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Staying at startup or leave?

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Entry-Level Software Engineer at Taro Community2 months ago

About three months ago, I left a big tech company—just seven months in—to join a seed-stage startup. It had always been a goal of mine to experience life at an early-stage company, and I figured the timing was right: I was early in my career, eager to learn, and ready to take a risk.

Since joining, the startup has made some progress. We recently raised our Series A, which is exciting and definitely a milestone. But now that I’ve had time to settle in, I’m starting to question whether this is still the right place for me to grow.

The toughest part so far has been the hours. I'm often putting in 12-hour days, six days a week. I knew startup life would be demanding, but the constant grind has been more taxing than I expected. While we did raise a Series A, I’d say I’m about 50-50 on how confident I feel about the startup’s long-term success. Some things are promising, but other aspects still feel uncertain.

From a learning standpoint, it’s been a mixed bag. I’ve picked up a lot just from being thrown into the fire, building fast, and working directly with founders and early team members. But we don’t really do code reviews. There’s little mentorship or structured feedback, and I worry that I might be missing out on developing stronger fundamentals—especially important for me as a junior engineer.

I’d love to hear thoughts from folks who’ve been in similar situations: Is it worth sticking it out longer at a startup like this, or should I consider moving on?

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Discussion

(2 comments)
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    Tech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
    a month ago

    Even in the current economic climate, ~75 hour weeks are pretty crazy. Unless you have teammates you love and/or strong compensation (the top Series A startups can get competitive against FAANG with salary at least), I would consider leaving, especially if you have been there for 1.5+ years.

    With early-stage startups, you need to be in it for the long haul (5+ years) if you want a big payoff. However, it's hard to do that if you are working such long hours and have meaningful doubt about the company's long-term success.

    I recommend this thread as well: "How do I know when it's time to leave a team/company?"

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    Tech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
    a month ago

    You’ve been at the start up for three months, is that right? I imagine you have a one year cliff for investing so obviously there’s a economic incentive to stick around until that one year mark. You were also only at the Big Tech co for 7 months, so there’s added pressure for you to stick around in your current company.

    Is there a way you can make the work that you’re doing more sustainable? I imagine if you’re feeling burnt out, other people are as well. I’m guessing that there’s at least a bit more stability or at least more runway with the Series A capital.