People who hire generally look for the candidate that "fits" overall before passing the candidate on to more specific people. At a startup that's probably a bigger issue than at a large company, just because the culture is more malleable.
It is? That hasn't been my experience. In my job hunt, and I'll admit that I'm well away from the center of things, my last position (co-founder of digg) is a distinct negative.
Most hiring managers haven't heard of it, question why I'm not mentioned more prominently, etc, worry that I will leave for some other pie-in-the-sky startup. The only interest I get is from early stage startups.
But again, it's all about fit. If you're 22 and messing with startups it looks like youthful experimentation. If you're 45 and messing with startups you get passed over.
This is the under-publicized reason why people do startups - because they can't find an appropriate job.
I was reading an article a while back about "older" entrepreneurs (mostly successful ones). Almost every one of them said their main motivation was lack of career opportunities.
BigCo hiring manager: mild negative
People who hire generally look for the candidate that "fits" overall before passing the candidate on to more specific people. At a startup that's probably a bigger issue than at a large company, just because the culture is more malleable.