I recently found myself this close to trading in my role at the firm for an early seat on a shiny pre-Series A Sequoia-backed AI startup in the consumer space. The opportunity seemed like a rocketship - exciting tech, star investors, that intoxicating “get in on the ground floor” energy. Why on earth would I hesitate? Well, spoiler alert: I didn’t go through with it. In this post, I’ll candidly share why I nearly jumped - and the reality check that made me pump the brakes.