founder, you will not make a lot of money in an exit unless the company hits the lottery and becomes google.
There is one other reason: you just can't deal with megacorp politics.
I don't mean to suggest that startups don't have politics. They certainly do. But startup politics is different from megacorp politics, in ways that I can't really explain. All I know is that I feel much better at startups, even when there's a lot of politics flying around, than I do at megacorps, having worked at both.
This is the kind of advice that is probably right, but when wrong is very wrong.
For example, I’d guess the risk-adjusted return is better at a Series B company with product market fit, however you still have to be able to pick well.
But knowing a dozen people who made enough money to retire from joining early-ish at a company that had done a lot of the hard stuff I’ve gotta say it’s certainly not always true.
A large, 200+ employee private company is what 20 years ago would have been a public company before all the internet bubble shenanigans stopped that. If it has revenues and a proven business model, it’s definitely less risky than a small startup.
I’m specifically talking about seed stage startups, where the risk vs. reward for normal employees is not favorable. Best to join these companies for experience over dreams of money.
I have worked at several startups. So far my payout from stock options has been a $7,000 loss, but maybe some of these shares will be worth something... someday!
My career was accelerated because of all the experience I had, and in terms of title and skills I got ahead faster.
But in terms of total compensation and the number of hairs remaining on my head, I would have much more wealth and many more hairs had I played it safe at a megacorp.
Having been on both sides of the fence, mega corps have politics so bad that you want to rip out your hair in addition to it falling out. I can’t honestly say one is better or worse than the other - I think what matters most is are you bringing enough in to survive reasonably comfortable, and do you have a reasonable enough amount of time/energy for your family or personal pursuits on the nights/weekends?
We had our photo taken during an acquisition, and of the engineering staff, 3/4 of us (me included) were all going magnificently bald by the time of the acquisition. It's probably safe to say we would have lost most of our hair anyhow, but it was amusing to see us in photos circa 2006 vs 2013. I would say the due diligence probably cost me a few percent of my hair...
Looking at my uncles and brother, I would have lost this hair either way. But I have certainly been in a lot of stressful situations. One time I took a paycut to minimum wage that lasted 6 months! Not fun.
But in tech, any halfway talented engineer can get a job in 5 seconds, so the risk isn’t that bad.
It’s just the hours, the stress, the uncertainty, the low pay relative to megacorps, and the founders who make 1000x payout if they manage to sell it.
You can surely find a new job at the worst in a few months and no well-paid engineer should be living without a few months' liquid savings anyway (emergency fund). So, every time people say startups are dangerous because they can go bankrupt, they're full of bullshit. Unless you live in rural US, or very inexperienced, there is no way in hell you'll burn all your emergency fund before finding a new job. Especially in tech heavens like SF, Boston, Seattle etc, it should be pretty easy to find a job even the day you're laid off. This is, unless tech industry collapses. Which I suppose is quite possible, but currently there is no evidence this is happening.
There are no other reasons to work at a startup. You will work much harder, for less money, and poor benefits relative to larger companies. You work in uncertainty. Unless you are a founder, you will not make a lot of money in an exit unless the company hits the lottery and becomes google.