The Pro's and Con's of working at a startup

This list is by no means exhaustive. But here are my majors, brought to you from years of experience living the startup dream (or should that be nightmare... you decide)

The biggie- you will wear many hats.? Many, many hats.

Some of these hats will be very important fancy hats that make you feel fancy and important in return, some of these hats will leave you questioning your life choices and why you bothered going to university.? The Pro of the wearing of all these hats is that you will be building up a varied experience, you’ll be learning fast and you’ll be able to say you’ve done things other people your age/experience haven’t.? The Con is that queuing for a post office with a ton of parcels, hand balling boxes off pallets, dragging a granny trolley around full of chopped vegetables (all things i have personally done, some recently) won’t prepare you for any exciting future career moves at all, is essentially a waste of your time and something you are only doing because there’s no one else there to do them.

This is one pro/con you need to make sure balances out for your own career’s sake.? Will you be doing enough of the important/big things you wouldn’t normally be doing at this stage in your career to outweigh the running around junior things you are just doing because you’re the only person there to do them?? You need to ensure your role grows as the business grows, there’s usually an opportunity to craft a role for yourself if you pay attention, if it doesn’t look like that’s happening best to jump ship.

You’ll learn by doing, not by being taught?

Start ups are usually lean on resources so you will probably be the only person in your function and that can feel lonely and overwhelming. There is the risk of becoming a jack of all trades but a master of none.? On the other hand you’ll likely have a lot of autonomy and feel empowered.? Whether it’s a pro or a con depends entirely on how self-sufficient you are and whether this idea feels you with joy or fear.

Start ups are founder-led

This can be a pro or a con, it’s entirely dependent on the founder.? Most founders are crazy geniuses. How pleasant they are to work with will all depend on the balance of crazy to genius.? Personally, I've always found it very inspiring to work with someone who has been brave (brave being a corporate term for ‘crazy’) enough to put everything on the line for their business, in order to do that they really believe in what they are doing and that passion and enthusiasm can be contagious, but i’ve also heard some horror stories. Before joining a startup consider very carefully if you buy into the founder and their vision, if you don’t it’s not going to work.?

No two days will ever be the same

Things in start up land move quickly and are unpredictable.? If you are a creature of habit who thrives off routine you probably aren’t going to enjoy this rollercoaster ride.? But if you don’t mind constantly flying by your coat tails, it’s very unlikely you will ever feel bored. Change is as good as a rest, as they say.? It’s dynamic, it’s exciting, and it’s challenging.?

?You get to watch something you built grow

And that’s incredibly rewarding (pro)...

Unless you actually don’t because most startup’s don’t succeed (con)?

And herein lies the biggest risk of startup jobs, that maybe you’ve backed the wrong horse.? Even if that is the case I can almost guarantee you’ll learn a lot along the way and that will have made it worthwhile in itself.?

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Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment, but I can’t keep away from the startup life.? For me it’s the most interesting, challenging and fun stage of a brand’s life, con’s and all.?

There are many, many more, I'm sure someone somewhere has written a book, but let me know in the comments the biggies I've missed.