Surprise! All for-profit companies exist with making money as the highest priority. As idealistic software engineers we're programmed to think of everything as

Surprise! All for-profit companies exist with making money as the highest priority. As idealistic software engineers we're programmed to think of everything as a mission, but as soon as you look higher at most post-investment companies you'll see it's about money even if leadership doesn't believe that itself. There may be an ideological honey moon period but as soon as there's a bump/loss in confidence cash is king without fail. One counter example is a bootstrapped solo entity because there is no external authority/commitment to maximize shareholder value for anyone else, so they can burn money if they want. A good way to confirm this in job interviews is to bring up B Corps in response to the founding/mission part of the pitch and watch them say it just hasn't been a priority. A B Corp is a certified for-profit company with a mission built in beyond quarter-over-quarter growth. If they really believe in their mission they should certify as a B Corp, if they're not and they're hiring with recruiters--implies some level of cash on hand, readiness to grow--it's lip service. I should note this isn't a deal breaker if they can pay, I just like to know who I am working with. In time I'd like to prefer employment from B Corps.