So You Want To Work at a Startup?

The Pros and Cons of Taking that Trendy New Gig

I had been actively seeking a new job when I got a LinkedIn message from a recruiter asking if I’d be interested in a Community Manager position at a coworking space. I immediately hopped on the phone with her, where I promptly asked what exactly a coworking space was. 

“Oh like a WeWork,” I responded confidently to her explanation. “Exactly,” she confirmed, “Except this would be a little different since it is a relatively new startup company.” 

Within a week, I had my in-person interview. Within an hour of my interview, I had an offer letter in my Gmail.  It felt too good to be true: I would be getting a significant pay raise from my current position, 15 days of paid time off upon signing the contract, healthcare paid for by the company, shares in the company, and it was a twenty-minute walk from my apartment.

Working at a startup company is a modern way to get experience and display your work ethic while working lots of hours  for an uncertain future and minimal guidance
[PHOTO:PHILIPPE LEWICKI, FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS] 

I’d work for small companies before, something they’d emphasized in the interview might be an adjustment from my current position. This was a startup, they’d drive home even further. I happily accepted the role and, in retrospect, wish I knew a little bit more about what exactly startup culture was prior to doing so. 

The glamorous success stories of small startup companies that turned into massive successes are well known. We all know the iconic origins of Apple being just a seedling in Steve Jobs’ garage, of Facebook being started in a Harvard dorm room. As you read this on your iPhone or possibly even through a link you found via Facebook, you surely understand how something (massive) came out of next to nothing with these companies. Startups, however, do not always have the rate of success as we associate them with having In fact, it is estimated 90% of startups fail. 

This information isn’t to discourage people from taking that job offer at a startup. It is to lay out the reality of startup companies in a way that contextualizes what it really entails to work for a startup because it isn’t all unlimited snacks and chic offices that come with the hefty amount of seed funding your company started with. When weighing your options for accepting a role at a startup company, consider the following pros and cons:

PRO: They’ll hire you with little experience if they think you can do the job.
A big part of startup culture is the fact that the founder/CEO wants to have people they like and believe in on their team. This is great because startups give you a chance for roles that other companies might not if your resume is lacking. For me, I had a ton of experience for the Community Manager role that made sense, but I did not have a BA yet, which was required for the role. The founders overlooked this however because they trusted in my ability to excel in the role. 

CON: You’ll have to learn a lot on the job while likely being expected to be competent in your role quickly. 
The downside of a startup taking a chance on you is that there is a chance that you don’t actually have all the skills you’ll need for the role, so you’ll have to learn them on the job (and, from my experience, learn them quickly). On top of the learning curve of adjusting to a new company in general and a new role in general, you also have to learn new skills necessary for the position if you are previously lacking them. Even if you’ve had a similar position before, given the nature of startups, you may still have to learn even more because your role will likely entail even more than it did at a larger company. 

PRO: They typically pay very well.
I doubt this one needs any elaboration. Let’s say, I could afford to stop for coffee in the morning. 

CON: They often pay well because there are fewer people who work there. You’ll have less support in your role, you’ll have to wear many hats, and you’ll have to work long hours.
In my role at a startup company, I worked a minimum of 45 hours a week. I was expected to be there 8 AM-5 PM Monday-Friday. I had to come in early or stay late at least one day a week, be it for a late tour of the space or an event. There was usually at least one week a month where we would have one major event and I would end up working one day that week from 8 AM-9 PM or 10 PM, and still have to come back at 8 AM the next day to work until 5 PM. I was salaried.

Not only are the hours long, but you’re also expected to want to work these long hours and be there all of the time, or else you’re not a team player. This becomes extra taxing when you consider the fact that your average day is not merely focusing on one or two tasks. You’re wearing so many hats and getting interrupted frequently while doing one thing to prioritize another. You’ll have a lot of work on your plate generally speaking because your team will be very small, or sometimes your team will be just you.

PRO: It’s exciting to be working somewhere that might be on the verge of something big.
There is something really novel and thrilling when you work for a company that you think is really unique and whose mission statement matches your ideals. It’s even more exciting when you think you are actually working somewhere that is onto something that will be a massive success, especially if you really believe in what the company is doing. This aspect definitely makes those long hours and multi-multi-multitasking feel, at times, totally worthwhile. 

CON: It’s stressful to be working somewhere that the future of the company is oftentimes uncertain.
Refer back to the statistic about 90% of startups failing. I was let go from my job at my coworking space a year and a half after I was hired. The company went out of business three months later. I long-time had a feeling it was coming, starting around the time I got an amazing annual review, but no raise offered. The founders were hustling for new investors, but with the WeWork scandal and the location of the coworking space, they were falling short. 

Unlike bigger companies, you are far more aware of how your startup company is doing financially. This could be because of transparency from the founders, because people in the know talk, because you can generally suss out the general vibe of the company more easily than at a bigger company, or because this information is available online. No matter the case, being aware of your company’s financial state, especially when it is not doing well, is stressful because you know your job might be at risk.

PRO: You have a lot of room to learn way more than you would in a larger corporation in this role and are very empowered to come up with new ideas to improve the company.
This was probably my favorite aspect of working at a startup. All my ideas were heard, most of them were greenlighted. Many people have this experience at startups because part of your role is making the company better. In my role, my favorite part was coming up with ideas for monthly events, planning them once I got the budget approved, setting them up, and managing/attending them. No matter what your position in a startup, there’s a pretty good chance your voice will be heard and you can see your ideas come to life before your eyes.

CON: You are oftentimes fully responsible for your ideas. Not only do you come up with an idea, but you are responsible for spearheading the initiative, planning the project, managing the project, and executing the project.
The downside to having your ideas comes to life is that most of the legwork is done by you. Sometimes you may be able to get a small team to help you out, but even still, the idea probably won’t get the necessary help it needs until it is clear it is making a difference for the company. You’ll have to work on your project in addition to your existing job requirements and tasks that have been assigned to you. You’ll have to work on your project in addition to other projects you may have come up with and are trying to get moving. This goes back to the con mentioned before that oftentimes working long hours and getting burnt out from the amount of work you have to do.

PRO: You learn how to schmooze and network.
This element is an unavoidable aspect of working at a startup, but a very valuable one. You never know who might show up at your work on any given day, from investors to friends of your boss who you highly admire. You might be given the task of broadening your business partnerships as a task at work, in which you’ll do extensive email and in-person outreach. You’ll definitely attend lots of events and you’ll meet so many people in your industry and in other industries. 

If you are afraid of making small talk with strangers or intimidated to talk to someone because you know how big of a deal they are, startup culture fosters an environment to practice overcoming these fears. You’ll have to have these types of conversations regularly, and you’ll get good at it! You’ll meet a ton of people who will be good connections for your company and for you professionally or personally along the way. Networking is part of the job, and a very valuable skill to be gained from working at a startup. 

CON: You almost always have to be giving 100%. You almost always have to be on your A-Game. 
Because of the need to succeed, in my experience, startups put a lot of pressure on their workers to always be on the ball. You should always give your 100% at work, but there is something about startup culture that takes that to a new level. Maybe it is because you are working longer hours than an average job and needing to give your 100% or maybe because the stakes of a smaller business are higher.

 Whatever it is, I have never felt more expected to always be at the very top of my A-Game than I did working at a startup. I have never felt more non-stop stressed at a job than I did working for a startup. The stress wore down my immune system, I’ve never been sick so many times in an 18-month span than I did at my startup job. It was tough. 

About the Author

Leila Escandar is a writer of all things, including (but not limited to) blog posts, copy, academic papers, creative non-fiction, poetry, novel-length text messages, witty Instagram captions, and sometimes purely useless information. She currently resides in Brooklyn, NY, and is an almost-alumni of Brooklyn College.