Life at a Startup

Over the past few years I have worked at numerous start up companies. During this time I have been through ups and downs of the experience and would like to share some things on what to expect.

Be prepared to be let go any time

The unfortunate rally about a start up is they are running off a fixed budget that is most likely dependant on investors until they begin to make a profit. This means that their budget can frequently change on the fly and they will have to adapt to it. With that, they will potentially have to terminate peoples contracts, which might be you. This is not to scare you, but to simply be ready and not be caught by surprise if you have the unfortunate conversation.

You will "Wear many hats"

You will see that term thrown around alot in job descriptions or interviews with start up. This simply means that You will end up doing more what your initial job description entailed. This is because a start up is a much smaller team and will require employees to take on many roles. Be prepared for this, and willing. The more you end up doing, the more valueable you will be for the company.

There will be constant Pivots

Once week you will be working on a set a tasks, and out of now where will be told to cancel it and move onto something else. This is very common at a Startup as they are still figuring out what brings the most value to their consumers. So do not get too invested into your work as it might get scraped. You will have to move past it and continue to adapt with the company.