Seriously, I hate startups and their culture.
I've been a software person for a long time, and I've learned that there's no perfect environment. Some are less toxic than others, though. And which ones are "less toxic" isn't necessarily a function of whether it's a startup (though there may be a higher fraction of people who don't know how to manage - or even how to be a grownup - in the start up world).
If you're in a reasonably sane and healthy environment, don't casually leave it. A better deal may be much harder to find than you think.
I mean how often do you hear somebody saying that you should "quit their startup job to come work in the corporate world"? On HN for example, there is a pervasive view that the ultimate nirvana for anyone's life is to do your own startup or "side-project".
That said I'm not saying you shouldn't do a startup if you want to or that they are even a bad thing. Larger organisations, especially in the IT industry, have definitely benefited from some of the practices made popular by startups. Just don't try and tell me that working in a startup will be in any way more enjoyable than working for a corporation. It will be for some people, but I'd argue not most people and certainly not all.
Kind of like how HGTV started as a low budget thing aimed at DIYers and turned into Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless after it got successful enough.
I don't know how or even if "startup culture" can be returned to its roots, but I think that's the problem right there. Now YC imagines it shall save the world or some crap and is running a Basic Income experiment and has, imo, lost its way.
I don't hate startups, but I hate what has become of the culture recently. It wasn't always like this.
I've often thought of becoming my own boss out of spite, but I'm a little too inexperienced and don't quite have my own idea fleshed out to put my whole life on hold just yet. I like the show Silicon Valley, but they tend to (obviously) over-exaggerate the stereotype of start-up types. There's a very real undercurrent of the schoolyard need to "fit in" that weaves through most startup-y people, and the closer I get to it all, the funnier it is.
However, as a strict outsider looking at things, I find it amusing that every startup claims to disrupt something or the other, many times things that have already been claimed to be disrupted by others, and there is hardly anything to separate one from its competitors in terms of technology. I find it no different than every bigco claiming they are leader in something or the other (which could be arguably true in some cases) but often simply recreating the same technology the competitors have for any number of reasons. In both cases there is tremendous amount of cliche in the way they talk or present their ideas while overselling themselves, which sometimes amuses and sometimes annoys.
