Re:Ask HN: Does anyone else hate startups and their culture?
by ev_rolfe on Tuesday October 25, 2016 @02:57PM
(#12790613)
While its definitely true that corporate companies and startup-ey companies each have their pros and cons, what really gets me is the holier-than-thou attitude that seems to be at the core of modern startup culture.
I mean how often do you hear somebody saying that you should "quit their startup job to come work in the corporate world"? On HN for example, there is a pervasive view that the ultimate nirvana for anyone's life is to do your own startup or "side-project".
That said I'm not saying you shouldn't do a startup if you want to or that they are even a bad thing. Larger organisations, especially in the IT industry, have definitely benefited from some of the practices made popular by startups. Just don't try and tell me that working in a startup will be in any way more enjoyable than working for a corporation. It will be for some people, but I'd argue not most people and certainly not all.
I've been a software person for a long time, and I've learned that there's no perfect environment. Some are less toxic than others, though. And which ones are "less toxic" isn't necessarily a function of whether it's a startup (though there may be a higher fraction of people who don't know how to manage - or even how to be a grownup - in the start up world).
If you're in a reasonably sane and healthy environment, don't casually leave it. A better deal may be much harder to find than you think.