- Interns should be wary: The world of tech is often too good to be true, says Emmett Shear, former Twitch CEO. “Obviously you want money. But money is well-known for diminishing returns, after you have enough for rent and food and so on. So you don’t want to optimize for cash, it’s more of a constraint,” he says.
When Emmett Shear was CEO of Twitch—the video game live-streaming service he helped cofound—he always took time to speak to the latest batch of interns. One of the most common questions asked was whether they should get a job or become entrepreneurs.
“If you love economy-sized pain and feel like you have no other option, consider starting something. But don’t say I didn’t warn you about the suck,” Shear wrote in an X thread over the weekend.
His advice, while brutally honest, is grounded in his decade-long experience transforming an idea for a 24/7 live reality television show into a multibillion-dollar gaming platform. Shear adds that ultimately, weighing the importance of making a six-figure salary or climbing the ladder at a Fortune 500 company will help you truly “know thyself” and make the right career move, like entering the workforce or starting a business.
“But in general it seems clear people should satisfice for cash, optimize for learning/growth, and ignore everything else. If you love knife-fight competition, get a tracked job,” he added.
Gen Zers be warned: Navigating a career path is full of traps
A high salary is a priority for many aspiring tech workers. According to Dice, the average tech salary is just over $112,500. However, Shear said focusing solely on money is a mistake since more isn’t always better.
“Obviously you want money. But money is well-known for diminishing returns, after you have enough for rent and food and so on. So you don’t want to optimize for cash, it’s more of a constraint,” he wrote.
Similarly, worrying about prestige is a waste of time, Shear said. It’s no good getting a job at a company with immense name recognition if you’re just grabbing coffee for bigwigs—rather than working for a smaller firm where you’re actually gaining real skills.
“Prestige is mostly a trap, for the same reason designer clothing brands are bad deals: brand might make some less discerning people think better of you, but it won’t actually make you better or better off,” he adds.
Companies often try to trick employees with offers to wield power for good—or the chance to make an impact or a difference in the world. And while it’s natural to desire power, in reality, the ability to actually create change is rare from the bottom ranks.
“If they’re pitching you on power it’s usually a trick of some kind,” Shear warned. “They’re trying to convince you to accept less compensation in other ways by offering a mirage. Don’t be fooled!”
Work itself can provide growth opportunities for your career and character, but he warns that job tracks can oftentimes be too good to be true.
“For a certain kind of person who likes competition with their peers more than anything else, who loves grinding to get ahead, I think [career tracks] can be great. For most people, I think tracks are also traps,” he adds.
From a post-grad college dream to a billion-dollar company
Emmett Shear first worked with friends he mostly made at Yale University, Justin Kan, Michael Seibel, and Kyle Vogt, to create Justin.TV—a startup focused on live-broadcasting Justin’s life. However, after expanding to other categories, gaming grew rapidly, and Twitch was spun out in 2011.
Just three years later, Amazon acquired Twitch for about $1 billion. Shear stayed on at the company until early 2023.
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“For internet companies, growth is more important than profit. It’s very rare for a company to achieve massive scale of use, and then die because they can’t figure out the economics. The reverse is common,” Shear wrote in 2021 as part of Twitch’s 10-year anniversary.
While Shear’s advice for interns and aspiring business leaders could be humbling for some, he recognizes that those who are the most motivated will come out successful on the other side.
“Don’t start a company. You aren’t cut out for it. And if I can persuade you not to start a company by saying it in this tweet, definitely don’t start a company. You’re buying the economy-sized amount of effort and pain,” Shear concluded.
