Moving from a start-up to bigco: Most important change - you can go from VP/head Engineering (in a 2-man team) to something significantly smaller, especially if

Moving from a start-up to bigco: Most important change - you can go from VP/head Engineering (in a 2-man team) to something significantly smaller, especially if you don't have many years of experience. Career credit: Depends entirely on what you have done at the start up and how it fits with the target company/role. The answers aside, life decisions are not popularity contests. You need to do what makes most sense for you and most importantly, what sits right with you. Outstanding HN karma does not pay anyone's bills :) Early stage companies are much like relationships, they don't always work out. You need to know where the invisible line that demarcates your being good for the company and being bad for it lies. Sometimes, the propensity of things/people you love and care for the most to cause you more harm than even your worst enemy is incredible. Stay on the right side of the line. Not everyone will like you all the time, you can't do everything right all the time, nor will good fortune follow you all the time. When it is bad, lie low, survive, find your way out. When it is good, pay it forward and make up for the bad you have done. Good luck :)