Established Companies or Startups?

Question

Hello,

I am an early career MBB consultant who is planning to exit consulting. With 2 years under the belt, I am now on the lookout for a new experience. I'm fairly open, but after months of interviewing with both big/established companies and startups I've realized one thing: Startups tend to pay significantly more than established places.

I understand startups want to attract top talent, so they want to be competitive. I'm just wondering how will it look in the resume down the line to pick a well established company versus a startup. Does the high salary at a startup come with the trade of hurting the resume?

Example of what I'm seeing: a Series B/C startup in the healthcare tech space offering a much higher base than an established healthcare tech company. Thoughts on this?

Answer 1

Hi,

Having experience at a fast-scaling start-up I find has always been more attractive than joining in a very well-established and mature company, because you end up having more rich experiences and stories to share, and opportunities to be promoted quickly are more abundant. Roles at more well-established companies tend to be more silo-ed so the experiences are relatively more boring, and you don't get promoted until someone above you leaves.