Survival Of The Coolest
Culture Shock In The Startup World
Until just a few years ago, it would have been really difficult to embrace the idea of having pets in the office, having a beer while working or even the idea of limitless vacations. Today these perks are a reality among a lot of startups.
Although at first glance they look like really cool and modern perks, a lot of people are not used to have such “liberal” perks. I believe this comes along mainly with the well know “Generational Gap”, however, there are many youngsters with whom the idea simply does not echo.
We have to get something clear: there’s a special kind of people that can work in a startup. There, I said it.
When I was still in college, everything that everybody talked about was to get a job in a big corporation and start climbing that ladder. Then startups showed up or at least became very noticeable.
There was this new concept of working at a very small company, with the potential of changing the world…or at least trying. In retrospective, it is understandable the huge culture shock that these new kinds of organizations brought. For someone working at a big corporation, where almost everything is already established, getting notice of the startup's dynamics and the uncertainty that everyone there seems to live on can be too much to handle.
The culture shock from working at a big corporation and then in a startup can be too much to handle for some people. There’s a different type of freedom, responsibilities, and even fun that you don’t get to see every day. The time spent in the office has a different meaning, you don’t really have to cover time AT the office per week, but instead to cover your activities working from wherever you want.
Have you wondered to make the leap to create your own startup? I’ll tell you something: it will be the biggest challenge you will face, but it is, at the same time, the most rewarding experience one can have, even if you fail…especially if you fail.
Although it might seem like a big risk at first (because it is), in reality, the biggest risk comes from not doing anything at all and letting your ideas be no more than that, just ideas. Life is way too short to not give it at least one shot, and avoid living in the “would have”. The 9-to-5-job will always be there.
What do you need to do? START. Just start. Sometimes we have more ideas than fears of risk, but we prefer to listen to our fears instead. Just start and learn fast. It is naive to think you can prepare otherwise. Then, surround yourself with people that know more than you and share the same passion. It is all about adaptiveness, how easy can you handle new and difficult situations, and overcome them with your team. Some of the world’s biggest companies started in a garage, there is no shame in starting small.
The main idea is to push towards your dream, not money. In our last article, we mentioned this as well; your time should be to make your dreams come true, the money will get there eventually. Do things differently, don’t let that “culture shock” hit you: talk to potential customers, spend time and money on validating and promoting your idea, and surround yourself with people that push you towards the best.
