Startup Vs MNC

There was a time when people’s career paths used to look something like this,

->Pursue a bachelor’s degree,

->Engage in an internship during college, usually in a startup company,

->Complete degree along with gaining the initial startup experience of corporate culture,

-> Complete the internship period and start looking for a job in a REAL company! (preferably in an MNC)

The average student or job seeker usually looks at startup companies as nothing more than a platform that could kick start their career to ultimately help them get a job in a listed company!

However, things seem to have changed now!

The Covid era brought about a revolution in the startup culture in India.

A great example of this is the rise in the total number of Unicorn startups in India, a number that was less than 10, 3 years ago, and is now a staggering 96!

Yes, India currently has 96 Unicorn startups, the 4th highest in the World!

What’s more interesting is that while India only had 726 recognized startups in 2016, that number has now climbed in 2022 to a staggering 65861!

This is more than the total number of MNC companies in India currently!

And so an abnormal situation has occurred in the job market, where people are beginning to prefer working in startup cultures rather than working in huge listed MNCs.

Surprisingly, even some experienced professionals I know have successfully made their switch from working in listed companies to diving headfirst into the startup world!

And they actually feel happier and more fulfilled in comparison to before!

Keeping all of this in mind, let’s try to analyze, why even professionals are beginning to make the switch to startup culture?

We shall do this by first examining the potential problems that employees could be facing pre-covid while working in MNCs.

Cons of Working in an MNC

• Compared to a young-born company, an MNC operates on very strict SOPs and organized discipline. Often creative freedom is snuffed in such environments.
• Big corporates often are required to provide their employees with insurance coverage, travel allowances, provident funds, and other aspects of employee benefits which take out a large chunk of an individual’s CTC. What remains is a ridiculously small in-hand salary which often results in employee dissatisfaction.
• Not getting their work recognized is another aspect of MNC culture that often leads to employees switching companies. In such big hierarchies and segmented groups of people working together, it can be tough for individual employees to receive the deserved appreciation for their work efforts.
• Furthermore, compared to a startup, there is a clear lack of learning opportunities, as employees in an MNC have to work in a very specific job role with little to no freedom to engage in any different projects or take up additional roles.
• A big reason for employee dissatisfaction in MNCs could be the incredibly slow raise in their compensation over time. It can be evident from the fact that even a 10% annual pay raise in an MNC could be considered a great deal for an employee. The average annual pay raise for big corporates still continues to be at 5-6%.

While working in an MNC is a dream for many freshers and jobseekers considering the job and compensation safety it offers, it can be clearly seen that it is more out of necessity than by choice!

Ofcourse, this is not true for a lot of big corporates.

Companies like Google, Amazon, Accenture and many more have established great standards when it comes to employee satisfaction. That is also the reason that many freshers choose to dedicate their efforts towards getting selected in these companies.

However, according to many reports including a recent one from the People Analytics firm Visier , it was seen that in 2021, more than 25% of the professional workforce quit their jobs.

Reasons ranging from better offers to toxic work-cultures.

Clearly, the cons of working in the big corporates sometimes overweighs their pros triggering employees to look for alternative opportunities.

Let’s take a look at the startup work culture now and let’s try to analyze what’s so promising about it that has hooked a lot of professionals to pursue its path.

Pros of Working in a startup

• AN INCLUSIVE WORKSPACE! This is probably the most attractive aspect of working in a startup. It allows an employee to be involved in the entire process right from the initial planning to delivering the final project.
• Work recognition is another brilliant aspect of startup culture. With a lesser number of people and a relatively simple hierarchy, special efforts from dedicated employees are easily noticeable.
• Ofcourse, the difference between your CTC and your in-hand salary isn’t all that big so that’s always a point in favour of employees.
• Employees are allowed and often even encouraged to take up additional and different responsibilities to expand their skillset and knowledge.
• Furthermore, when you are building from scratch, you get an in depth understanding of how things work. In this way, startup work culture can thoroughly train you in your field.
• Last but not the least, in some places, you are allowed to work in informals! (might be a personal favourite for some!)

Apart from all this, startup work culture also allows freshers with no work experience to kick-start their careers by going all out in the field!

With so many benefits, leniencies, and perks, surely working in a startup seems to be a clear win-win situation for job-seekers.

And yet some professionals who are extremely serious about their career goals and financial safety will always prefer working in a well-known MNC.

Because at the end of the day, working in a startup-culture is a high-risk, high-intensity, and high-reward experience.

And clearly, for individuals who seek a well insured, safe, and stable career, will always prefer to form a long lasting relation with a well-known corporate entity.

Not to mention that MNCs and listed companies often pay out better compensations than a startup could afford.

And the exposure and network you could gain while working in a company like Google would certainly be far more fruitful to your career than working in a 2-3 year old venture.

Lastly, if you have global ambitions and want to pursue a career outside your home country, it’s always advisable to gain work exposure in an MNC that is well-known and established.

Clearly, both these work cultures have their own pros and cons.

And after this analysis, its certain that one can not be called better than the other.

However, in the end, it all depends on your own career goals, future plans, and personal preferences.

Working in a startup could give you that spontaneous work freedom that might make you love your job while working in an established MNC could help you with enhanced corporate exposure and better monetary compensation.

Remember though, this could always change from company to company.