How much am I hurting my career by staying at a startup? (Pressure to work for big tech)

Am I correct on this being the right career move or is this just the pressure developers feel to work at a big tech company?

It's definitely more the second IMHO, hehe. The FAANG pressure across the industry is real, and I really hate that.

While it's true that I generally recommend starting at a Big Tech company early in career, that advice is mainly applicable in a vacuum (i.e. you don't have too much going on and you aren't super opinionated on what you want to do).

However, you do have a lot going on.

• Securing a new round of funding in this economy is very impressive
• 100 employees is good traction for a startup, and I imagine you're one of the "OGs" having been there for 2 years. That automatically gives you a lot of power through tenure (a lot of the early Robinhood engineers had this vibe)
• Getting a senior level in ~5 years is a solid pace
• You really like working there!

Every good thing will eventually come to an end - It is impossible for an org/company to stay great as it scales. Eventually they'll hire an executive that sucks or there will be some macro-economic conditions that really hurt the company. Knowing that, my mentality is generally "If you have a good thing going on, cherish it while you can." If you like your team and manager, promotion is trending well, compensation is competitive, and you're getting better as an engineer, I think staying at your current place is a great move.

Of course, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't pursue a move to Big Tech (Big Tech will have a lot of value for you with immediate liquidity as Series A is quite far from IPO); I'm just saying the move is much hazier for you than it is for most people. I recommend watching our masterclass on choosing the proper team/company for you if you haven't already.