With the rise of entrepreneurship and easier possibility for small businesses development thanks to communication technology, cities across the country are increasingly getting more start ups. Many of these start ups are owned and operated by young professionals. Many younger YPs are opting to begin their careers in a start up for a few reasons and some more established YPs are leaving big companies for startups. Though they may be without things like benefits and high-paying salaries compared to established companies, the advantages of working for a startup are numerous.
Opportunity for Quick Growth
Working at a start up, your career will grow much faster than at a more structured corporation. One year at a start up could be equivalent to 5 years somewhere else, with the ability to compress your whole working life into a few years. Instead of working at a lower intensity for a longer time, YPs in startups typically work as hard as they can for less time, providing a great opportunity for career acceleration. Due to their small-scale nature, and potential for rapid growth, startups typically have more tasks to be completed than employees to do them and employees are therefore stretched in different directions and being put in a situation where they may have to do work that they might not be quite ready or on paper qualified to do. You will more quickly rise to seniority within a startup as opposed to in a large company.
Able to Wear Many Different Hats
With typically very few people working within a start up, all employees must wear multiple hats, no matter their training, skills or experience. A single person could play various roles throughout any given week or day. You could be the accountant, graphic designer, public relations person and head of sales all at once. At a startup, it is required that everybody does everything necessary to help the company grow and work together to achieve common goals. This involves doing some things that are above your level on paper and some things that are below you on paper, proving yourself to be a valuable team player. It provides a good opportunity to learn new skills from fellow coworkers, who may be skilled in areas you are not, like web design, social media or copywriting.
You Can See Your Ideas Come to Fruition…Fast
Especially in a junior level position, your voice is heard a lot easier than at a big company. Your ideas have a much greater chance of materializing, especially in the early stages of trial and error. Companies tend to change most in their earliest stages and you get to be at the forefront of the company’s evolution. With everything so new, you have the ability to set the standards, policies, templates and way of business. The company’s corporate culture is created piece by piece and employees get to have a say in that. Larger companies, on the other hand, take the attitude that everything should be in its place, all neatly compartmentalized into different departments with appropriate personnel. At a startup, since everybody does everything, you are empowered to make the decisions that you think are best for the current functioning and future success of the company. Thus, you have real influence.
Higher Level of Creative Freedom
Working for a start up involves working with people who are risk-takers, go-getters and who also wear many hats themselves. The small-scale environment allows for and forces constant interaction among employees. This facilitates collaboration of people with different fields and ideas and allows for ample brainstorming, bringing out the best ideas in employees. Because they know their ideas are likely to be heard, they may be more creative and go out on a limb with their ideas and be less afraid to express them. With the small team sizes, each person’s contributions make a huge difference.
Workplace Relationships
Due to their more relaxed hierarchal structure and small team environment, strong workplace bonds are able to develop that are more akin to a close knit family than a workplace. This allows for better communication between coworkers and with superiors, with less barriers to access and more relaxed and open approach to discussing problems, asking questions or offering insight.
