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I've worked in large companies (thousands of employees) and startups (<20) and I actually felt more like a cog in the machine at the startup size companies.

I was literally just a means to an end to churn out code on a product. I could have been (and eventually was) replaced at any moment with another generic cog willing to churn out the same code without much of a thought.

After working at Google and Startups, I totally agree. You are much more of a cog at a startup due to the desperate need to grind out the next A/B test or customer requirement.

People WAY over glamorize startups.

As a founder, you have to live it to realize you are in some sense still an employee of the VC firm

As a bootstrapper, you have to live it to realize you are in some sense still an employee of the client

Next up:

As a human in a capitalist system

As a mammal on Earth

As a cell-based organism on this arm of the galaxy

As a conscious mind needing carbohydrates to sustain compute

Don't agree at all. Have you worked at a startup with <10 employees? It's more like 25% cog at that level. Even at 50 employees you're at worst 50% cog.