Why joining a startup was the best decision that I ever made?

Joining a startup was a big decision that I ever made, knowing the facts about how much risks it always got.

What is your dream job?

Is it a job that offers an attractive package with lots of employee benefits?? Is it a job at a sophisticated office with hi-fi resources? Or, is it a job that offers lots of learning and growth opportunities?

I was having a good job at a huge company with a decent package, a sophisticated workplace, surrounded by good friends and brilliant mentors, all those, one could ever ask for. Yet, I opted to turn the new chapter in my professional life by joining a startup that would offer me challenges, adventures, success, and failures, all on the same desk. Every new day had something new to learn, experience, and explore, be it bitter or sweet.

Had I not taken this opportunity, I would have never been exposed to all those areas which I have been through joining the startup. Proactivity, accountability, responsibility, multi-tasking, self-learning, handling stress along with frustrations, able to handle work pressure, balance work-life, accepting the failures while learning from them are few amongst many best learnings throughout my startup journey. It never demotivated nor discouraged me, but instead always created an energy within me to aim high and achieve more. The opportunity that I got to work with multiple hats was the most challenging part of my journey. I always thought Project Management is the only one that I am good at and should focus on. But my decision of switching to a start-up simply amplified my understanding in this industry and built up my keen interest in all the fields, that a Software Development industry would have. In fact, I saw the enormous opportunities outside the well more than where I dwelled in.

The six best things that ever happened to me joining a startup are as below:

1. Growth Opportunities

Every single day had something new and interesting to learn. I wasn’t going to the office just to work and get the job done. I was learning and experimenting with everything I did. After joining the startup, I could see lots of opportunities for me in many different ways.

1. Personal Growth - Along with my day to day work, I was learning to manage time and people. I was learning to deal with various situations and react to circumstances, as well as, convince and negotiate with all the stakeholders that I had to work with, which included my company’s executives, team members, and the clients. I was getting more practical, confident, and highly motivated. With my interest and the opportunity, I was also learning to plan better, focus on goals, and forecast the outcomes, which taught me to take proactive decisions to achieve the milestones.
2. Professional Growth - The new skills, techniques, or any experience that I learned helped me to groom myself professionally. I could relate the theoretical knowledge and the practical experience in my day to day job roles. I was understanding better with every responsibility that I hold and getting proficient at executing them. Each and every professional growth that I was growing with valued me more, and unlocked many doors to my career growth.
3. Career Growth - Your job wouldn’t be interesting if there isn’t any growth in your career. Imagine yourself working with the same title, position, and job responsibilities for a long time, would you enjoy it? Unless you are the founder or an executive member of the company itself. In my case, I knew where I was heading, and that was exactly how I wanted to construct my career. I was connecting each and every dot that I was experiencing which led to growth in my career. One after another, there were so many opportunities. Not only to me, to everyone who worked in the team. All that it needed was hard work, dedication, passion to work, and sincerity. It created a value, need, and the importance of my existence in the team.
4. Financial Growth - Apart from other growth opportunities, if your work is appreciated and offered what you deserve in return, then that’s like an icing on the cake. But seeing yourself grow financially as well as the company that you work for, is what matters the most. And it makes me feel really proud to be a part of the company which is growing along with its employees.

2. Diverse Responsibilities

I had diverse roles and responsibilities. I was not just a Project Manager, anymore. Apart from managing the projects, I closely worked with the developers, tested along with the QA team, handled the clients, conducted product demos, implemented processes, worked with Marketing, Sales, and Support teams, and not only that but also started getting involved with the company’s operations. At first, I was overwhelmed with all these responsibilities. But gradually I started enjoying each and every responsibility and the work commitments that my job demanded. Some of my key responsibilities were to manage the projects, maintain a high value delivering product roadmap, implement and monitor processes, build a relationship with the clients to retain them as well as understand their needs and requirements, market research on competitors and business needs, and look over the region’s operations that I am associated with. I wouldn’t have asked more to understand better how a Software Development company operates. I got exposure to most of the departments which have definitely enhanced my knowledge and understanding in operating and sustaining a company.

3. Leadership Qualities

Being a leader is not about having the power to rule the team and be bossy around. It’s about how you can stand along with the team and keep the chain moving towards the goal. I have had both sweet and bitter memories with my teams, the times when we succeeded, and the times when we failed. I have had the chance to work with a wonderful team that has taught me so many ways to be a good leader and helped me to bring the best out of me. I really enjoyed working with my team, making work fun, motivating one another, and stay focused on our goals. For us, more than our success and failure, our teamwork and the effort we put in mattered the most. We accepted every challenge and at least tried once before even having a thought of giving it up. With time, I was understanding my team’s nature, the reasons behind their motivations and demotivation, the environment, and the culture they like to work in. I was able to build a good relationship with every team member, which happened to be one of my biggest strengths or call it a bit of luck. Believing in the team and creating an environment that they prefer to work in undoubtedly resulted in the team’s high productivity, promising, and goal achieving.

Honestly, I wouldn’t have been a leader simply by reading an article or following the paths of other great leaders. I believe it’s my team who helped me become one.

4. Innovation and Idea Implementation

How do you feel when your ideas, views, and suggestions on the project that you are working on, are being heard? Not necessary that all of them are valid and need to get picked all the time but at least an opportunity to have your say, matters a lot. Being able to share my ideas and implement them made me feel valued and important in the company. It made me realize how I can also make a difference and create an impact on the company. I was highly motivated and willing to give more. It encouraged me to think critically from different perspectives and rose my interest in understanding the business to provide innovative solutions, rather than just getting the assigned job done.

5. Challenges and Risks

From the day I joined the startup, it has always been a challenging and adventurous journey to me. Almost four years have passed and not a single day has been boring to me. Below are a few of the challenges and risks, which I believe, hadn’t I dared to face it, I wouldn’t have ever experienced this amazing journey and be what I am today.

1. The Ups and Downs - I went through lots of ups and downs in my startup journey, which I suppose is definitely a startup ritual. There were times when I felt accomplished and highly motivated, as well as, times when I broke down emotionally and wanted to quit.
2. Hiring Right Candidate and Team Stability - Hiring the right candidates is a boon to the startup company. A stable enthusiastic team is all that a startup needs to prosper. I faced lots of consequences on delivering the project on time and keeping the rest of my teams motivated when there would be a negative influence on the team that led to team instability.
3. Financial Management - Financial Management is another challenging part to run a smooth startup operation. Any wrong decisions on investments and financial planning would negatively impact the company badly, in the long run.
4. Winning Clients Trust - I still remember how hard it was to convince my first client, just because we are a startup company. Despite fulfilling all their requirements, their only concern was to trust us. Many clients look for a mature product, and that’s where I struggled the most to convince them. Winning a client’s trust is like winning a battle.

6. I never Failed. Either I succeeded or learned.

Yes, my startup journey has been full of success stories and learning opportunities. I am not just being an optimist here, but it truly is. The success stories have always encouraged me to do more, aim high, keep myself motivated, and recognize my expertise. Whereas the times when I have failed to accomplish has always created an opportunity to learn and explore more. I would go back to investigate what did not go right as planned, discuss with teams, consult with seniors or experts, research, and finally find a solution to solve it again. And the feeling of accomplishing it is just too little to express in words.
So, all in this process, I had nothing to lose. Either I succeeded or learned.

I must say that the limit of the opportunities in a startup is just unlimited.