Question
Why do employees leave startups for big brands?
Answer
I've worked at one each of both and consulted for a couple of both kinds. All pretty decent, thankfully. But I've seen instances of more toxic examples of both from ringside seats.
I'll talk about the best reasons for such a move, rather than the typical ones.
Startups have very high variance and a long tail of "crappy." Big companies, by virtue of having at least once discovered a workable business model, tend to have lower variance and lower likelihood of complete stupidity. Generally you'll find at least a few smart people worth working with, real things to learn, less pressure, more freedom, opportunities to have huge impact etc.
I am amused by startup types who assume by default that any startup is better than any big company. Hell no. I'd say 70% of startups are dumb cauldrons of overgrown children indulging themselves by wasting money and mistaking playtime for work. By contrast even the most Dilbertish big companies tend to have more self-awareness and a core of real value creation (even if only 20% of employees generate 80% of the value). Many diehard startup types project their own inability to leave playpen environments onto big companies, by making up cartoon villain models. People seem to forget that by definition, every big company was once a successful startup. They forget that most successful startups exit by being acquired by a big company. Curious disconnect. Not liking big companies is kinda like not liking where you're trying very hard to go. Or kids never wanting to graduate school/college. Sitting on a beanbag sipping free gourmet coffee does not by itself make you more valuable and productive than sitting in a bad chair in a cubicle drinking bad coffee that you had to pay 10c for. Just more spoiled. Value is about what you do, not where you are.
Mature people understand how the whole ecosystem works and see the value of working in each type of company. Though many may switch for practical reasons like pay or resume stuffing, I suspect the best switch out of a growing maturity, curiosity and wanting new kinds of experiences. They want to experience the "other side." Insisting on only working at startups is a Peter Pan pathology. Or like never traveling abroad because you think yours is the "best" country. Since your chances of growing old along with a successful startup are small, you have to switch jobs to experience the full birth-death economic lifecycle of businesses. You will never experience the awe of being part of multi-billion dollar decisions at a scrappy startup, and that's an experience worth having. A friend of mine at GE labs wrote code that immediately started saving millions per year in locomotive fuel costs. He was able to make an impact bigger than the funding of multiple startups. Startup ideologues just don't get the kind of excitement that sort of thing can generate. Even working at dying, shrinking old companies is a very rewarding experience if you understand what there is to learn. Having to lay off 500 people or figuring out how to maximally harvest a dying end-of-life product are worthwhile growth experiences, believe it or not.
For many people, big companies are actually the places where they can do the best work. For generations, the finest work used to come out of big company labs, not startups. Where do you think the transistor was invented?
Dealing with some bureaucracy is often far easier than dealing with smug, self-important and big-ego founder types who rule small claustrophobic groups with tyranny and mistake an ability to raise money with good business skills. And you may be surprised to find that some of the most interesting, wisest people in the world can be found in bureaucracies.
Examine your assumptions. The world is a bigger, more complex and more fascinating place than you've been led to believe by the jocks in the startup schoolyard who want to play high school quarterback their whole life.
I'll talk about the best reasons for such a move, rather than the typical ones.
Startups have very high variance and a long tail of "crappy." Big companies, by virtue of having at least once discovered a workable business model, tend to have lower variance and lower likelihood of complete stupidity. Generally you'll find at least a few smart people worth working with, real things to learn, less pressure, more freedom, opportunities to have huge impact etc.
I am amused by startup types who assume by default that any startup is better than any big company. Hell no. I'd say 70% of startups are dumb cauldrons of overgrown children indulging themselves by wasting money and mistaking playtime for work. By contrast even the most Dilbertish big companies tend to have more self-awareness and a core of real value creation (even if only 20% of employees generate 80% of the value). Many diehard startup types project their own inability to leave playpen environments onto big companies, by making up cartoon villain models. People seem to forget that by definition, every big company was once a successful startup. They forget that most successful startups exit by being acquired by a big company. Curious disconnect. Not liking big companies is kinda like not liking where you're trying very hard to go. Or kids never wanting to graduate school/college. Sitting on a beanbag sipping free gourmet coffee does not by itself make you more valuable and productive than sitting in a bad chair in a cubicle drinking bad coffee that you had to pay 10c for. Just more spoiled. Value is about what you do, not where you are.
Mature people understand how the whole ecosystem works and see the value of working in each type of company. Though many may switch for practical reasons like pay or resume stuffing, I suspect the best switch out of a growing maturity, curiosity and wanting new kinds of experiences. They want to experience the "other side." Insisting on only working at startups is a Peter Pan pathology. Or like never traveling abroad because you think yours is the "best" country. Since your chances of growing old along with a successful startup are small, you have to switch jobs to experience the full birth-death economic lifecycle of businesses. You will never experience the awe of being part of multi-billion dollar decisions at a scrappy startup, and that's an experience worth having. A friend of mine at GE labs wrote code that immediately started saving millions per year in locomotive fuel costs. He was able to make an impact bigger than the funding of multiple startups. Startup ideologues just don't get the kind of excitement that sort of thing can generate. Even working at dying, shrinking old companies is a very rewarding experience if you understand what there is to learn. Having to lay off 500 people or figuring out how to maximally harvest a dying end-of-life product are worthwhile growth experiences, believe it or not.
For many people, big companies are actually the places where they can do the best work. For generations, the finest work used to come out of big company labs, not startups. Where do you think the transistor was invented?
Dealing with some bureaucracy is often far easier than dealing with smug, self-important and big-ego founder types who rule small claustrophobic groups with tyranny and mistake an ability to raise money with good business skills. And you may be surprised to find that some of the most interesting, wisest people in the world can be found in bureaucracies.
Examine your assumptions. The world is a bigger, more complex and more fascinating place than you've been led to believe by the jocks in the startup schoolyard who want to play high school quarterback their whole life.