working at a big company is basically an accelerated course in how power actually works. once you see the sheer level of inefficiency, rent-seeking, & arbitrary decision-making, it kind of breaks all illusions about big companies. the best part is realizing that half the people in charge have no clue what they’re doing but just sound confident. once you internalize that, you stop overestimating the competition & start realizing that most barriers to entry are just psychological.