I was just musing about how the definition of 'startup' has changed. I've worked in a couple plus a few post-startup small companies, but they always involved a fairly expensive piece of boutique hardware. At best, stock options might mean a decent bonus after a few years and you work as long as they pay you. You take the job because it's interesting and because it's more fun to lay track than to fix it. Using folding tables is always better than dealing with some middle managers three ring binder of yearly performance review.
Seriously, just how many startups in the last ten+ years involve anything but some sort of internet service/social media/advertising software construct with (usually) the hope of selling the company? It all sounds kind of depressing.
Yes, for sure, back in the 90s I fantasized about getting to work for a company like that. Just working on really neat tech, and getting to have some creative input and some technical excitement. I'm sure companies like this exist still, but the term "startup" and the investment around it seems to have been swallowed up into the kinds of things you mention.
Looking around, I've been really blessed by putting together a full career of that very sort of thing.
Some things you have to watch, especially if you are selling domain knowledge as an employee, is that products in a given subindustry will tend to become cheaper/higher volume/lower margin over time, the push for Asian manufacture always becomes a reality, and as companies age they acquire the anchor of supporting and repeating old products.
Seriously, just how many startups in the last ten+ years involve anything but some sort of internet service/social media/advertising software construct with (usually) the hope of selling the company? It all sounds kind of depressing.