People are going to be mad at you but rather than getting mad the correct thing to do is to just not work for a startup. Working at a startup means dealing with

People are going to be mad at you but rather than getting mad the correct thing to do is to just not work for a startup. Working at a startup means dealing with a boss (and a business) living on the razor's edge. Maybe that's exciting to you and you want to work really hard to see it succeed -- in which case, go for it! However, if it's just a job to you, you're actually better off working somewhere else. Also, be aware that most startups are either unable or unwilling to share a piece of the "upside" with you, beyond their ability to simply give you a job, so there's really no point in working for them unless you specifically prefer that work environment OR you can't get hired anywhere else. I will also say if you're a very talented engineer your talents are likely going to be wasted at a startup. The founder(s) will be too inexperienced and/or under-resourced to utilize your skills beyond building an MVP or whatever. If you're fine with that, again, go for it. But if you're looking for deep technical challenges you're going to need to join a more mature organization.