Also, big companies do have a lot of resources that they can bring to bear on problems that startups will never have. Think of all the cool things created by ATT and IBM, for instance, in decades past. However, I think those days are gone, as I am not sure even big companies have the budget to keep around too many "pure" R&D types any more.
> For me, entrepreneurship isn't cool -- it's the only rational option.
I think I agree with this, but sort of grudgingly/sadly... I'm not sure I am or really want to be an "entrepreneur". I like to build cool stuff, not run companies, sell things, bargain with people, and all the businessy things. I think I can learn those to some degree, but I'll never be someone who lives for that part of things. So in some ways it's sort of limiting to feel that "it's the only rational option". I hope that makes sense:-)
And then for the last 10 years I've seen my father move from job to job, fear for his employment constantly, and right now is batting down the hatches because his PHB-dominated company is going through another round of restructuring because they can't build a product if their lives depended on it. Yay.
I look at this and wonder how secure a "real job" really is, and given how little security there is in a job these days, is there a good reason to take one?
Yeah, you get an automatic paycheck. Entrepreneurs can go months or years without making any money at all.
Large technology companies have increasingly outsourced innovative product development to small start-ups. It turns out this delivers better ROI since even though acquiring a successful start-up is expensive, there is much less risk. Cisco in particular has been consistent and open about following this strategy. They have partially funded several networking start-ups, encouraged key Cisco staff to join them, and then purchased the ones the succeeded.
I don't think it's that starting a business is "cool"; I mean, I guess it is, in some sense, although paying for your own health care isn't very cool. For me, this quote was apt:
"People’s attitudes to security and risk also changed. If a job in a big organisation can so easily disappear, it seems less attractive. Better to create your own."
It's not just about job security. After spending two years in a large corporation, I firmly believe that these shops provide less security, less on-the-job learning, less valuable experience, less opportunities to improve society, and in many cases less pay than ambitious young people can achieve otherwise. IMO, working at a large corporation, now more than ever, is an excellent way for you to hide, duck for cover, and defensively draw a paycheck. And mediocre people who take this posture are very clever indeed about ensuring they won't be laid off.
But if you actually want to do something meaningful with your life and happily spend your days working on a project you believe in, big corporations will rarely satisfy your needs.
Although I had a relatively good experience in my two years at my behemoth corporation (my last day is today, incidentally), the best thing I learned is how I'd rather not repeat the experience. I also look back on the two years and think that my most memorable moments (even technical achievements) happened outside of work.
With the means of production well within my grasp as a software engineer, and with big corporations going into a holding pattern and nixing interesting projects just to "keep the lights on", it seems like a no-brainer. For me, entrepreneurship isn't cool -- it's the only rational option.