Life at Startup — Mastering Harmony with Chaos
My experience working for a StartUp
TL;DR
Startups are fun, tough and complicated. You Multitask, Learn and Go Ahead!
The value of an idea lies in the using of it. –Thomas Edison
Again, I am posting something after a hiatus of roughly a year. Recently, I recently changed my job. So, I wanted to write this post about my experience working at Dataone Innovation Labs, a StartUp.
First Job, First Day, First Impression!
I was anxious, curious and scared. As to How it would be? What work I will be given? Will I be able to do it? I always tend to overthink stuff and the impostor syndrome kicks in, What if I won’t be able to do well? Damn.
I barely made it on time that day. I had to sprint to the office. Opening the door, I introduced myself, stutterrrring, out of breath — “Hi! I am Viraj, the intern. I was supposed to join today”. The rest is history
It was a small comfy workplace with only two people there, and the third one being me and the only Developer of the team. I learned plenty of things and met some great friends in these 2 years.
I’ve always wanted to be involved in a startup. I’ve wanted to help build something. I’ve wanted to make an impact, and I’ve wanted to have that feeling of being depended on. I felt it was as good a time as any to make the leap.
Nonetheless, here are some of the biggest things I’ve come to realize working at a Startup.
You’ll get to wear so many different hats.
I have always had my legs in all fields that is exactly what I experienced here. I never realized just how rewarding it would be to be doing so many new things. In one day I might do graphic designing, then do some frontend programming, and finish up by doing DevOps. I juggled between 3 to 4 languages at a time. Javascript, Python, Java you name it 😅.
I remember on a good day, I would start off with some ReactJS, by noon I would be switching between to Java Spring Boot, and Python Django and call it a day by deploying it on the cloud. I loved it! It feels empowering to be a part of critical company work, and damn it, it feels good to take part in building something from the ground up.
Your work becomes a part of you.
When I joined Dataone, I expected to be working much longer hours, and that expectation certainly came to fruition. What I did not expect, however, the way in which I would become invested in my work. I felt a sense of ownership with our company like I’ve never felt before. Not only did I care about Dataone’s success; it was becoming an important part of who I am. Being part of a team that walks the thin line between success and failure makes you always want to make that extra effort.
Your hand will not be held.
Google became my new friend, my mentor. As everyone was struggling to get a handle on their own professional roles. I had to figure things out. The self-learning skills I developed, as a result, proved to be invaluable over time.
And the best part of self-learning was that, In the process, you are learning how to “learn”. Which makes you adapt to new things quickly in the long run.
You’ll learn to trust your instincts.
By experimenting with new stuff, I had to face failures too. It taught me to accept failure and emerge stronger, wiser and more resilient from every fall. It raised my sense to take a decision with very little information, the ability to take risks and trust my instincts.
As Mark Zuckerberg says “In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”
All in all, My experience as I would say was very great, I taught me a great deal of things. It taught me that everyone, everything matters. I taught me that you are on your own in this world. It taught me to never give up. It taught me to Dream Big! And the most important thing It taught was “Mastering Harmony with Chaos.”
I dedicate this post to my friends at Dataone Innovation Labs. I wish a bloody good luck to the work we have visioned. 頑張ってください!
Also posted on Otaku.Codes
https://otaku.codes/startup/life-at-a-startup-mastering-harmony-with-chaos.html
