Then at mid 30s get hired as Dir/VP of engineering in smaller Series A startup.
You will have higher chance to retire early and/or afford yourself to work on things you like later on.
Something ironic I found when I was on my last job search (and applying to some YC startups) was that, despite startups often being critical of big tech, when describing their past experience, the founders (and their teams) never failed to ‘name drop’ the brand-name companies they’ve worked for.
Additionally, I think the reason a lot of founders threw my resume in the trash was because they couldn’t recognize the no-name startups I’ve worked at… Luckily I’m at a household name company now and even non-tech people recognize the company I work at.
I understand its provocative statement - your play is the risk free life route - perfect for many many people but not everyone. Certainly not people who want to build things that go into the wild.
I learned more at Microsoft than any of the startups I worked at. I shipped product to more users than at any startup I worked at.
I understand its provocative statement…
Meh, more of an example of “begging the question” than anything else.
Your chances of success is lower than YC's chances of success because they invest to many companies in parallel, but you can only work for 1 company
People who want to go that route and feel strongly about it should give it a shot with their eyes open.