Niantic

I've been in various startups so far, and Niantic is unique in that:

1. There's more demand than what we can supply. Most other startups die because there is no demand (i.e., the problem was non-existential). AR gaming is a true market, as proven by Ingress & Pokémon Go, and Niantic is almost the only company supplying the market.

2. Most employees (engineers and non-engineers) are seniors and high achievers in their field. I've been in startups where smart, young engineers build overly ambitious products that slip and fail. I've been in a big company where experienced engineers build dying products over time. Here, people know how to ship an ambitious product in time. One reason is, unlike other startups, Niantic was a Google project, so it had senior & ambitious people from the beginning.

3. The company is mission-driven, and the CEO is a product person who dreamed the mission from the beginning (Adventure on Foot). A lot of startups pursue what the market creates as opportunities and die because the market was an illusion or could not survive the competition.

4. Our games make a lot of money, yet we have no competition on the horizon.

5. Given the engineering complexity of the problem, it would be very difficult for followers to compete against us (probably Google's Maps team can do, but Google is the investor, and Niantic is from that team).

6. Benefits are great for a startup.

1. Work-life balance is minimal, but time and location are very flexible.
2. High-pressure environment where all of your peers are high achievers.

A little bit more transparency would boost the morale.