Pros
- I really enjoy the challenge of Deep Render's research, which involves answering some really deep questions. This requires the researchers to constantly come up with their own creative ideas, rather than just running a ton of architecture ablations. - I also like that the co-founders have a real in-depth understanding of the technical questions (which was first demonstrated to me in the final-stage interview). This means that communication with management is easy, and there's no barrier of understanding. - The work rarely involves crunch, which is very important to me. - There is a real feeling of focus. We discuss & identify problems, come up with possible solutions and create work packages around these. Results have to be properly established with A/B-tests. - The team is absolutely great. There is nobody who I would say is not really good at what they do. Everybody is friendly and a joy to be around. - The company is committed to passing on its success to their employees (equity programme, salary increases). - The management has huge ambitions, and acts on them accordingly. - Our results are constantly improving, which is always more fun than being stuck. I left my job in academia (which I also really enjoyed) for this, and I haven't regretted it a bit so far.
Cons
Due to the nature of an early-stage startup, there was a lot of re-structuring (e.g. of meetings, teams etc) throughout my time there, which sometimes creates a sense of lack of continuity. On the flip-side, it's good that sub-optimal structures are acted on when necessary.