Recently, mainly due to the hype around the word “Startups” thanks to the technology companies around the world being sold, getting funded or seeded for million and millions of dollars, running or joining a startup has become mainstream and kinda ‘cool’.
It’s really easy for a talented resource to get hired by a startup but it’s certainly not a ride for the faint hearted.
Having started and worked at 5 startups in the last 10 years, it’s safe to say working at startups is not everyone’s cup of tea.
From personal experience, as an employee and an employer, following are some experiences one can expect to have:
1. Loosely defined roles – You are an engineer not a donkey so be ready to do some of Objective-C while stepping up and writing a script in PHP. The better your variety the more value you add.
2. Ownership – Like every management lecture would say taking ownership is the key element but in startups this is the only element that can help you become an ordinary engineer or a great one for the company
3. Its not glamorous – Despite modern fairy tales, its not as glamorous as its shown on TV and in news articles. Startups work out of garages, dorm rooms, simple empty office spaces, sometimes from a coffee shop with decent internet.
4. Nothing gets successful overnight – It takes months and years to reach the level we see world class technology companies achieve. Its not a matter of a few weeks and its done.
5. It doesn’t always pay well – Startups are cash strapped they don’t have a few millions lying in the bank to throw away. If some startup is paying better than you expect it means you are being valued that high so respect that
6. Job Security is a myth – There is no such thing as job security, if you are looking for job security then a startup is definitely not the place, or any company for that matter. People get fired fast and a lot. If you are talented and have belief in yourself then you should not worry about job security.
7. Long Hours – There is a thing called work-life balance and then there is a thing called meeting a deadline. Choose wisely.
8. Aim Big – No startup wants a whining little kid who is never happy. Unless you believe in the vision its best to look at some other opportunities.
9. Fast Pace – Decision making is fast paced, if you can’t keep up its not an environment for you.
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