Pros
Hebbia is a remarkable place to learn the ins and outs of a growth-stage startup. The entire team is sharp, and in Engagement, they're typically the best at what they did pre-Hebbia (e.g., investment banking, consulting, law, private equity). Interestingly, most of us are coming to the startup world for the first time, so we're quickly able to ramp up on the inner workings of a startup—product, marketing, sales, strategy—by working with experts in other fields. We're able to do it together, learning from each other as we go. Hebbia is also a leader in the AI scene, particularly in New York, so folks making the pivot into startups from financial services or consulting are particularly primed for a jump start on a new path. We work hard and are gritty, which makes it a fun but demanding place to work. Hebbia has been at the cutting edge of the application layer—one of the first to deploy Enterprise RAG, and then the first to deploy a Matrix product running a new retrieval algorithm (ISD). In a world of AI where there truly are no technological moats, speed is critical, and Hebbia continues to deliver on speed at the application layer. Above all are the people—Hebbia truly has the kindest, most compassionate, and sharp group of people. If you interview, make sure to soak in the busy lunch bustle or stay a little extra for dinner with the team. There are always folks chatting cross-functionally, getting to know each other, and supporting each other's goals in and outside of work.
Cons
The cons are pretty classic for a growth-stage startup. They are bringing in a new suite of more experienced executives, which has led to a hefty amount of change (I would argue, positive change)—most akin to growing up into a true growth-stage venture. Things can also feel chaotic and demanding—there will always be too much to do, but picking what's most important and where to have your impact is a large part of the fun. Compensation is more akin to a growth-stage startup than a late-stage one. Benchmarked against OpenAI, Anthropic comp will be lower, but upside is obviously higher.