As a two time early employee starting right out of college, I can think of these points:
Pro: I've seen and learned things I wouldn't have in a big tech company. The rapid growth and constant fight for survival means I've picked up skills my big company peers didn't even have access to, especially leadership skills.
Con: In hindsight, the equity was a joke for the pay cut I took. If I had fully appreciated all of the gotchas of startup stock options, I would not have taken the pay cut relative to what I could have gotten from the big company offers that I had. Chief recommendation there: no 90-day exercise window, and employees should have ongoing access to details like liquidation preferences, revenue, burn rate, etc. I appreciate the need for confidentiality for strategic reasons, but I no longer believe that this need outweighs the principle that employees should know what they're signing up for.
The big issue is that there is not remotely enough institutional/cultural wisdom around what it means to be an early employee, so it feels like startups are often exploiting early employee naivete.
Pro: I've seen and learned things I wouldn't have in a big tech company. The rapid growth and constant fight for survival means I've picked up skills my big company peers didn't even have access to, especially leadership skills.
Con: In hindsight, the equity was a joke for the pay cut I took. If I had fully appreciated all of the gotchas of startup stock options, I would not have taken the pay cut relative to what I could have gotten from the big company offers that I had. Chief recommendation there: no 90-day exercise window, and employees should have ongoing access to details like liquidation preferences, revenue, burn rate, etc. I appreciate the need for confidentiality for strategic reasons, but I no longer believe that this need outweighs the principle that employees should know what they're signing up for.
The big issue is that there is not remotely enough institutional/cultural wisdom around what it means to be an early employee, so it feels like startups are often exploiting early employee naivete.