You Probably Shouldn’t Work at a Startup

It’s overrated—both financially and emotionally

280 4

Comments

You need to login before you can comment.
Don't have an account? Sign up!
Kaj Niemi about 4 years ago

I really liked the article. I do disagree with "Remote work allows you to do geographical arbitrage and make lower salaries work", however, since common sense (and perhaps economics theory about the invisible hand and all that) says that people do not have to accept lower salaries just because they work in Ohio. Why shouldn't they be paid the same rate for the same job as the person living in SFO/SJC? On the other hand, why should someone living in SFO/SJC accept that their salary is lowered simply because they move out of the area. Just because you live elsewhere does not (should not) diminish your compensation level. This, of course, is the whole idea with near-shoring and off-shoring that is pervasive in the ICT and BPO industries.

@seriously about 4 years ago

@kajtzu While I agree with you, that's not what happens. For a lot of these companies, being in office in SF is worth paying extra money. If remote was the only options prices would level down for everyone.

Peter Winter about 4 years ago

Great piece. But I would make the point that working for a start-up is not just about the promised pot of gold. I've worked for established companies and start-ups. In a start-up, the absence of status quo culture and lunatic arguments about relative status is rewarding in and of itself...

@toonczyk almost 4 years ago

"Work at a startup that explicitly says you will work 45 hours a week" - that is really a bizarre statement considering almost all developed countries have had 40-hour workweeks for about a century...