Working for a startup? You're getting screwed

I worked for a startup. When I graduated from Stanford, I joined two Harvard Business School grads to start a company that later raised millions in funding. All good. Problem? They ended up screwing me over and taking my shares. Here's what it is really like working for a startup.

You're going to have to work over 100 hours a week, and you'll think that you're going to be rich. You'll hope for the best. Your business partners will smile at you and reassure you that you're going to make millions. Some of you might jump on board without a solid contract in place (big mistake).

If you are smart enough, you'll hire a lawyer before any code gets written. Even with a lawyer, though, you are on a vesting schedule - meaning you can still work crazy hours and get screwed.

You'll raise millions if you are lucky, and your business partners who are much better at business than you will attempt to take your shares away. You won't see it coming, but thinking about it years later, you'll realize that the shift started on day 1. The secret meetings. The gas lighting. The this is not good enough, so redo it. The verbal abuse. The constant monitoring.

When they do corner you to take your shares, you'll be blind sided as you didn't see it coming.

Of course, they have their reasons why they are taking your shares (they could have hired a programmer for much cheaper, for example). You'll probably fall for the reasons they give you, and sign your shares away hoping to keep the peace.

You'll try to resume working with them, but the relationship is already toxic. You're supposed to be on a vesting schedule, and they begin to make it tough for you to vest. They might be nice at first because they still need your code, but as they start hiring people, things get toxic. They make unreasonable requests. You're supposed to code a complete IOS app in 1 week. Your position is no longer safe. You are replaceable.

Meanwhile, your mental health has taken a hit. You are stressed out, worried, and paranoid. You're becoming unhappier day by day. It slowly begins to sink in that this is not going to end well. You're also wondering if this startup will succeed. I mean 99% of startups fail.

Oh - they stop calling you a co-founder. You were just an engineer that they happened to run into.

Even though you invested 100s of hours per week into this startup and helped it raise millions of dollars, you quit because you have no choice. Your health is way more important.

Are you working for a startup? How do you feel?