Startups are like The Matrix(kevinchau.org)
kevinchau.org
Startups are like The Matrix
http://kevinchau.org/post/62277080614/startups-are-like-the-matrix
3 comments
It doesn't sound like this author has ever worked at a Fortune 500 company. He says you need to "experience it [startups] for yourself." Well the same can be said of large corporations, it's hard to know what anything is like until you've actually experienced it. I've worked for companies with less than a hundred employees and ones that had over a hundred thousand and yes there are people (including myself) who prefer a Fortune 500 company over a startup.
Matthew, you're right. I've never been in an actual Fortune 500 company. But I've consulted for MS, and have worked at the Gates Foundation (which I frequently describe as Microsoft but with reverse cash flow).
But I can confidently say, that I would not be happy nor would I fit inside that environment.
But I can confidently say, that I would not be happy nor would I fit inside that environment.
"They came to the realization that just being a number inside a corporation doesn’t work for them, and they break out."
Some of us who work in larger corporations are not "just a number". Just like you people in startups, we make a significant difference to the company, work on challenging problems, get along well with our coworkers, and have a pretty good time while doing it. And we don't need to take some mythical red pill to understand what it's like to work at a startup; by following HN for a few months, anyone can read many first-hand accounts from startup founders and employees, and I've read enough to decide that, at least for the time being, neither of those options appeals to me. (I also personally know some people who have started companies.)
Also, startups are corporations too, and any really successful startup will quickly grow into a larger corporation with all the same kinds of politics and nonsense as any other corporation: the founders may be fired by the board and replaced with MBAs, the developers may find themselves under a couple of layers of management, old code will need to be maintained for years, the company may go public and have to justify its decisions to Wall Street, etc.
Some of us who work in larger corporations are not "just a number". Just like you people in startups, we make a significant difference to the company, work on challenging problems, get along well with our coworkers, and have a pretty good time while doing it. And we don't need to take some mythical red pill to understand what it's like to work at a startup; by following HN for a few months, anyone can read many first-hand accounts from startup founders and employees, and I've read enough to decide that, at least for the time being, neither of those options appeals to me. (I also personally know some people who have started companies.)
Also, startups are corporations too, and any really successful startup will quickly grow into a larger corporation with all the same kinds of politics and nonsense as any other corporation: the founders may be fired by the board and replaced with MBAs, the developers may find themselves under a couple of layers of management, old code will need to be maintained for years, the company may go public and have to justify its decisions to Wall Street, etc.
A better comparison might be Burning Man. About which pretty much "everyone" also says
[it's] something you have to dive into, and they are something you need to take the leap, and experience it for yourself. It doesn’t matter how much you try to tell someone who hasn’t experienced [Burning Man] before, they won’t get it.
"Everyone" meaning of course... people who are into that sort of thing. Those who aren't, maybe not so much. But it's kind of condescending and presumptuous to assert that those who'd rather pass just "won't get it" because they don't particularly feel like "diving into it."
[it's] something you have to dive into, and they are something you need to take the leap, and experience it for yourself. It doesn’t matter how much you try to tell someone who hasn’t experienced [Burning Man] before, they won’t get it.
"Everyone" meaning of course... people who are into that sort of thing. Those who aren't, maybe not so much. But it's kind of condescending and presumptuous to assert that those who'd rather pass just "won't get it" because they don't particularly feel like "diving into it."