Corporate to Start-Up? Go for it!
While the safety and security of a big company is great for many people, the many, many bosses, matrix organization structures, and endless administrative work can leave you drained. Trade this for the energy of the start-up company and its much smaller team of energized people, and do it before it’s too late!
As a more “experienced” employee, don’t be afraid of the t-shirts and backward caps your colleagues may sport on Zoom. They want to do, create, develop, and grow just like you do. And they think differently than you, so they can help you meet your own goals within the company just by communicating with you about what you are working on. Maybe you will see another way to do something, or have a related idea spurred from one of their projects or ideas.
And the direct line of communication you have with the leadership team helps you get more done, faster, and with less red tape. Being part of a small management group means everyone relies on everyone else, all the time. You can’t pass the buck, since there is nobody to pass it to! And your colleagues can’t do it either.
Yes, with a small team there can be a “family” style of communication and culture, where people may come to know more personal details about you. But isn’t this what most people want? To be known? In the big corporation there is always gossip within your division, or unit, and there is much more “backstabbing” for the next promotion as everyone vies for the boss’s favor. In the start-up there is more consensus needed to get promoted so the whole team has more influence over your growth as a leader within the company.
It can be risky to join a start-up after a long career in corporate life, but the rewards are great. You get to actually build and deliver new ideas, instead of just talking about them internally, with the endless budget reviews, and many “gateways” to complete. And all those people in the peanut gallery that criticize your ideas and your drive to implement them in the corporation, they don’t exist in the start-up. Good ideas get actioned quickly in a start-up environment. Bad ones die quickly too!
Where the risks are high, the rewards can be as well. Being closer to the top in the small company can be valuable later on when the company goes public. But you will be more in the spotlight too. If you like to ride in the sun, climb aboard the start-up machine and twist the throttle. Enjoy!
