Why Work for Others

My friends and I were just wandering around the farm across from my house with no real plan when a debate sparked. A friend insisted that working for someone else is just subsidizing their wealth. Why trade time for a paycheck when ownership promises one hundred percent of the upside? At first thought it kind of makes sense. It also ignores the reality of where we are in our careers.

Choosing Apprenticeship

I understand the appeal. On paper, building your own company means you capture the delta between effort and reward. No middle managers, no corporate ladder, no waiting for someone else to validate your vision. It's tempting to assume that autonomy is the most direct path to impact.

But I can't shake the fact that we are still early. We don't yet know how systems stretch or break. We haven't pushed products through a scaled launch, navigated budgets, or run a hiring loop. Apprenticeship inside a larger team gives you reps you can't simulate. You watch incentives collide in real time. You feel how misaligned priorities stall progress. That context can give the spark for whatever you build next.

Learning the Shortfalls

A VC partner told my friend and I that starting a company is easier when you know the problem you want to solve, not just that you want to be a founder. At that time it definietly stung because we were doing exactly what he said not to do, but soon after I realized his validity. Working inside a big organization gives you a front-row seat to inefficiency. You see the customer segments nobody is serving. You understand where bureaucracy blocks the work. Those scars turn into instincts. They inform what you ship, who you hire, and how you design incentives when you eventually take your own swing.

Borrowed Credibility

There's also a signaling layer that's hard to ignore. Operating inside a credible brand gives you downstream leverage. When you eventually pitch your own thing, investors already understand the caliber of teams you've worked with. That familiarity lowers their risk. The logo on your resume isn't the goal, but it does open doors you might otherwise spend months knocking on.

Timing the Jump

Staying too long is its own risk. There is a moment when the learning curve flattens and the trade-offs shift. That's when you leave. Until then, there's no shame in trading time for mentorship. A salary buys you time to define the problem you're obsessed with. More importantly, it lets you fail on someone else's balance sheet before the consequences hit your own.

Owning the Long Game

Working for others isn't surrender but rather preparation. You can still aim for ownership while spending a few years seeing how choices play out in a big company. The point is to notice what works, what doesn’t, and use that to build something better.

I know there are people who graduated into unicorns without any of this experience. That's rare. The default is that clarity comes after you see enough to understand what you're solving for. Right now, I'm comfortable being patient, taking notes, and letting the right moment reveal itself.

P.S. To the friends I debated with that night; I have no doubt you guys will be incredibly successful.