For many job seekers, startups hold a special allure. There's the chance to help build something from the ground up, gain experience that might take years to acquire at a larger company, and, if things go well, share in the upside through an IPO or other liquidity event. Getting a foot in the door, though, can be difficult, especially now that startups OpenAI and Anthropic have reached eye-popping valuations . Consider that Andrew Benson, founder of pre-IPO trading platform Hill Markets,