Just read an insightful piece about the differences between working at a start-up vs a big company. It boils down to 10 points:
- Responsibility, accountability, impact
Everyone is expected to take ownership of their own work here. Collective responsibility doesn’t fly as it encourages a no-blame, no-responsibility culture. - Risk
There is no guarantee that we’ll be around a year from now. Our only guarantee is that we will try to be around for that, and much longer. - Opportunities for generalists
Everyone is expected to do everything including random stuff that may not even be engineering related. Gives ‘bring your own bottle’ a new meaning. - Ownership and leadership
It’s like rowing – a team sport for individual leaders – each doing their own thing working towards a common goal. Everyone has to pitch in. - Transparency
There is nothing to hide here, not even compensation packages. We have very limited office space. There just isn’t any space to hide things in. - Company culture
We have been rated 10/10 for Gen-Y readiness and our culture is in flux all the time, as people come and go, both local and foreign. - Hiring
Everyone is in the loop on who is applying, interviewing, and coming. Interviews are public spectacles. - Financial incentive
We believe that if we pay peanuts, we will get monkeys; and we’d rather work with a bunch of great people. - Politics
Politics? There aren’t enough people around to take any sides. Also, code is a great way to settle arguments. - Be a part of something bigger than you
For sure!
I just wished that more people had the mentality to join a start-up instead of a multi-national.
1 Comment
alexlod · 2012-03-14 at 00:57
Here here! My intention in that post was to encourage more people to consider working at startups. Hopefully it helped to that end. Regardless, thanks for sharing the post :).