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Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2019?

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Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2019?

#61

Post by theyinwhy »

neokantian wrote: post #45

Nowadays, a good startup is one that is going to run into massive legal issues: Uber, Airbnb, any cryptocurrency-related company, or any similar platform that is going to ransack vested interests. Otherwise, it will not make a difference. I mostly do it because I like the fact that the new concept may end up bankrupting entire self-serving industries. I would have loved joining Uber back then, and get a kick from pus…

First and foremost Uber is disrupting social security. Not sure why that's sth. to look forward to ...

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2019?

#62

Post by p1esk »

sanxiyn wrote: post #14
scarmig wrote: post #8

Not much of a change. It's still suboptimal from a financial point of view to join an early stage startup: yes, you will be screwed out of the fruits of your labor even on the off chance that your company hits a jackpot. There are people much more sophisticated than you or I whose entire job is to figure out how to steal equity from you. To the extent there's been a change, the economics of startups and tech are more…

The current Uber/Airbnb is, without question, ByteDance.

Why is this downvoted?

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2019?

#64

Post by [deleted] »

sametmax wrote: post #55
mlthoughts2018 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Usually this is false. Startups are some of the most aggressive users of whiteboard trivia, live coding, etc., to filter out candidates who don’t fit precisely the mold of people desperate to work at FAANG companies.

That seems to fit exactly what I said: > Start ups will give a chance to junior with a weak resume if he/she can demonstrate skills. They don't hire you on a resume, you need to demonstrate skills. Wether it's a good way to do so is another matter. I had interviews with startup not even asking for my resume, or testing my skills. But I never had a startup getting me through many hoops in the hiring process. 4 steps o…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2019?

#65

Post by vinayak147 »

I have tried recruiting many of my close friends from FAANG companies to my well funded startup.

It starts with them talking about feeling miserable in their jobs and that they badly want to quit.

I then ask them to try something new, join my (or another) startup (or another company). Then they get paralyzed by the pros/cons of various options, (salary, stock, commute, role, title etc. etc.) they end up not making any changes at all and continue feeling dissatisfied.

I have come to believe that dwelling on these pros/cons doesn’t help anyone and just causes analysis/paralysis related misery that is completely unnecessary.

It is better to pick one thing and then focus 100% on making the most of it. After a while, if you notice it has stopped giving you joy/learning/growth, make a switch, try something different and again focus on making the most of that.

Being clear in your head about what you want to do, why you want to do it and aligning your actions/efforts 100% with that clarity is the most valuable thing there is to have in life. The rest is noise.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2019?

#66

Post by matfil »

Agathos wrote: post #51
babaganoosh89 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you have against ping pong?

It's noisy and distracting when it's taking place ten feet away from your open plan workspace.

This is far more compelling as an argument against open plans than against table tennis.

Taking a break from a problem can be really valuable. Personally, I skew more "take a walk" than "table tennis", but having some indoor options for people who prefer those (or rainy days...) doesn't seem such a bad thing.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2019?

#67

Post by nojvek »

buf wrote: post #40

I'm the head of engineering for a startup, was 3rd engineer at Eventbrite, built my own startup valued >$1M, turned down 2 offers at Google. Been doing startups 10+ years. I do startups because I have a problem communicating my ideas in a way to influence larger organizations to do the things that interest me. Simple as that. If I have a theory to move the needle, in a startup, I can do it, analyze it, and launch it…

This x 1000. At the end of the day, I get joy from building things that people love. At a startup, there isn’t much in the way of making it happen if it aligns with the vision of the startup.

At a big co, you’re mostly playing bigco politics and ass kissing to climb up the career ladder.

I love startups and growth stage companies. There’s a ton of opportunities to make impact and learn new things.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2019?

#68

Post by nojvek »

joeblau wrote: post #34
avip wrote: post #18

There are 3 potential reasons to join a startup: 1. You're the founder 2. You have no other choice 3. You think it'll be fun Just switch-case that.

You need your default case :)

You have no other choice should be the default case.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2019?

#69

Post by mlthoughts2018 »

sametmax wrote: post #55
mlthoughts2018 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Usually this is false. Startups are some of the most aggressive users of whiteboard trivia, live coding, etc., to filter out candidates who don’t fit precisely the mold of people desperate to work at FAANG companies.

That seems to fit exactly what I said: > Start ups will give a chance to junior with a weak resume if he/she can demonstrate skills. They don't hire you on a resume, you need to demonstrate skills. Wether it's a good way to do so is another matter. I had interviews with startup not even asking for my resume, or testing my skills. But I never had a startup getting me through many hoops in the hiring process. 4 steps o…

But whiteboarding / algo trivia are not activities which are capable of demonstrating skill apart from rote memorization and superficial rapid pattern matching.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2019?

#70

Post by phendrenad2 »

henning wrote: post #13

Cons: - Startups are disorganized - Most startups fail because they make a stupid product no one wants and the team is awful - Startups pay below what a large company can afford and often pay below market rate - Startups will try to low ball you on equity. Don't start with me about negotiating. If they refuse to negotiate, you have your choice of no meaningful equity or working somewhere else. This is often the case.…

> Startups are full of startup bros who are fucking insane sociopath assholes in general. Why the fuck would you want to play ping pong during normal business hours, you stupid fucking asshole? We're trying to build a business here.

Preach!

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