Probably joining (not starting!) an early stage startup where significant politics haven't developed yet and the focus is on getting to market (less than 25 peo

Probably joining (not starting!) an early stage startup where significant politics haven't developed yet and the focus is on getting to market (less than 25 people). I would say that freelance/consulting is a somewhat poor choice since self-promotion and networking are fairly mandatory to keep your client pipeline full and get your rates up.