This essay is brought to you by Divvy. Experience the future of expense management and save up to 300 hours annually. Join us for a demo this month and receive a $100 Amazon gift card as a bonus.
This week I am a slug whose body is a fusion of cough drops, tissues, and NyQuil. (i.e. I am very sick). As such, please enjoy a republish of one my spiciest takes.
After this came out, I had a couple of founders message me that startups are different now and are just as safe as big tech companies. This morning I checked in on those people to see how things were going. Their startups no longer exist...you probably shouldn't work at a startup.
TL;DR
- This article is for someone trying to decide whether to work at an early-stage, venture-backed startup.
- There is a romantic vision of startup employment that doesn’t hold up under close scrutiny.
- Business model risk is extreme and the financial opportunity cost is significant.
- Typically we assume that a startup is a better overall employment experience, this probably isn’t true for most people
- There are some circumstances where working at a startup makes sense! But it is important to go in with open eyes.
