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My co-founder & CEO of Plinky, Jason Shellen and Plinky advisor Vanessa Fox of Jane and Robot have been on and off the home page of CNN.com for a third day now. The article, with the slightly cheesy title “They Left The Corporate Cocoon to Blossom“, showcases several stories of entrepreneurs who left safe, well-paying jobs at large companies to start something new. Jason and Vanessa both left Google.

Staying at a large company during a recession may be safer but isn’t exactly safe nor is it full of opportunity. Large, public companies are overly influenced by the mood of public markets and hence by the macro environment. They can close or sell entire product lines or divisions. In an attempt to manage financial performance, most slow down innovation and substantially cut R&D (one of the key reasons why the quarterly focus of Wall Street isn’t great for US competitiveness).  This limits opportunities for organic growth and advancement from both an intellectual and career perspective. The prevailing philosophy is simple: first let’s stop the bleeding and then we can grow through acquisitions. When innovation and growth come back in, they come from the outside, again limiting the options for existing employees.

If you are a person whose skills are in high demand, you may be better off heading to a startup that has a couple of years of funding. Worst case, if things don’t work out and you need paycheck, you can always get a new job at a large company. During recessionary environments most large employers take the opportunity to upgrade their talent. The real question is whether you’ve forgotten how to work hard…