[null3cksor]

My current experience in FAANG for last decade has been anecdotally similar. I have come to one conclusion about people and I put them in 3 categoties- 1. one who have tons of ideas and just enough motivation to implement them.

2. One who are good at maintaining the existing product and are so scared of breaking the boundaries that they often add roadblocks to first category people.

3. People who don’t know jack, and are effective at management, politics and rest and vest.

Often at FAANG, being the beast that they are, the leadership is filled 2nd and 3rd category people. Perhaps that is why you find them good at keeping the lights on, and they satisfy the 1st by buying out the competition.

I, not hyping myself consider to be of first category, but I found going down this path of carving out your ideas is extremely hard. The people at leadership, management are extremely good at politics and portraying themselves bigger than they are. As a result, you need either lot of eng and support team to build anything, or find your way out to develop things on your own and get bought back into FAANG.

[MichaelZuo]

Or as Steve Job's called it, the 'bozo explosion'.