Is a Unicorn Startup Really the Best Move for You?
Undertaking an active job search is never an easy task. When you decide it is time to find a new employer, the process, every time, will always involve stepping into a pretty big sea of unknowns. And that is especially the case with companies where you don't know anyone and you're mostly going on the press you see on LinkedIn and other platforms. As attractive as a company might look on the outside, it's only until you walk through that front door that you find out what daily life is like at your new employer. Let's dig into this some.??
Your first option when it comes to kicking off your job search is to locate former colleagues and managers that you used to work with and see what opportunities they potentially have available. You enjoyed your time working with them and you have built that baked in sense of trust which is so important these days.?Even if the interviews don't result in an offer, you most likely still come away with an experience that is consistent with what they've told you. It's another endorsement of the incredible value that our professional networks bring us.?
But where do we go from here? After you have reached out to your professional network, how do you rank the next batch of companies to consider? I can say that the emergence of Glassdoor has been great. Their service offering provides a very transparent look into not only a company's compensation but what their culture is like. And the employee reviews section has also built a great deal of trust in the Tech community. User groups often have guest speakers present their company and openings available which can get your attention. From here, there is always FAANG. You can wake up one day and submit your application to Apple, Facebook and Google and see if they get back to you.?
In the past 18 months, as the tech labor market has exploded, I have seen a significant uptick in the emergence of the unicorn startup, ie. a company whose valuation has passed the one billion dollar mark. My LinkedIn feed, almost on a weekly basis, highlights a new startup that achieves this status. It's something that for many years was reserved mostly for the Bay Area but now Austin, Chicago and NYC are home to several unicorns. It's with great pride and celebration that comes with these posts and I honestly don't blame them. Usually achieved through a Series C or D venture capital raise, the company exceeds that magical one billion dollar valuation and they are officially a rocket ship on the path to guaranteed success.?
At face value, opportunities at unicorn startups are very appealing. They represent a classic "join the party" opportunity.?After all, they are a super sonic train leaving the station and you need to get on board! With all of this electric sentiment right in front of your face, I completely understand if you apply to the company and explore their opportunities. After all, a lot of times the status and public opinion of a company is defined by their valuation. As you move through the introductory call, the technical assessments and final on-site, the sentiment continues to be that this once in a lifetime opportunity for you to get on board with this company.?
I would love to write my own counter to unicorn startups but I was fortunate enough to have Twitter provide everything I needed for this post. About six weeks ago, a well known Bay Area startup founder tweeted his thoughts on Unicorn, "rocket ship" startups. When I saw his tweet and the replies to it, I immediately saved everything and I have pasted them for you below.??Here you go,?
Briefly, I realize that these comments above appear to be equating unicorn and "rocket ship" startups as the same thing and as we know, that is not always the case. But if a startup achieves unicorn status, most of the time "rocket ship" will be applied as well. So these two terms do parallel. Getting back to the point of this post, if a hot unicorn startup has a problem space that genuinely intrigues you then submit your resume and give it your best shot. But as you go through the interview process with the company, please do yourself a favor and view the opportunity in the context of serving your own best interests. Look out for #1. Allow me to explain.?
I've never been a fan of being selfish and the word alone bothers me. But please remember that there are certain periods in your career where you need to put yourself first. By this, I mean finding environments and engineering teams that maximize your ability and potential as a software developer. What technical challenges and co-workers will make you the best engineer you can be? With that in mind, is hopping on with a startup valued over a billion dollars the immediate answer to that? I'm seeing these unicorn status posts on a pretty regular basis now and that's great. It's speaks to the Tech industry's solid foundation of growth. But please remember that just because a startup achieves a billion dollar valuation, in no way does that mean your own career is guaranteed to progress at the same pace. True, you are on this rocket ship and along for the ride but your professional development is defined by your daily function and the team of engineers you are working with.
It is no easy task but how can you find a company with a set of problems and a team of engineers you can join and six months in, a horn starts popping out of your forehead? Now wouldn't that be nice? In my history as a recruiter, when I have witnessed exponential growth in a software engineer, it has been the result of smaller, more intimate environments with a handful of elite engineers working on really hard problems. The biggest risk that comes with joining one of these unicorn startups is that they already have an established team of 10-15+ engineers on board and with your arrival, you are seen more as a "spoke in the wheel". You are given a defined set of responsibilities that, while you are comfortable doing on a daily basis, don't really give you the opportunity to shine to your fullest potential.?
In your next job search, there is a good chance that you'll see some opportunities to work at a unicorn startup or to get on board with a "rocket ship". Take it all in and do your usual research on the company. But please keep these three variables in mind for your next employer,??
领英推荐
Get on board with this company and soak up everything this environment has to offer you. Before you know it, you will be the one who achieves unicorn status.
Thanks,?
Mark Cunningham
Technical Recruiter
512-699-5719
Another great article we’ll worth the read. Thank you Mark for proving valuable insights as individuals consider future opportunities.