I think the negative impact of job hopping to a person’s career trajectory is mostly exaggerated, especially wrt startups. Working at a failing / zombie startup incurs opportunity cost (not working at a successful company), and choosing to stay should acknowledge that (1/X)

2/ A non-founding startup employee can benefit from their work in two ways: Halo Effect and Equity. Both are worthless if the company fails or trudges along in obscurity. Dont throw good money after bad by remaining at an unsuccessful startup!

3/ (Aside: some thoughts on how startup employees should consider equity in this thread) https://twitter.com/eric_seufert/status/1263107012738646016

4/ It’s an unfortunate reality that the Halo Effect advantages startup employees who were prescient “pickers”: who chose to work at startups that were ultimately successful. It’s actually problematic to have worked at a failed startup from a job search perspective.

5/ This is an unfair reality. Ceteris paribus, two equivalent candidates, one was a late-stage employee at Airbnb and the other at Failed Startup X, the Airbnb employee is getting the job.

6/ The longer one stays at a failing startup, even if they have “only” been there 12-18 months, the longer they delay putting the valuable role on their CV

7/ So yes, it is not ideal / is potentially harmful to have short stints on ones CV. But its also harmful to remain at a failing startup vs moving to a successful one. An employee is already in a bad position if their startup is failing — the decision to stay must recognize this!

8/ And I think most people are sensitive to this. Startup employees arent compensated to take on extreme risk; there is no expectation that a non-founder stick around to shut off the lights. A short-ish stint at a failing startup doesnt really penalize a person in my experience

9/ Any employee at a startup that is treading water or actively sinking knows they could wake up to this email: “Congrats, we exited! Common shareholders get $0”. Choosing to stick around until it hits their inbox robs them of time that could be spent at a growing, successful co.