Thread by @hwbhatti

Working at a startup is the wrong career choice for 90% of people.

I have worked at a:

• 20 person startup
• $100 billion company

Here's a framework for deciding between startups and big companies:

1. Money

If you want a boatload of cash with high certainty..

Pick a pre-IPO or Big Tech company.

Reality is that most start-ups fail.

So your motivation for working at a start-up should go beyond $$.

2. Stability.

80% of startups fail - stability is the rare exception.

The earlier the start-up, the higher your risk of not having a job in a year's time.

If you want the stability of a guaranteed paycheck, start-ups are not the right place to be.

3. Culture

The excitement of solving a massive problem with a group of like-minded folks is incredible.

The roller coaster of start-up life creates strong life-long bonds with your teammates.

Big company culture just can't compete when it comes to that close-knit enviroment.

4. Learning opportunities

Start-ups have a ton of interesting work.

But not enough people to do it and unstructrued learning pathway.

In my first start-up role, I got to work across product, engineering, and sales.

I created my own pathway & learned an incredible amount.

At large companies, you are hired for a very specific role.

Working across functions is rare.

But your learning pathway is structured and you have ton of resources.

5. Work-life balance.

Start-ups are not for you if you care about work-life balance.

At start-ups, every person is doing the work of at least two employees.

Working weekends and evenings is a feature, not a bug.

Bigger companies have considerably better work-life balance.

6. Impact and growth.

At startups you walk into a blank canvas.

You are experimenting & building stuff from scratch.

In the process you develop technical & leadership skills fast.

At big companies you have to play within a structured pathway with less flexibility, if any.

7. Team

The most important ingredient in a start-up's success is the founding team.

Every success and failure can be traced directly back to their decisions.

If you're joining a start-up, make sure you're excited to work with the founders.

Big companies have established processes.

Here, your success depends on the success of your team and your manager.

At a big company, make sure you're excited to work for the manager and their team.

8. What do you want from life?

Working at any type of company can be amazing regardless of size.

It really comes down to what matters to you.

When I left college, I joined a large management consulting firm.

But quit within months..

Then I joined a startup with 6 months of runway.

To everyone around me, it was a dumb decision.

But I cared more about impact and learning velocity.

The start-up put me on a life-changing trajectory.

I built & sold a company, developed a global network,and learned a ton.

Best of luck on your next career move!

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