I work for non-tech generating 100million+ in revenue. Cushy job, fully remote, good pay and full autonomy with flexible hours working as an IC.

I recently talked to a startup, similar pay, culture would be a better fit since it was mostly techies and I'm a nerd by nature.....but things just got awkward as soon as I asked about their revenue....they were bleeding money and I was told they were being acquired by a big corp. Also, the tone worried me, the confidence the CEO presented early in the call disappeared.

I also tried digging deeper into their business and what they were selling, as I have interest in that space due to my hobbies. I literally didn't see a need for their startup to exist. But I'm just an average developer what do I know.

the fact that you stopped to ask those questions makes me think that you're at minimum, an above average developer.

caring about the business and its fundamentals is important beyond just slinging code.

I agree. I've had a couple of stints as a manager, now as a CTO for a small startup, and it's giving me so much insight into thinking about engineering from a business perspective. As an IC it's hard to get that birds eye view, but it's possible.

Can you mention one or two such insights about thinking about engineering from a business perspective?