
Why Engineers Are Better Off Joining Startups - atularora
http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/13/engineers-startups/
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yuvadam
TFA discusses why engineers are better off joining a _startup_ rather then
some _bigco_.

Why not take it further, and explain why _joining_ a startup is better
_starting_ one?

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wallflower
> why joining a startup is better starting one?

To answer your question, I think this personal story from YouTube co-founder
Chad Hurley is valuable.

> But the executive team made up for nonmastery of details with unwavering
> vision, which inspired the troops. At his San Bruno, Calif., office, YouTube
> CEO Hurley remembers his PayPal days as an education in business. When he
> arrived in California with a degree in art from Indiana University of
> Pennsylvania, building a successful company seemed like something other
> people did.

"You never think it could happen to you," says Hurley. "But seeing Peter and
Max and the guys come up with ideas and seeing how to make things work gave me
a lot of insight. You may not have a business degree, but you see how to put
the process into effect. The experience helped me realize the payoff of being
involved in a startup."

[http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/13/magazines/fortune/paypal_maf...](http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/13/magazines/fortune/paypal_mafia.fortune/index3.htm)

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acgourley
A lot of these discussions gloss over the fact that engineers can have wildly
different personalities and life circumstances. At least in SV where all
engineers seem aware of their opportunities to start a business, work at
startupco, or work at bigco, they efficiently sort themselves into the buckets
they should be in.

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zwieback
... and interests. If you're in software there's a lot more flexibility but if
you're going to build something with complex electronics or even mechanical
elements you may be better off at a larger or even huge company.

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toxicflavor
I would say the only startup worth working on is your own.

Working at someone else's startup is a recipe for getting exploited -
overworked and underpaid. And the worst thing about it is that it's all
couched in an atmosphere of guilt trips and taking-it-for-the-team.

Perhaps there are exceptions. I just haven't seen any.

I'd rather work for The Man in my day job in a cold corporate environment
where everything is explicit from the get-go, get well paid for it and crank
out code for my own startup in my free time.

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gasull
It is also possible and very common to be self-exploited, overworked and
underpaid at your own startup. And depending on the exit of your startup vs
the exit of someone else's startup, and the % you get from the total of
outstanding shares in both cases, you might be better off joining a startup
than working on your own.

And as the article points out it's getting less risky working for a startup,
while working on your own you might need to spend your savings on it.

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toxicflavor
There's something about the feeling of self-determination - directing your own
fate - that makes the hard work of your own startup more tolerable, even if,
from a mathematical standpoint, you would profit more from working for someone
else.

And, sure, it might be getting less risky to work for (someone else's)
startup. But I don't think the culture of the startup work environment has
changed much recently with respect to the unfettered expectations of your work
output and willingness to self-sacrifice for the "larger cause" - regardless
of how counter-productive that self-sacrifice may actually be.

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gasull
I agree, but working for the startup of someone else you might learn from an
awesome team that will prepare you for one day having your own startup. This
was the advice of D'Angelo, from Quora, at the last Startup School.

I think it all depends on how prepared you are. If you think you have already
learned enough, then go for it.

So, good luck with your startup! :)

~~~
toxicflavor
I guess it depends where you are in life and how valuable a potential learning
experience with a good team might be for you.

My feeling is there is no greater motivator for learning than when the
problems you face may have a direct bearing on your own financial well-being
and the life or death of your own startup.

