Working in a start-up

Most of my posts are about being an entrepreneur, how to run a startup, how to invest in a startup... But since the most valuable asset of a startup is its employees, it is necessary to talk about them. This article is about companies who dream of changing the world and the people who believe in them and work in them.

#1 Each startup is different

From the beginning you need to understand what stage your startup is in. Reid Hoffman's book Blitzscaling has a good definition on this topic: "family" with up to 10 employees, "tribe" when there are tens of employees, "village" when there are hundreds of employees, "city" when there are thousands of employees, and a "nation" when there are tens of thousands of employees. Based on my own experience, I would like to add that: when the number of employees exceeds 130-150, the friendly atmosphere slowly starts to fade and the importance of the core team in which it is located becomes more prominent. Therefore, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the stage of the startup so that you can assess your own environment correctly. My favourite stage, by the way, is the tribe level as you can interact with most of your team members.

#2 Numbers don't lie

Working in a startup means working in an environment where everyone says everything. So be prepared for interrogations with the best of all answers: "numbers don't lie". Base your arguments on numbers or successful examples from around the world. Numbers don't lie, you must master the data. Question everything every day, based on the stories and facts the data tells you. If you do this, everyone will respect your opinion. What you say is more important than your age or seniority.?

#3 Communication is a virtue

Startups tend to have fewer meetings than large companies. Most problems can be solved between two people. You dont even need to have a meeting for that. If it's a good solution, you can be sure that everyone will support it. Apart from meetings, long emails are generally rare in startups. In fact, Slack and similar apps are used instead of mail. Also, if you work with software developers, I can't help but say that they don't read long mail much. My personal recommendation is not to apply protocols you learned in larger companies to startups, because they don't work the same way.?

#4 Find a mentor

If you are starting out in the world of entrepreneurship, I think it is important to have a mentor, to be able to improve and grow, both as a company and as a person. Chat, share your successes and fears. You will realise how useful it is, in no time. Especially for those who start their first job: your first mentor might have the biggest impact on your career. Usually it is your first boss. My humble opinion is that a good boss (as mentor) is as much important as all other factors - in your first job.?

#5 Growing through sharing

Cooperate rather than compete, this applies both inside and outside the company. It is very important not to create a competitive environment within the company. You cannot make a "career" in a startup with competitive behaviour.?

Moreover, a startup should cooperate with other startups, not compete with them. For example, in my day-to-day work I meet all the startups in the world that do the same work as Tiko, talk to them and try to find solutions together. One of the most important parts of startup culture is to help and support each other.

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