Pros
Working at Alto was a tremendous experience. I was surrounded by smart, dedicated people who truly want to disrupt an industry with a significant void, and doing it with a unique business model. A startup like Alto will give you vast experience much faster than bigger companies, allowing you to tackle projects that you wouldn't get to touch in more siloed companies. This could go on and on but the punchline is that I will miss and cherish my time there!
Cons
...a startup also has risks, like tenuous funding obligations that can flip on a dime and lead to layoffs. But credit to Alto's leadership and investors, they were generally able to avoid the layoffs in 2022 and first half of 2023 while most companies - big and small - were cutting teams left and right. They took this responsibility seriously and avoided it until external factors forced their hand.