I've made a career out of working for and with smaller companies. My paycheck is very good and I'm always learning new/different technologies.
Most smaller companies dont have these sorts of interviews. Most of mine have been technical in nature and some involved take-home projects, which were then discussed.
I've also avoided the dreaded non-compete clauses that FAANG employees need to sign and work on my own side-business with no issues.
Presumably he meant IP ownership or something along those lines.
To his other point, take homes have their own problems, especially for anything beyond the most trivial 2-3 task. That said, there are certainly many jobs where you want to see concrete evidence of ability. I'm not going to hire someone for a job that involves a lot of writing without seeing some writing samples. And if they don't have anything they can show me for confidentiality reasons, I'm going to ask them to produce something.
Most smaller companies dont have these sorts of interviews. Most of mine have been technical in nature and some involved take-home projects, which were then discussed.
I've also avoided the dreaded non-compete clauses that FAANG employees need to sign and work on my own side-business with no issues.