Early in your career, startups can offer flexibility and growth opportunities which you wouldn&#x27;t have otherwise.<p>One of the best jobs I&#x27;ve ever had was at a startup. I was still in college at the time, but they recognized the value I delivered and:<p>* Paid me a great full time salary even though I was staying in classes<p>* Let me run a full team, giving early management experience (great for my resume)<p>* Meaningful equity<p>No &quot;established&quot; company would have done this. It was a little crazy to do (who lets a college student run a tech team?), but I had a great experience and so did the team. Even if my equity is ultimately worthless, I will still have gained from taking that job.<p>Moreover, not all startup jobs offer poor equity terms. I&#x27;ve never worked at a startup for less than 1% (often much more than that) and always value my stake at less than half the VC valuation.<p>Even if I never make any money on a startup, I&#x27;ll still endorse doing a startup early in your career. Later on, the calculus definitely shifts as mature companies are both more formulaic in their compensation and also offer benefits which become more important with age.