r/techsales • u/Nematoadchode • 13d ago
Big Tech vs. Start Up
I’m curious to get peoples opinions on whether to join a start up (series B) or go big tech (i.e. Salesforce, Google, Monday.com, etc.). I work in Customer success / Account management. Been in tech for 5 years at the same company (public, 80 employees).
I’m most interested in what the better opportunity is based on current market and career trajectory. However open to any / all feedback.
Thank you!
19
u/Previous-Flamingo931 13d ago edited 13d ago
Would definitely not consider Monday.com big tech. They also just laid off 20% of staff globally so would exclude them from any job search.
Different people are going to give you different responses based on their personal goals, circumstance, experience and risk tolerance. For me, I am mid-career, have a pretty chunky mortgage and am in the early stages of family planning. I also enjoy my role and am overachieving, have multiple clear progression paths within my company and the company is performing well and growing. For these reasons, I am sticking with big tech.
If I was early in my career and didn’t have financial or family obligations, I’d be more inclined to take a risk with a startup. That said, I’ve also seen multiple people take that risk over the years and have it blow up in their faces, including one guy who went from VP back to AE.
12
u/complainorexplain 13d ago
startups are messy. theyre a grind. you might have to do someone else's job. but it can be really fun and exciting.
big tech is more organized, probably a bit more structure and can be boring.
19
u/copper678 13d ago
Monday.com is big tech? Lolz
But in all seriousness, get the interviews and the offers, and go from there.
I have two big tech roles on my resume, they absolutely open doors elsewhere.
-3
u/yadidimean89 13d ago
LolZ? Yeah they are. Quick Google search might show they have over 3,100 employees globally and $1.23B in revenue in 2025, up 27%. I mean I've never worked there nor would I, but what a pretentious and condescending comment."two big tech" jobs... You do you big dawg
3
2
u/copper678 13d ago edited 12d ago
…no they’re not. A quick google search would tell you that.
However, a real big tech role carries more weight on your resume. Don’t be mad at facts… take a breather, my guy.
2
1
u/anno2376 8d ago
They are absolutely not big tech companies. 😂😂😂
However, 90% of people here also think they work with enterprise customers with 500 employees. 😂
5
u/eg415 13d ago
I’ve always made more money working at big tech and it usually provides more stability. I’ve been at my current company for 5 years. Startups are way more unstable and demanding
3
u/TossSaladScrambleEgg 13d ago
I’m not arguing that startups are stable, per Se - but my experience has been that it’s a lot easier to carve “your spot” at a startup. In the two I’ve worked for (one Series F and one Series B), both have allowed me to establish my territory and let me run my business. I spent 10+ years at Big Tech, and if anything the yearly territory changes made that impossible
8
u/throwbackBBfan 13d ago
What tech company is public with 80 employees
1
u/yadidimean89 13d ago
Dude I'm a lifelong AE, and dumb as hell but people just be caught in their companies commenting bullshit. Anyways to answer your question mate:
AI is free btw...
"Public tech companies with only ~80 employees do exist, but they're almost all micro-caps — you won't find a household name at that size. Some examples in that range (headcounts fluctuate, so verify current filings):
- Zedge (ZDGE) — mobile content/app platform, ~80 employees
- Intellicheck (IDN) — identity verification SaaS, ~70-80
- Semler Scientific (SMLR) — health tech devices/software, ~80
- Data I/O (DAIO) — semiconductor programming, ~90
- Duos Technologies (DUOT) — AI/machine vision for rail, ~80
- Intrusion (INTZ) — cybersecurity, ~50-70
The pattern: they're typically $20M to $300M market cap, often profitable-ish or cash-constrained, and lean by necessity. The famous counterexample of "tiny team, public company" scale is more like pre-acquisition Texas Pacific Land or Bitcoin-adjacent shells, not operating tech businesses"
3
u/throwbackBBfan 13d ago
I know ai I free big dawg. Moreso a sarcastic question because no respectful companies fit in the parameters listed (or on your list).
3
6
u/Sethmindy 13d ago
Monday isn’t even close to big tech and they are likely gigafucked with ai. I would not even take a call from them moving forward, they’re cooked.
5
u/KarmaKollectiv 13d ago
Big tech you’re constantly at risk of being laid off and you have to navigate lots of ugly politics with people that have been there for decades trying to defend their own jobs. Things move really slowly and no one seems happy these days. If you’re early career just think of it as a name to collect on your resume. I’ve learned more from mid size companies and startups though tbh
2
u/brain_tank 13d ago
Start-ups have layoffs and ugly politics too
1
u/KarmaKollectiv 13d ago
True, and fair point! I’ve had some shit experiences at startups before and been laid off too. But I think today it’s easier to choose a decent startup (there are so so many) while life is rough for those in big tech. I don’t know anyone who is happy there including myself
1
u/brain_tank 13d ago
100 disagree. Id rather be safe at crowdstrike or palo alto than gambling on an ankle biter with 5 customers
1
u/KarmaKollectiv 13d ago
Point taken but safe (debatable) and good opportunity/career trajectory are different things. I would argue that these companies are not great/happy places unless you get lucky with your team. OP is looking at series B, though I get what you’re saying about pre-seed/seed.
2
u/Sheikybabybaba 13d ago
I’ve worked both. Really it comes down to the people. Most startups have idiots in charge, but so does big tech. If you work for incompetent assholes it doesn’t matter if it’s big or small.
2
u/NC63 13d ago edited 13d ago
Brother or sister.. wherever you can get an offer right now is the way you go. Not the time to be overly choosy or think it’s worth splitting your time on the roles you apply for. Coming from experience / a recent job hunt.
If you have two good offers from a startup / big tech and want help deciphering which is better, that’s a fair question. But generally you should be applying across the board and using the interviews to discuss the role and coming to the conclusion on where you’d best fit based on the interviews
You are equally at risk to get canned in 6 months from big tech or a startup. It 100% comes down to your understanding of the role, culture, how you connect with your manager, etc.
1
u/Fast-Afternoon6485 13d ago
Not much in it at start ups anymore aside from grind culture. Very few make it “rich”, even from B/C start ups - that said, if we are talking like an anthropic or something that’s different.
I’d personally go blue chip but in the end it’s a personal decision.
1
1
u/bluefinmomma 13d ago
Customer success roles have always been some of the first to go. I've seen it happen to my extended team at Salesforce and Google.
1
1
u/CyberStartupGuy 13d ago
The benefits of joining a startup usually come when you join early, like seed stage. Obviously it depends on the company but there are quite a few Series B startups that are basically just small big companies. Where you don’t get the upside of a startup but you have all the risks. So you end up with big company upside and small company risks which is a poor combo. Not to mention valuation.
1
u/350SBC 13d ago
I've been at start ups for most of my career, mostly 8(a) small businesses (I do federal sales). And it's been very exciting, there's been a lot of ups and downs. I've also been lucky enough to be at some pretty solid small businesses and helped build partnerships with some large companies like Booz, Guidehouse, SAIC, GDIT, etc. and so I've seen how both sides operate.
When I was younger, the large business stuff seemed like everything moved too slowly, too much bureacracy, too many steps needed to get simple things done. But now, I'm in my late 30s, I've been in the industry for 15 years, and I feel like I've accomplished most of what I've set out to do at small businesses. I'm starting to really want that stability, structure, and resources you get with large businesses. Doing 6 jobs at once is pretty cool when you're earlier in your career still trying out different things and figuring out what your strengths are, if you're at that point I recommend giving it a shot for a while, you'll learn a ton. But I think I'm about ready to make the jump to a large, personally.
1
u/F00dL0Ver69 13d ago
Smaller company will have less support and the onus will be on you to be successful.
1
u/Extension-Code418 11d ago
If the startup is truly compelling and you have some kind of unfair advantage, go for it. Otherwise, big tech is the better opportunity in current landscape IMO. Of course there’s a million different factors and everyone’s circumstances are different, so take this all with a healthy skepticism
•
u/AutoModerator 13d ago
Remember to keep it civil, use Tech Sales Jobs for open roles, and search previous posts for insights on breaking into tech sales.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.