Having done both for a long time, I have to agree. However, generally, there's more choice as to whose games you want to play with startups. And being a startup with limited resources means there's only so many games that can be played before the noise overwhelms the signal and the company goes under (essentially a self correcting effect).

At big companies with lots of revenue the shenanigans can become fortresses of crazy (cough Google cough) that can go on forever.