Consulting vs. Startups:

I’ve moved into the startup world for about nine months now. A lot of people, especially current or ex-consultant often ask me, what’s the difference between consulting and startup? Here is a list of three major differences that I’ve observed along the way.

Startup experience varies. Similar to consulting, your startup experience will be largely shaped by the stage of the company, the role, and most importantly, the people around you. Post my 2.5 years at McK, I joined Shape Security, which is a series C, web security company with ~100+ people.

Difference # 1: Strategy vs. Execution

The word “strategy” is a favorite among all management consultants. In my past 2.5 years at consulting, I often heard questions like “How can I grow my revenue 5X in the next 3–5 years?”, “What is the strategy to enter the overseas market”? Most deliverables of my past projects are powerpoint presentations full of recommendations and roadmaps. I used to believe that having a good strategy is everything.

Entering the startup world, I begin to learn that a good strategy is only a start. It is the execution that matters. Operational excellence involves thoughtful planning, great attention to detail, constant cross-functional communication and diligent project management.

Three months ago, we were trying to launch a new webinar program to educate prospects about web security threats that are relevant to Shape. Based on previous experience with webinars, most people on the marketing team thought this idea would fail. Despite the skepticism, we put our best foot forward to operationalize this effort, from choosing the webinar platform to creating the content. It turned out to be a great success. Furthermore, this webinar program has continued to be a very effective lead generation channel for us.

The best advice I get on execution is from the book “How Google Works” — “Launch quickly, iterate and don’t be afraid to fail.”

Difference # 2: Structured vs. Unstructured environment

I never had an appreciation of how structured the McK world is until I left. There is a formal mentorship program, defined team roles & responsibilities, regular performance review, apprenticeship structure and clear career path. If you are ever unsure of the right answer, there is always a firm expert to help. In contrast, the startup, depending on the stage, might not have any of the above in place. Some people are uncomfortable with “ambiguity” and others thrive.

When I first joined Shape, I also had difficulty dealing with ambiguity. My initial struggle is around unclear role definition. From the first day, I was told that a title doesn’t mean much at a startup. It turned out to be very true. Everyone is expected to wear multiple hats. Over the past nine months, I’ve done a combination of content marketing, sales enablement, demand generation, pricing and business development work. On most days, I will probably wear 3 or 4 different hats. The quick context switch comes from fast-changing business needs and limited resource availability. As one co-worker puts it, “Like Shape, I am polymorphic”.

It doesn’t just happen on the business side of the company. I have seen engineers substituting for customer success roles and security researchers supporting marketing efforts. At a startup, there isn’t one structured role or career path.

A piece of advice I got from my mentor is — “Do the best for the company, all else will follow.”

Difference #3: Advising vs. Selling

The fundamental role of a consultant is being an advisor. In consulting, it’s important to be thoughtful and data-driven to provide recommendations. Before you go up the food chain, there is barely any selling work involved.

In the startup world, you are constantly selling your product, an idea inside the company or even selling yourself. As a product marketer, I see myself as a technology evangelist. I spent a fair amount of time pitching our product at different security conferences, local meet up or even at social parties.

How do you obtain the skill of selling? In my mind, you can break it down into three different components: building the relationship, pitching, and active listening. Building the relationship and active listening are both skills that consultants develop during typical client engagements. Pitching comes from a good storyline and lots of practice.

As a mentor once told me — “The key to selling is to be a good listener.”

Those are my learnings from nine months at a B2B software startup. If you have similar background and experience, I’d love to chat and exchange thoughts.