Why Entrepreneurs Hate Working at Big Companies

"tolerate" makes it sound like it's a negative system.

My experience is that corporations contain systems which startup founders would absolutely love to utilise given the chance.

I have built technology within organisations that within months is in use by multiple clients who have $1B+ market caps. I've seen projects funded with higher risk profiles than most VC's would tolerate because those funding it truly believed it was a good idea.

The idea that corporate systems are something that should be tolerated vs. something that can be navigated and leveraged for a positive outcome is, as I said above, terribly shortsighted.

Add the words 'lean' and 'disruptive' to that list. Is there any startup that doesn't claim to be lean and disruptive?

This is silly. An entrepreneur is someone who takes a financial risk to organize and operate a business. It doesnt matter what they are doing.

I think the biggest issue for me is the fact that I have to work with people who should have been fired a long time ago instead of some co-founders that know how to execute. Working at a company that has never had a lean year can be very frustrating, people can have little motivation outside of CYA and a paycheck, it's the lack of desire to build something focused and exciting and to push back against bad ideas. This is not every large corporation, but it is many.

It's naive to make blanket statements about entrepreneurs. "Entrepreneurs" are not a homogenous group. It appears the author believes that entrepreneurs generally are overconfident, find insolvency to be an acceptable outcome so long as they have a lottery ticket in hand, and fashion themselves as arbitrageurs.

First, it's worth pointing out that arbitrageurs seek to exploit opportunities that are, in theory, risk free. So to suggest that entrepreneurs are looking to "arbitrage the system" while at the same time shooting for the stars when the odds are "slim" is a curious and entirely inconsistent argument.

That notwithstanding, if you look beyond a small group of 20-something entrepreneurs in the Bay Area, you'll find plenty of people who have started businesses who worked at mid-sized and large companies for years. For some, the knowledge and experience gained allowed them to spot the opportunity they're pursuing. For many, the relationships established and good money earned during those years of service put them in a position to pursue the opportunity with far less risk than they would have taken on if they tried to start a company before they had domain expertise, a professional network and financial resources of their own.

It's sad to see folks reduce entrepreneurship to short-sighted risk-taking by individuals who somehow can't or won't function in an organization that isn't their own. Smart entrepreneurs take calculated risks, start businesses in industries they know and don't begin their journeys with a few thousand dollars in the bank.