Ask HN: Career Advice, how important is a company's brand?

Hey HackerNews,

How important is it to work at brand name companies / start-ups early on in ones career?

More about me: I've recently moved to SF to look for work as a entry-level product manager. I graduated from a top university with excellent grades, and worked as a product manager for one of the best tech companies overseas.

In SF however, there seems to be less than expected recognition from my academic institution and prior work experience. There has been less interest from the more established SF companies.