I believe that if you work for an early startup you have decided to prioritise growth (in terms of scope of work, responsibilities, how quickly you can climb the ladder, and potential rewards if it becomes the next FANG) over work life balance.

In recent times we have started expecting mega salaries, EM/GPM titles with 3 years experience, the comfort of a 10-5 job, the luxury of doing bare minimum, without the fear of getting laid off.

Mosly it is because the ecosystem is flushed with VC funding. And it has led people to think it is the new normal. It is not.

Startups are risky. High risk, High reward.

Most of them will fail. You are facing incumbents who can literally turn your startup into a feature of their product suite. Unless you are willing to work hard, you should opt for FANG or even a more stable, well capitalised late stage startup.

Startups are in a state of constant war.

Till you achieve profitability you are in a state of default dead. So you should ask where your salary is coming from. Is it VCs or is it your customers?

Note: I am not saying you should work at a startup. You don’t. It is upto you to define your relationship with work. But don’t think this is the new normal. We did in 2015. We all know how it turned out.