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Discussion on: What's It Like Working at a Startup?

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Matthieu Cneude • Edited

Well, as others have stated, "it depends".

Here's some keypoints, after working in 5 different ones (and a big company):

  • You'll have more responsibilities, and the management might listen to you a bit more. Or not at all, you're just a technical after all (sarcasm).
  • It can be really crazy if they have no idea what they're doing, i.e no vision, no clearly defined audience, no market fit. If they don't understand what developing a software means, death march can be the way to go. Burnout will be the result.
  • Early on, everybody is relax, the company has a lot of money from investors, welcome Christmas parties and team events. When investors begin to ask for their money back, it's somehow less joyful.
  • Business wise, it's often a rollercoaster.
  • If the startup is still small and your colleagues are nice, you can learn a lot, business wise and technically as well.

So, in short, I think you need to know a minimum where you're putting your feet in, because it ranges from pretty good to very, very bad.