10 Reasons Why It’s Never Too Late To Join A Startup

When I tell someone about my work at Vurb (a fast-growing startup), a common response I hear is, “I missed my chance to do that in my twenties — I just can’t take the risk a startup provides now.” I usually respond with why I joined a startup, and why I think startups are great for everyone — even new moms like me. After countless similar conversations, I decided it was time to write some specific points detailing why it’s never too late to join a startup…

1. You get to avoid big company bureaucracy. Ever feel like things only ever come from the top down or you have to play a political game to get anywhere? Small startups don’t have all the additional layers and rules that make work feel like school (or House of Cards). Your opinions actually matter, are encouraged, and help move the company forward.
2. Everything and every company has risk. Being risk adverse doesn’t necessarily guarantee fulfillment or even success. A lot of people sniff out startups, and if they don’t seem like “unicorns” from day 1, they won’t even be open to a conversation. But unicorns, just like other companies come with risks. You should join a company, not because it seems stable, but because it excites you and you believe in your own value to help push the company forward. The upside is — the riskier the startup, the better your equity usually will be. As T.S. Elliot said, “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
3. Job stability is a myth everywhere. And that’s ok. The days of staying at a company for 30 years and retiring with a pension are long gone. Even today, choosing to stay at well established, larger, older tech companies for job security isn’t always realistic. Many of these companies in San Francisco and Silicon Valley have recently been having more layoffs than smaller companies by a landslide.
4. There is work life balance. Ok, I won’t lie to you. You won’t be able to come in at 11am and leave at 4pm everyday (and if you can do that at your current job and are truly fulfilled, then you probably aren’t reading this article). Because we’re in the age of the cloud, it’s really easy to work from anywhere. So when you need to leave early to go to your child’s soccer game or the optometrist, a startup environment can provide flexibility for you to jump online later to finish priorities. Startups often are much less strict with paid time off (think open vacation policies) and flexibility.
5. You get to have real ownership and autonomy. Passion and a day job don’t really get talked about in the same sentence. But when you have ownership of what you do and the autonomy to get it done, your work can be your passion and vice versa.
6. Avoid the red tape. Red tape was one of the most frustrating things I experienced while working for a public company. You couldn’t walk, talk or breath without running into it. At a startup, you may be the highest ranking person (next to the CEO) or you may be entry-level, but you are able and encouraged to move the needle quickly.
7. Continuous growth. At large companies, there usually comes a time when growth is stifled. At startups, there is so much to create and innovate, that there is endless opportunity to help you thrive in your career. And, with growth or growth challenges comes the excitement of experimenting, iterating, and seeing your work, work.
8. You are more than your title. People vie for titles at large companies, but in startups, titles are less important. Everyone has their core projects, but you never feel boxed in because you are all contributing to the greater sum of the company. Whether that is growth, user testing, culture, etc., you get to contribute much more than just your day to day projects.
9. Think like an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurial mindsets are looked upon favorably at startups. Everyone has skin in the game with equity being a component of your salary, so you’re not just working for the company, it’s also your company. And if you want to have your own startup one day, joining a startup is the best place to learn the ropes.
10. Don’t just work, create and collaborate. Every day at a startup is a creative process. Teams work cross-functionally and you get to approach your work like a project, versus tasks on a to-do list. Vurb has quarterly hack days where we get to give life to ideas we have but haven’t had the time to execute (check out a cool project one of our engineers worked on). And because we are small, we often collaborate in unexpected ways that just wouldn’t happen at a large, siloed company. For instance, the marketing and recruiting teams participate in QA days with our engineering and product teams.

Still think startups aren’t for you? Leave a comment and let’s keep the conversation going.

Shira Oatis is a talent acquisition professional in San Francisco, CA. She is Head of Talent at Vurb, a search app that helps you find and explore anything from sights to see, restaurants to try, books to read, events, music, and what’s trending in the world around you. Connect on LinkedIn and Twitter @ShiraOatis