Startup, why I moved from Corporate to a small technology start-up

This is why you work in technology

Why work for a Startup?

Are you considering a startup? Today’s post is an edited version of a keynote I recently delivered at a job fair. The audience consisted of corporate employees who were considering joining Startup. thought it might help anyone who is considering joining a startup.

I am regularly asked, “Why do you work for a Startup?” It’s probably because I worked in corporate for over 10 years and intentionally made the switch.  Half of the time, this question comes up as more of an accusation than a question.  I take it as an indication of the person asking the question as the glass being half-full or half-empty.  I joined a startup to try an alternative to corporate America. At that time in my life, Startup offered me a specific refuge.  Now, I work in a startup for several reasons. I believe startup environments offer many opportunities to build up my resume.  A strong resume is the best bet for job security in any economy. This is especially true in an economy where jobs are scarce.

10 plus years in Fortune 

I started my career in Corporate America, where I learned a lot.  HRNasty wants to give credit where it is due. I would not be where I am today without that experience, training, mentorship, and lessons learned.  Corporate America has the resources and the time to train and develop its employee force. I graduated with a degree in HR. I eventually moved into training and development. The corporate world provided this luxury not often found in startups.

After a few years of tenure, I have seen many candidates successfully transfer from well-known Fortune companies.  They were in Corporate America long enough to master the foundational principles of their discipline. They also left before their skill sets and mentalities became pigeonhole to the point of not being transferable to any other company.  It can be a tough perception to overcome. The ability to transfer skill sets after working for years with a single niche technology, product, or service has its stereotypes. I made the change after 10 years in a Fortune company. If my dumb ass can do it, anyone can.

Why a startup?

Back to the question of “Why a Startup”?  I think Stephen Cohen, the co-founder of Palantir, said it best.

“We tend to massively underestimate the compounding returns of intelligence. As humans, we need to solve big problems. If you graduate Stanford at 22 and Google recruits you, you’ll work a 9-to-5. It’s probably more like an 11-to-3 in terms of hard work. They’ll pay well. It’s relaxing. But what they are actually doing is paying you to accept a much lower intellectual growth rate. When you recognize that intelligence is compounding, the cost of that missing long-term compounding is enormous. They’re not giving you the best opportunity of your life.”

I think this is an amazing insight.  This is a Malcolm Gladwell-esque observation. It is un-observable and underappreciated until you have seen both sides of the corporate/startup coin.  On one side, the stigma of the tech industry and the early 90s is still ingrained deep in the general public’s psyche.  But after the recent downturn, I think the corporate side of the coin has also tarnished and lost its luster.  In these unstable times, the following is my train of thought as a recruiter and as a potential candidate entering the workforce:

Opportunity and execution are the best paths to a strong resume.  There is no better hunting ground for the opportunity and pure resume-building fodder than a Startup.

Nowadays, a strong resume is the best weapon to combat the man sitting in the ivory tower.   If I am David and the company is Goliath, then my skills are my sling and my resume the stone.  These scrappy companies offer you the best chance of long-term financial stability.

Obviously, you need to execute. Because there is so much to do when you are building a company, Startups offer many opportunities.   Startups do not have union rules.  You don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do in a Startup.  You are not only expected to figure out what needs to be done, you are expected to “get ‘er done”.  This economy has defined a new age of self-reliance across the globe and all age generations.  This job market has proven that we should not rely on any single company.

Interviews are Thunderdomes. 

“Two men enter, one man leaves.” Like the Thunderdome, there is no second place on the interview battleground.  If you subscribe to the Glen Gary Glen Ross school of thought, “We are all out of steak knives, people.”

We have all seen single-company career and retirement dreams crushed.  Laid-off employees holding empty visions of a sunny beach and a gold watch.  I will not rely on the company or “the man.”  This HR pro/am will rely on three things for my long-term stability.

1. Skill set
2. Network
3. Interview skills

I am not preaching a Startup for the stock options

It’s unreasonable to rely on any one company to make you a multi-millionaire via stock options.  I want to work hard. I will be dedicated. However, as much as I work for the company, I work on my professional integrity.  The effort I put into a company will directly benefit my career.

Some candidates see Startups as lemons. I see these industry disrupters filled with ripe resume-building fruit to make lemonade.  Startups allow you to put more experience on your resume. These companies give you more opportunities in the same amount of time as you would receive if you worked in corporate America or traditional manufacturing.

A lot needs to be accomplished

Because of the size and situation of a Startup, there is a lot to be done and not enough people to do it.  When you are part of a group that is starting a company, scaling a company, or disrupting an industry, “shit needs to get done.”  Add limited funding or a race to reach profitability, and you have some real motivation. If you don’t reach revenue milestones, the company doesn’t receive the next round of funding. It isn’t for everyone. I don’t think there is anything more rewarding than working on a team where everyone is motivated to win.  Unless you have experienced this, it is tough to imagine this feeling.

When I worked in corporate, the lights went off at 5:45 PM.  The company was literally telling me to “go home, the work will be here tomorrow”.  Not knowing any different and working in the dark (literally), I was trying to “get shit done.”  The two philosophies met toe-to-toe like two Cold War countries.  We both had our ways of doing things, and neither of us needed to explain ourselves to the other.  We agreed to disagree, and neither of us would change the other.

Corporate America says:

“It’s 5 PM, go home”.  Actually, they said, “It’s 4:30, go home.”

   Startups say:

“Go Big or Go Home”. . literally

Ford Motor Company, gonzo.  American Airlines. Poof.  Enron – bye-bye.  I never imagined my hometown icon, Washington Mutual Bank, would go under.  I banked with them since middle school and thought I would die with them.   These companies reinforce a specific appeal. Working longer hours with a small group of dedicated co-workers vs. a large group of people looking forward to leaving work behind at 5:00 PM.  I believe the opportunity to build your resume and skill set is exponentially much higher in a startup.

Compounding returns

As Stephen Cohen stated above, returns on intelligence are not just exponential; they are compounding.  This translates to the opportunity being compounded as well.  Over the first few formative years of your career, this can make a huge difference in your earning power and responsibility given in the 10th to 20th years of your career, where your salary should be the highest.

If you want to give yourself the best opportunity to build the strongest resume possible, find a place where you can unleash your hidden beast.

See you at the after party,
HRNasty

nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.

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