July 1st, 2024

First Week as a SWE at a VC

The author transitions from Big Tech to Venture Capital, facing challenges like unfamiliar terms, intense work sessions, and imposter syndrome, questioning their ability to adapt to the fast-paced environment.

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The text describes the author's transition from a stable Big Tech Software Engineering job to Venture Capital. The author recalls the excitement of accepting the offer and the abrupt start at a portfolio company during their one-month break. The experience involved intense work sessions, unfamiliar terms, and a challenging project deadline. The author struggled with the fast-paced environment, feeling overwhelmed by the technical challenges and the pressure to deliver quickly. The week was filled with onboarding tasks, coding under pressure, and a demanding project demo. The author's imposter syndrome peaked as they questioned their ability to keep up with the demanding pace of the new job. The text ends with the author expressing doubts about their ability to thrive in this new environment.

3 comments

By @riehwvfbk - 5 months

A genuine question to those with VC or this kind of "spec ops coder" experience: is this kind of work worth it? I mean, yes, they are badass for putting in insane hours and foregoing everything else in life, but it seems a waste to spend this effort on a yet-another mess of an MVP held together with gum, twine, and duct tape.

By @meiraleal - 5 months

So much drama for a work of week.

Everything is an odyssey these days.

"oh, they asked me to work before the agreement time", "they work during the weekend", what's the surprise? Sounds like a normal startup work.

VCs most of the time have no clue what they are doing but will behave as if they had built Meta or Google.

By @wildrhythms - 5 months

Sounds awful for anyone who values work-life balance and code that isn't poorly hacked together at the last minute.

First Week as a SWE at a VC

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