Over the last year I have spent a lot of time with students and I get asked a lot why I would categorically choose to work at a start-up over working at a larger company. It comes down to the power of compounding growth. Personal fit, work environment and passion all matter, but the biggest thing is climbing the corporate ladder is hard (really hard at Amazon). And, the problem with choosing to climb the ladder is that the nature of a ladder is a linear path to a well defined top. At a start-up initial progress can be harder because there is little to no structure and you have to make it up as you go, but there is also no ceiling.