{"id":6297,"date":"2014-04-15T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-15T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=6297"},"modified":"2020-03-30T19:07:43","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T23:07:43","slug":"5-reasons-work-startup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/5-reasons-work-startup","title":{"rendered":"Five reasons I work at a startup (and why you should too)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why Work For A Startup Company<\/h1>\n

It was the end of 2011 and I had officially “escaped the city.”<\/p>\n

Rewind to twelve months ago. I was working in healthcare, running a GP surgery of 20 staff, 8,000 patients, and sitting on the board of two small companies to commission healthcare services for a borough in the center of London.<\/p>\n

There was just one problem: I hated what I was doing.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

By spring 2011, I was four months into my mission to change career directions and devoted my evening and weekends to three fail-safe ideas. I hired Muhammad, a PHP developer based in Pakistan to build a product to solve what I saw as a huge gap in the market: An app that would allow surgeries to book temp doctors directly and cut out expensive agencies. It is an industry ripe for disruption.<\/p>\n

Let’s fast forward a few months later. I had an annoyed Pakistani developer, less money, and my three “fool-proof startups” were dead in the water. This whole tech startup business was harder than I had thought it would be. I was living proof of how startups suffer such a high mortality rate.<\/p>\n

Around that time I was offered a product management role at a “real” startup. I remember very clearly telling my old boss I was leaving. His remarks captured the dilemma well:<\/p>\n

“So there\u2019s a chance this thing will fail…”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

His words were met by momentary silence. If my own experiences had taught me anything it was that he was right. I was leaving something secure for something that wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Anyone contemplating a move away from the “safe” world of traditional employment to work for a startup faces this dilemma: It\u2019s like gambling, a high-risk, high-reward strategy.\u00a0So, should the prospects of failure keep you away?<\/p>\n

Work For Startup<\/h2>\n

Failure’s got a bad rap<\/h3>\n

What if you do fail? I learned from my previous experience that failure isn\u2019t all that bad. It\u2019s tough love from a caring teacher. With each failure comes experience and with each experience comes learning. Even though my endeavors haven\u2019t exactly gone the way I wanted, I am still far better prepared for my new role than I would have been eight months prior.<\/p>\n

So, from my vantage point, I had two options: Stay somewhere I wasn\u2019t happy or take a risk. The risky endeavor might fail, but I\u2019d learn and be more prepared the next time around. And at the very least, I\u2019d enjoy what I was doing along the way.<\/p>\n

Startups let you be you<\/h3>\n

Startups are generally better environments for letting you be you. Wearing a suit, learning to master biz-speak, and working with people who just want a paycheck and not much more can get old real fast.<\/p>\n

The traditional workplace quickly molds you to become a certain kind of person. That person may not be you. It certainly wasn\u2019t me.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong: Your work environment, whether it’s a startup or not, will shape you. But in a startup, you help shape your work environment because you\u2019re helping to shape everything. In my experience, the focus is more on doing something than being someone.<\/p>\n

Learning deep and wide<\/h3>\n

Get into a startup early enough and you\u2019re likely to do everything at some point. I\u2019ve done product management, UX, sales, social media, team leading, client work, and more at the same job in less than two years. The goal is to make the company succeed and that means doing what it takes, and often, \u201cwearing many hats\u201d. The upshot of that is that you learn tons of skills and discover your passions and strengths along the way. As the company grows, you grow into the role that is right for you and become a specialist in doing what you love.<\/p>\n

You’re more creative<\/h3>\n

In a startup you get to tap into the kid version of yourself who loved coloring, Play Doh, puzzles, and make-believe scenarios. Being creative is an innate trait that is often suppressed with time. Working in a startup draws out that side of you because everything \u2014 your brand, color scheme, product, features, office, and structure must be created. In most jobs your right brain is left to atrophy. In startups it\u2019s a necessary resource that you must regularly tap into.<\/p>\n

You might just succeed<\/h3>\n

And then there\u2019s the off chance that your startup not only doesn\u2019t fail, but succeeds in a big way. The honest truth is that riding a wave of success like\u00a0Whatsapp<\/a>\u00a0can actually happen. However, that kind of success, by its very nature, is an exclusive club\u2026 but still within the realm of possibility. That\u2019s why startups continue to flourish; products are still being created, and VCs are regularly investing. Why? Because even if the chances are narrow, new Snapchats and Instagrams (and much\u00a0smaller companies<\/a>\u00a0for that matter) are created successfully each year.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Now what?<\/h3>\n

Well, if I were talking to my two-and-half-years younger self I\u2019d say, “Don\u2019t screw this up for me! You don\u2019t like your job and this is going to be awesome!” So, my toned-down version for you is: Definitely give it a shot. Changing direction isn\u2019t easy, but you might just find yourself a few years down the line feeling very grateful that you did.<\/p>\n

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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