Not a YC founder, but I was the first employee at a startup that was acquired by MSFT in late 2001. The founders and I were college friends and we were all qui

Not a YC founder, but I was the first employee at a startup that was acquired by MSFT in late 2001. The founders and I were college friends and we were all quite green, having graduated in 1999. As a result, I had a ton to learn. For the first three years, Microsoft was a fantastic engineering training ground. I worked with, and learned from, truly brilliant engineers and architects. The _next_ three years at Microsoft taught me how not to design management hierarchies, how not to determine customer needs, and how not to structure incentives for individuals and teams in large organizations. I'm no longer with Microsoft, and I'm quite excited about my current work, though leaving was a difficult decision given how great my co-workers were.