Thinking of leaving chaotic startup

Question

So it's been 3 months at my startup.

The day I get there, I see that our product is way worse than advertised (ie. saying we had 20 core features when we actually had 2). That's okay I guess, the team was just selling their vision during the interview process.

After 1 month, one of the cofounders quits. The next day, another one of the cofounders quits. I'm panicking, but I realize I'm stuck here because it's my first job. (looks bad if I leave so early)

After another month, we get an impromptu Zoom invite. 1/3 of the engineers have been fired. Everyone is working 60+ hour weeks at this point to keep the same velocity. The firings were not due to lack of funding btw.

And just the other day, we had mid year reviews. The CEO says my engineering speed is slow. (he claims to be able to do in 1 day what I do in 1 week) However, he's never been a SWE before so not sure how he knows.

My gut tells me to leave, but where will I go? Hopefully I can strive for a FAANG company or somewhere that has a strong engineering culture, but I feel pretty trapped right now.

Reflection:

I think part of the issue may be that the CEO wants FAANG-level performance + ridiculous work hours while providing only 60-70% of the actual comp of these firms. Something about expectations and leveling seems to be amiss here

Personal Context:

I have no problems getting interviews (thankfully, even as a new grad) because I spent a few months contributing to open-source. Just debating if it's worth cracking out the LeetCode for a few companies

Rahul Pandey · Accepted Answer

The best predictor of the future is the past. From that perspective, things are looking very grim for your startup: 2 cofounders leaving, a significant chunk of the engineering team laid off, and hints of the CEO being unreasonable.  Unless you feel like there's tremendous learning or opportunity at the startup, I'd leave. (To be fair, the growth potential may be true since there is now a vacuum of responsibility at the company.) You don't have to worry too much about leaving soon after joining because:  If you leave the job within 4-5 months, that's short enough that you don't need to necessarily list it on your resume You're early in your career, where job hopping is expected to be more frequent People know startups (esp early-stage) are unpredictable and may die for reasons that have nothing to do with engineering  I talk about when you SHOULD worry about being a job hopper here: Perception of being a job hopper?  On the topic of where you would go, that's easy! Just continue where you left off with the other companies you were interviewing at before you joined this one. You have an unfair advantage due to your open-source work, so start cultivating those interviews.

Thinking of leaving chaotic startup

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