However, early engineering hires have a great opportunity to learn things that they can't learn at a bigger company. An engineer knows how to code, but they may not know how to design products, do user testing, make partnership deals, run surveys, raise angel, tune virality, create ad campaigns, find good advisors, recruit, market, sell, do user research, or raise VC money.
If you are at a large, low-risk company, most of that stuff will be handled by somebody far away and uninterested in talking to you. At a small startup, it will be done by one of a small number of people you'll know well and have unlimited access to.
If you intend to found your own company someday, I think there's no better way to learn how than to work closely with people who have done it before and are doing it again with you right there.
However, early engineering hires have a great opportunity to learn things that they can't learn at a bigger company. An engineer knows how to code, but they may not know how to design products, do user testing, make partnership deals, run surveys, raise angel, tune virality, create ad campaigns, find good advisors, recruit, market, sell, do user research, or raise VC money.
If you are at a large, low-risk company, most of that stuff will be handled by somebody far away and uninterested in talking to you. At a small startup, it will be done by one of a small number of people you'll know well and have unlimited access to.
If you intend to found your own company someday, I think there's no better way to learn how than to work closely with people who have done it before and are doing it again with you right there.