In a hybrid startup, is it more optimal for career to be in the office?

Yes. You get to have conversations on the side and forge other connections in simple human ways that are otherwise challenging online.

Work can happen remotely but building a career happens face to face (specifically your networking - which you will use when you move jobs in the future)

I’m not saying it won’t happen remotely, and I might sound like a boomer but that’s personal thoughts On the matter.

100%

Remote is optimised for senior individual contributors who no longer need direct supervision, and do not have supervisory responsibilities themselves. Being on-premise (where the bosses are) will inevitably lead to career acceleration

Likely. At one of my companies I have worked there for two years and know nobody outside my team. My skip manager barely knows anything about me. I have no idea what other opportunities in the org might exist.

That being said, I will utterly derail my career to keep remote work. I’ll work for a bank over a FAANG to keep it. Remote is worth throwing everything else away.

It feels like hybrid is always the worst of both worlds.

It's very likely that most people are actually in office and there is a unspoken expectation that you are in the office at least a couple of days. Typically, the work culture is centered around direct conversations in the office. If that is the case, you are more likely to succeed if you are in the office. Few companies or teams are looking for better tooling to support remote or hybrid work.

Companies that have a great remote culture are all about async communication. You also don't necessarily need dailies to be a live event but each team should figure out what works best for them in that regard.