Advantages of Working at Startups

What are the unique benefits of working at a startup versus a large company? In one of my first days founding MyWellbeing, I was told that running a startup is like a 50 year career condensed into 5 years. Over 6 years later, that absolutely aligns with my experience. Below are the top 5 advantages I've observed in choosing a startup over a larger, more established org: 🔥 EVERY MOMENT COUNTS You won't be bored at an early stage startup and you are unlikely to have idle time during the day to twiddle your thumbs. Instead, you have an opportunity to fuel the company's mission and play a significant role in how the company grows, which is an extremely rewarding daily sense of professional purpose. 👯♀️ PEOPLE Most early stage startups have extremely lean teams. If you're 1 of 10 (or fewer), you are going to be extremely hands on with a small handful of lucky teammates. The unique highs and lows of the startup roller coaster often breed a depth of connection with your teammates that is unparalleled elsewhere and lays the foundation for career-long relationships. 👑 LEADERSHIP Not only will you have an opportunity to share your perspective, you will be expected to lead the function you're hired to own, which includes both strategy and execution. You likely will not be handed a crystal clear to-do list. Instead, you will be given a core metric or business lever to own and you will be in charge of ideating and executing. This builds an inclusive, end-to-end skill set that will support you throughout your career (and your life outside of work). 💸 FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITY The earliest employees at a startup often have equity baked into their compensation packages. If the company does well, the financial reward of these options is often significantly higher then the cash compensation you'd be paid elsewhere. This can sometimes come with a lower cash base than traditional market rate at the earliest stages, so it's important to recognize that this is a high-risk-high-reward benefit. 🧠 GRIT Startups are not for the faint of heart. As you persevere through the highs and lows, you will learn to celebrate the highs and move on from the lows. This growth mindset, agility, and resilience will provide you the building blocks to handle a taller and taller order in your personal and professional life. What are your top 5 reasons for startup > larger org? Let me know in the comments 💬👇 #LinkedInTopStartups #TopVoices #startupadvice

A couple weeks ago, I shared a story about the scrappy beginnings of Energy Terminal and how we landed interviews with CEOs of billion-dollar companies while recording podcasts on a stack of library books. Core message: starting something will accelerate your learning curve 10-X. However, even if it's not you starting the company, joining a startup can deliver a lot of the same benefits. Here are a few reasons why startups can offer significantly-differentiated learning opportunities, especially early in your career: --> Ownership and Impact: At a startup, your work has real, tangible consequences. You’re not in the machine--you're building the machine. It’s a place where you can punch way beyond your weight, contributing to big wins and solving big problems in ways you might not get to at a larger company. You'll probably be doing things your peers at big companies won't get to do for a decade. -->Speed and Agility: Startups move fast. Decisions that might take months elsewhere are made in minutes. The pace can be intense, but it teaches you how to execute quickly and effectively, with no time to overthink or second-guess. -->Multi-Disciplinary Learning: Startups are the ultimate crash course in learning by doing. One day you’re refining a pitch deck for investors, and the next, you’re troubleshooting technical details with engineers. The breadth of experience you gain is unmatched, and it’s this variety that accelerates personal and professional growth. Joining a startup isn’t easy. It can be messy, fast-paced, and uncertain. But the payoff? You'll have the opportunity to accelerate your career growth far faster. Photo: Representing DG Matrix at an industry conference...probably something I wouldn't have gotten to do at a larger company! #startup #entrepreneurship

PSA for anyone early in their career considering joining a start up… 🔑 If your primary motivation to join is comp or upside from equity, you will most likely be disappointed. 🛑 I have spent my whole career in start ups and have been lucky enough to reap the rewards of early stage equity. 💰 But I know it’s rare and typically not life changing money unless you are the founder. ✔️ The best reasons to go to an early stage company with much higher risk is to get a chance… 1️⃣ at doing stuff you wouldn’t be allowed to do at a later stage company. It’s the best place to learn by doing. No / minimal swim lanes or political BS to navigate. 2️⃣ to accelerate your career early on. If you get sh*# done regardless of your ‘level’ - you will be recognized for it with more responsibility faster than you would at a company with defined career tracks 3️⃣ to work directly with senior folks (founders, exec team) that are smart, resourceful and experienced vs working with folks with similar experience as you in a large company If you like being self directed and *learn primarily by doing*, startups may be the right answer for you. 💪 But if you prefer to have *defined playbooks and learn in a structured setting*, large companies may be your best bet.🙌 No wrong choice. But each choice has a trade off 😊 pick wisely! Run your own race 🏃♀️ #startups #careermanagement #earlyemployees #careerinsights

I went from J.P. Morgan to a gummy vitamin start-up. Here are 5 massive learnings from ~3 months in start-up world: 1. No one is doing it for you. Have an idea? Great! Say the idea out loud? Even better. But it’s only going to happen if you make it happen. The "game" in a big company is not how do I make it happen but who do I call to make it happen. At a smaller company, if you want to do something, you just... do it. 2. The wins feel bigger. When you are at a smaller company, the wins feel more impactful.. because they are. Yes, that can mean more pressure at times, but it also means that everything you do feels bigger and more important. 3. The team is more connected! We’re a small group of mighty people… so we know everyone. I am loving that. We have a weekly team lunch and there’s enough of us to fit on one Google Meets screen. 4. Your job isn’t just your job. I am the Director of Partnerships on a small (but mighty) brand team. Partnerships can mean a LOT of things, and I’ve made it mean even more things than when I took this role. Where I was used to having 1 responsibility and worried about stepping on another team’s toes, I am now the go-to person for things I never would have touched before joining a start-up. 5. Deciding who makes the decisions is, in itself, a decision. You make the decisions. And if you don’t make the decisions, then your boss makes the decisions. You have to decide if it’s important enough to have your boss make the decision or if you should just make the call on your own. Everyone’s time is infinitely more valuable at a start-up, and you need to make sure you aren’t wasting a single second of it. And my biggest takeaway is this: If you want to learn fast, join a start-up. You will build more muscles than you ever knew you had. Agree? Any advice for the next few months of the start-up journey? #brandmarketing #careeradvice #startups