7 Reasons Why It’s Better to Work at a Startup than at a Corporation
Have you ever wondered why so many people nowadays are attracted to the startup life? If you think it through, a corporate working environment is much safer, more stable, less stressful, and guarantees plenty of benefits. However, in the contemporary world where everybody travels a lot and changes their addresses, startup roller coasters have something more to offer. They’re attractive particularly for people who value the flexibility of a timetable and the opportunity of personal and professional growth over the established companies’ reputation and money.
We live in a reality, which has been christened with the prominent term of “liquid modernity”. There is no center; we live in a constant flux, without history and any precise feeling of time passing, we move from one place to another looking for job opportunities and, a so called, better life. The lucky ones are those, who are in charge; for them changing places is a privilege. For those who work on the lowest level of the hierarchy, never-ending change is a must. Taking a risk is also an obligation, if you want to do something significant and innovative.
I would say that startups give you a possibility to be in-between these two realities — if you are skilled enough, you can make a pretty good living, while working for a startup, and, most importantly, you can achieve great success with your team of coworkers. Obviously, such work is not for everyone — the rule is simple: if you’re a self-starter that thrives off taking initiative, you’re a natural fit for the startup lifestyle; but if you succeed with instructions, your best bet is working for a larger organization.
Anyhow, if you belong to the first group, be aware that the startup reality is worth taking the risk for. I think there are a lot of pros of working for a startup, but I will limit myself to point out just a few of them, which are essential, in my opinion.
Reason #1: You will not get paid a lot, but you will be awarded in so many different ways!
As Joe Auer, entrepreneur and founder of Skill Voyage, states:
“Salary will be lower than you could demand at a corporate job. Startups combat this by offering more intangible benefits, like the ability to build something meaningful new from the ground up, and a piece of equity in the company.”
You can count on plenty of ways to increase your salary. In many startups owners offer a stake in the company’s stock. Furthermore, working for a startup means that you may have future financial opportunities — if a startup succeeds, you’ll be rich and famous.
The conclusion is rather simple — if you work hard (and you will, because money is the best motivator!) and contribute all the skills and knowledge you have, it’ll possibly result in a larger salary, which may hardly be real by in the corporate world. Apart from the money factor, by working for a startup you’ll be rewarded with so many not-so-obvious things, such as satisfaction and freedom to work on your own and to establish your own rules and methods of problem solving. Remember what Ryan Freitas, about.me co-founder says:
“Your reputation is more important than your paycheck, and your integrity is worth more than your career.”
Big corporations are forced to structure their models the same to keep the investors and their customers happy; as a startup, you can do whatever you want. And, most of all, you’ll learn to be frugal and, instead of consuming, you’ll dedicate yourself to creating cool ways to make other people’s lives better. I stole this concept of consuming less and creating more fromKerrin Sheldon (from Wanderfly, bought by TripAdvisor in 2012), nonetheless I must admit that remembering the first year of working atPIXERS, I recall it as a hyper creative time, when I also curated exhibitions and worked with artists on many creative projects.
Last but not least, let’s be honest — every big company was a startup before. The Tony Hsieh’s (Zappos CEO) words shall be the motto for every startup employee (I love it!):
“Chase the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you.”
Reason #2: You have a greater responsibility, but your work is also better recognized
When you work at a startup, it probably means you’re part a small team and there’s no one in the company with the same skillset as you. This implies a much higher responsibility than in a corporation. You have to be extremely flexible and hands-on, especially in the early stages. It may be considered a disadvantage, because great responsibility also means a greater impact on the company. However, as usual, there are two sides to the story, and, at the same time, you can easily harm the business with your actions or boost it with your initiatives. If you enjoy challenges, it will motivate you and make your job more exciting!
When I joined PIXERS, the entire team was made up of just seven people and we worked in a small flat with our own products stuck everywhere for testing . After just a few weeks, I became the person responsible for writing, editing content in social media and customer service for Spanish-speaking clients. Several weeks passed and I also was responsible for website content, so I started to be the creative editor and content designer at once within a very short period. It was quite dynamic, it’s true, but it was also a great experience and I had a feeling that I was becoming part of something big. Of course, at the beginning, no one had ever heard of us and people didn’t really get the concept of our online store, but recognition comes with time. Thus, if you want to improve your CV with cool brands and raise your market value, then you won’t get it in a startup. Everything depends on your priorities.
Reason #3: You have better opportunities, because everything you do is ground breaking
Working at a startup means that you’re indispensable in building the company — in startups there is no such thing as unnecessary people and every position comes with high anticipations; therefore, you can’t stay in your comfort zone and have to adapt really quickly in the event you plan to work at a startup. On the other hand, as opposed to the corporate job, your failures won’t go unnoticed. Although more responsibility may equal more stress, it also means more reward.
You will do many innovative things and the results will sometimes be bigger than you think. As the entire culture of a startup is focused on fast success and fast growth, you’ll have to learn new skills quickly, which will result in your personal satisfaction and overall startup success. At PIXERS, I have always felt appreciated for what I do, and I still have the feeling that I really contributed to the success of the company. I love this feeling!
Reason #4: You’re able to do many different things, instead of sticking to one main task
“Unlike like large corporations, where individuals have very specific job descriptions that limit their duties, in startups you have to adapt, and move from one set of duties to another as the startup grows and pivots. This often means mastering utterly new job skills, failing at them for a while, and finally doing the new job well,” — Chris V. Nicholson, Head of Communications and Recruiting at Future Advisor.
Working for a corporation means you are provided with training, tools and equipment to do your job, whereas at startups everything is quite experimental and you’re responsible for your own growth — you learn to do things while working. What’s more, if you have one core job that won’t vary a lot over a course of several months at a corporation, at a startup you certainly won’t complain about the monotony: you’ll have many tasks at once and they will change incessantly (a fact that especially women should be happy about). Therefore, the main advantage of working for a startup is that learning becomes your religion and the main commitment. Working at PIXERS I gained a lot of different skills, ranging from learning graphic design software to understanding html code — I have tried on a lot of hats, even the ones that I didn’t think I would ever wear.
A perfect proof of how working at a startup is different from the corporate job is what happens when you switch instantly from one to another. When SlackCEO Stewart Butterfield sold his startup Flickr to Yahoo he had no idea how it would be reorganized. He says:
“There were a lot of politics and turf wars and a lot of wasted potential as a result of a lack of unity around the purpose of what people were doing. Some people would show up to work every day, really looking out for themselves as opposed to trying to collaborate to create something amazing.”
Reason #5: You are one of the few employees and you are essential for the team
“In large corporations, no single individual has a huge influence on outcomes for the whole. In startups, everyone’s performance matters. How you perform can materially change the outcomes for the group. Some people like that pressure; others don’t.” — Chris V. Nicholson
In the corporate reality you may manage millions and yet, your impact on the company will be fractional, regardless of whether you do your job or not. At a startup you’ll bring much more value to the table: your own success will also means the company’s success. While at a corporation you work as an individual in a highly competitive ecosystem, at a startup you have common goals as a team and you complement each other in pursuit of satisfying your clients. If you stay motivated and attentive, your successes will be recognized and your failures minimized. And last but not least, you can be sure that if somebody from the team says that they couldn’t have done it without you, it’s 100% true.
Working in a small environment, where everybody knows each other quite well and know what they are good at, is an important factor that shall convince you to work for a startup. As Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, once said:
“If you can’t feed a team with two pizzas, it’s too large.”
Reason #6: You can learn from the true innovators
“You shouldn’t focus on why you can’t do something, which is what most people do. You should focus on why perhaps you can, and be one of the exceptions.” — Steve Case, AOL co-founder
Every up-and-coming startup has true visionaries, and you can learn an abundance from them. I’ve already mentioned the factor of fast learning at a startup, but it’s indispensable to add that you aren’t alone — everybody at a startup does everything from scratch, and there are also smart people with a vision, who will make you see problems from a different perspective and solve them in an innovative, original manner. It’s a very enriching experience to be able to work with the great minds of our time. They are continuously finding new solutions and are driven to make the most out of their time and work. You can learn a recipe for how to lead a fulfilling life and how to work on projects that matter from them.
Reason #7: You work in a fun atmosphere & you bond with other people
All startups start small, so the relations between employees are pretty informal and rather familiar. Whereas in corporations the structure is hierarchized, at startups people form a close-knit group and, therefore, know each other very well. Also, they often have an occasion to talk to the CEO.Independently on the number of the employees, at a startup you work so closely together on work that matters to all of you so that chemistry in your relationships comes as something totally natural. A relaxed, yet creative atmosphere is a factor that should reward the lack of perks that corporations usually offer their employees, but which don’t exist in startups, such as insurance, conference attendance, tuition reimbursement or transportation costs. Furthermore, the advantage of strong bonds between people at startups is that they are more productive and satisfied with their jobs, giving more reliable work and a lower turnaround.
Turnstone general manager Brian Shapland describes the startup culture’s main feature as “the innovative and energetic vibe”, and summarized it in four themes that connect the “ethos” of a company with its environment: passion, personality, agility and authenticity:
“Workers at startups often seek a human approach to space, rather than a cold setting. They don’t want to check their personality at the door, and entrepreneurs focus on creating conditions to celebrate that authenticity.”
Also, if you read Tony Hsieh’s new book, Delivering Happiness, you may come to believe that this is just the way things should be:
“It’s about giving employees permission and encouraging them to just be themselves.”
In summary– although working for a startup involves a lot more dedication, hard work and passion than working for a bigger, renowned company, it undeniably offers some great opportunities of self-development and is tailored exactly to the needs of a contemporary individual, whose priority is to work on a pioneering and meaningful project.
Understandably, startups are not for everyone, as they are equal with taking a considerable risk, especially bearing in mind that according to the Wall Street Journal article by Deborah Gage, their fail rate is three out of every four. Deciding whether or not to work for a startup depends on one’s experience and personal ambitions — the best way to figure out what you prefer is to try both options and then decide which path better suits your goals.
