With the startup frenzy nowhere near fizzling out, there are many enthusiastic and bright-eyed employees who want to wade into these waters, either for the pure thrill of it or to hone themselves, or to bring their own idea to life.
Even so, the present day’s work force still has some nagging fears and questions about a startup career. Here is a reality check on what startups can and can’t truly offer you.
I have always seen young kids who want to join startups make these 5 statements, below. I disagree with all of them.
1. Startups have a no-boss culture
Google once undertook a famous case study called the ‘Project Oxygen – do managers matter?’. Google’s original intention was to completely eliminate the system of leads and managers, and trust the employees to manage themselves, but the case study came up with the conclusion that managers do infact matter.
I must mention though, that there are a few startups which are supporting the complete no-boss culture but majority of them are not following that trend.
At my startup Hiver, for instance, all of us have individual goals to account for – I would rather say live up to. We do follow a very subtle and implicit management system, but we don’t apply strict work hours or heads to report to everyday, and we don’t believe in monitoring our employees like hawks!
Although startups don’t have unnecessary power-trees like manager, sub manager, lead, secondary lead etc, they definitely have decision-makers and managers, even if it is not explicit most of the time.
Bottom line is – yes, there is a boss. What’s not there? Unnecessary hierarchy.
2. Given the instability, startup jobs are unhealthy for your career
Surely, startups cannot offer job security. 9 out of every 10 startups fail and your job rides on these odds, but a lack of job security doesn’t imply a lack of career security. On the career security front, startups can be really good for you.
Here’s why.
- A number employees working in top startups are contacted by recruiters every week.
- A startup work experience in your resume, puts you in the front row fro even MNC recruiters.
- Forget recruiters! working at a startup, unlike corporate companies gives you a better chance to network with clients, investors and the networks of you startup’s CEO.
All these are opportunities to meet better prospects, which are not easy to find in a regular “secure” job.
Bottom line is – in a startup life you may have to jump from one job to another, but this very thing will do your career more good than you can imagine.
3. Always join a startup after it’s stable
I see most people checking to see how well a startup is doing by the rounds of fundings they secure or amount of profits they make. If you are looking to a startup to hone your skills and learn, this really shouldn’t be a concern.
Infact what I say is – when a startup is not stable/profitable yet, there is a lot of work to do and lots of ideas to explore. Of course this could mean a few extra hours every week, but your job is not as structured, and you will get the chance to set foot in other aspects of a business like marketing.
You will get to be a part of the main game!
Also, it is the best time for you to create a differentiation for yourself by mastering a new skill and using it to further the business.
In a famous book called David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell, he says fishing in troubled waters will give you better odds for success than any fancy degrees and titles.
Bottom line is – fish in troubled waters. You can always work for stable companies once you’ve gained some startup experience.
4. Startups and work life balance – go in opposite directions
Contrary to popular belief, startups do have decently flexible timings and this makes it very easy to achieve work-life balance. Infact, most startups do take measures to prevent employee burnout.
Just as any other MNC, startups demand extra work only when there are issues at hand, but otherwise it is more easy to have a highly productive 7 hour work day and spend the rest of the day with your parents/spouse , than it is in the corporate world.
So if you are worried about crazy work hours, don’t!
Bottom line is – if you give your startup time when it needs you, it will give you time when you need it.
5. There is no structure in startup jobs
In general, all stable startups have very structured jobs.
People walk in with the idea that at startups you are made to do just about anything – tasks which are not even relevant to your career. This is highly untrue. It may be so (to some extent) in the early stages, when a startup is not profitable yet, but that is not the case in almost all thriving startups.
For example, in my company, my software developers don’t work on anything other than coding; they are not made to talk to clients, or sell. I believe it gives employees better clarity on their goals and tasks.
If you explicitly want to move into another field it’s a different story, but no one ever forces it on you at startups.
Startups are built around wonderful ideas, and they aim to materialize them in any possible way. This does require a little more passion and diligence when compared with a regular job – that’s that – it’s not a nightmare!
