Advantages and drawbacks to working in a start-up tech company

This is part two of a two-part series. Part one covered the advantages and disadvantages of working for a large, publicly traded tech company.

Part two will cover the advantages and disadvantages of working for a start-up. And bear in mind that what is a clear advantage to one person maybe a complete deal-breaker for someone else. It’s not right or wrong. Just different. So here we are really interested in YOUR point of view and giving you enough information to help you decide which appeals more to you. You could always try both, but obviously not at the same time.

What is a start-up?

By start-up we mean a company that has been started by a few founders, is in early stages of growth and is self-funded or looking for funding from venture capital or private equity. A start-up usually has 50 or fewer employees. Many start-ups were founded to solve a particular problem or take advantage of a unique opportunity with high hopes of major accomplishment.

Points to like about start-ups

A start-up tends to have flat/bottom-up communication with no hierarchy. You can chat to the owners or founders as if they were your pals. There is often a family atmosphere. Members of a start-up tend to help each other rather than compete. Most start-ups are small, close-knit teams of passionate individuals with a shared goal.

A start-up requires innovation, ingenuity, proactiveness, flexibility and a degree of passion from its employees. This is not just a job. It’s a mission. You work for a start-up because you believe in it. The work can be exciting and challenging rather than steady and predictable. It requires a level of dedication from each individual.

The success or failure of a start-up sits square on the shoulders of its few employees. If you don’t take your fair share of responsibility for the company, there is probably no one to pick up the slack.  Your voice, what you do, your work really count.

While you may be hired for a specific function and job, this can rapidly change, evolve and expand and you may find yourself doing work that was never part of your original job description. This can be an opportunity to learn new skills, to expand and to stretch yourself. It gives you a chance to figure out what you are best at and what you really love to do.

There is generally more creative freedom in a start-up than in a large, well-established company. Don’t expect to be given marching orders every step of the way. You will need to be self-motivated and a self-starter, proactive, responsible. A start-up has less red tape, less fixed procedures, more flexibility.

In general there are fewer set rules and more freedom.

People who work for a start-up are usually able to rise to an executive position more quickly than they would in a large, publicly traded company.

Financially there are greater opportunities and there are greater risks. The Wall Street Journal says that three out of every four start-ups fail. On the other hand if you are working for a start-up Skype or Instagram, Mailchimp, Apple, Pinterest or thousands of others that didn’t fail, having been in on the ground floor could result in huge recompense. You may find yourself owning part of a company that made it big. Big opportunity – big risk.

The potential downsides?

Start-ups are generally not well-funded at the beginning. Salary will usually be lower than for a comparable position in a large, publicly traded company, and pay can be more erratic.

Benefits and perks tend to be less. The hours of work can be long and even erratic, and you can find the line between work life and non-work life becoming blurred as you take your short lunch break sitting at your computer working on the job that must be done now because everyone is depending on you.

Your job can be far less structured than in a large corporation and you may not be compensated fully for all the different hats you find yourself having to wear.

Resources tend to be more limited so the equipment and tech you are using may be out of date. Your workplace could be anywhere really, from a garage to someone’s home to your own home.

There will be less opportunity for extracurricular formal training and education.

Single biggest difference

Perhaps the biggest difference between working for an established, publicly traded tech company and a tech start-up revolves around the risk vs. the potential gain.

On the one hand, you could find your company disappearing from under you, leaving you sitting there without a job quite suddenly. On the other hand, you could be on the ground floor of a brilliant start-up that experiences astronomical success leaving you wealthy and free after relatively few years.

So, do you enjoy the thrill of working in a rapidly changing environment with new demands every day and large potential gains? Are you prepared to put up with less pay, fewer benefits and more risk in order to have that kind of job?

Or do you prefer the orderly, routine day to day activity with little change, few surprises and no major opportunities to make it big in a short time?

As you can see, the choice really does depend on you, your personality, your aspirations and your goals.