Great list, Ben.

I think people often think of entrepreneurship as a crap shoot.

I say it’s more like blackjack. If you know what you’re doing, and have an system that you follow, you have a more than fair shot at success.

Ben, this sounds like a list written by someone trying to hire people to work at his startup. I’ve made a counter-argument specifically for technical people, here:

http://evan.prodromou.name/Journal/3_Prairial_CCXV

@evan
i read your post but everyone knows there is much more risk in startups. they are not your typical dad&mom’s business. most of them, startups fail, the founders loose everything, the team is washed out. but the rewards can be huge if it succeeds, as in microsoft or google.

at the end, it’s all a personal choice. (and i guess most students go naturally to less risky jobs)

Evan,

Guilty as charged. *grin*

Mostly, this post comes out of my frustration with the apparent lack of entrepreneurial interest amongst university students, as has been discussed in a previous post.

I understand what you’re talking about in your post, I expected that type of discussion. Yes, there’s more risk. But so what? It’s not that risky for an employee.

And yes, all of the things you’ve mentioned can come true, but I also feel like those are indicative of a bad startup. Not every startup is like that. And most of the people I’ve spoken to (who work at startups) do in fact love it for the reasons mentioned above.

In reply to Evan’s

It doesn’t help you much get another job later. Most startups don’t succeed, which means that you end up with 1, 2 or 3 years of space on your résumé consumed by a made-up company name that no one has ever heard of and whose phone line has been disconnected. If people have heard of the name, they’ll associate it with failure (“Oh, yeah, wasn’t that the company that spent all that money and went nowhere?”).

I know it’s harder to get hired by a startup then let say Nortel or IBM for an average job (they can’t afford bad people). So to me, it has a lot more value on a resume. It’s a career choice. If your plan is to get an average job at a big average company, startup experience is totally worthless, I agree with you.

But I think average is a lot riskier today, see http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/04/no_to_average.html

A startup “is” what the people “in it” make of it. Just join the right one (and that could mean different things to different people).

Evan, you sound like the guy who’s been married and divorced a few times and who concludes that marriage downright sucks. Even the stats out there would back up such a claim with say half or more of the marriages out there end up in failure. But ask someone who’s in a successful relationship and they’ll tell you that marriage is an amazing platform for having a great life. Just like in a marriage or any partnership, in a startup, you “make” it work and it always ends up being what you and your team make of it.

Ben, once again, great post.

I think students are crazy not to join a startup for their first couple of jobs. Unless you have a wife and kids telling you it’s too risky you should enjoy your freedom and get the best experience youth can buy.

The most fun I had in my 11 years of programming is in startups. I touched a lot more things than I would in a big company and when things settled I was allowed to chose my role in the company. It’s much harder to find this in an established company.

Let’s talk about the risk factors too! All those things aren’t true for all start-ups.

Ten Reasons Not to join a Startup
http://engtech.wordpress.com/2006/10/04/top-ten-things-i-hate-about-crunch-time-at-a-startup-bride-of-getting-to-deadline/

I think that one of the best reasons to work for a start-up is to give you the experience if you ever want to start up your own business in the future.

While I wasn’t a direct employee in the start-up, I was one of the principles of it and contributed my skills but I learned so much more in several months than I could have ever learned in a more “traditional” job.

I don’t think start-ups are for everyone though. If you plan to climb the corporate ladder your whole life (which is a very good option for a lot of people) there are much more risks in joining a start-up and you won’t get as much out of the experience since the skills you get there won’t apply as much in the corporate world.

@Marc: I in fact am a big fan of startups (and of marriage!). But there are many cons, and they’re not trivial and ignorable. I don’t think getting married is a “no-brainer” and I don’t think working in a startup is, either.

It’s a heartache and a struggle more often than it is a triumph. Whether that struggle is worth it depends on a lot of factors — not all of them in the control of the employee. If you’re working for the right people, and they have the right idea, and you feel the same passion for the idea that they do, and the market does, too, then it can be great. But that’s a lot of if’s.

@heri: one of the things that happens with successful startups is that they go through an “adolescent crisis” somewhere around 200-300 employees. The loosey-goosey atmosphere of the startup changes to a “big company” one, and those startup employees who are still around usually don’t survive (either they quit or they’re fired). It’s rare that an employee who started with the company sticks around that long anyways, and often the freedom they have in a startup is curtailed later on as other people are hired in over their heads.

@Ben: so, you personally haven’t actually worked as an employee in someone else’s startup? If not, why not? Could there in fact be some reasons and circumstances where working in someone else’s startup isn’t a “no-brainer”?

I’m sorry to be a downer, but maybe I should write a “top ten ways to be a great startup boss”. Number one would be “Be scrupulously honest”. If you’re not honest with yourself and your team, you’re never going to earn your team’s loyalty and you’re never going to be effective at dealing with real-world circumstances.

Evan – I’ve worked in small teams before but only for very short periods of time. I’ve never worked in a startup because I started my own when I was 22 and still in university.

I wrote this post specifically to be positive, knowing it would draw discussion and debate around the risks. If I filled in every caveat (startups are risky, startups can force you to work thousand hour days, etc.) it wouldn’t have the same lightning rod effect for what amounts to worthwhile + important debate.

I think “The Top 10 Ways To Be A Great Startup Boss” is a sure winner. I hope you write it.

I still say, with all the struggles and difficulties, it’s better. I’d rather go through that than sit in a cubicle and collect a paycheck.

Life is hard. People who go through tough experiences often come out on top because they learn from them. I’d rather learn from a failed startup than never be involved. Once you get to that point, my positive points have real meaning.

engtech – I’m with you about crunch time. I like how you start the post, “The Internet is rife with fluffy top 10 posts. I know I’m part of the problem though…” *chuckle* (me too!)

But crunch time isn’t exclusive to startups. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t include it as a caveat. There’s crunch time in big companies too. Just because you work in a big company doesn’t mean there aren’t deadlines, doesn’t mean you’re not overworked. Even in big “COOL” companies – think EA for example, which has received lots of flack for the way they treat employees. That’s not a startup…

I’m not sure if my company qualifies as a startup, (we’re not backed by VC) but we’re definitely entrepreneurial! I could not wish for a better company to work for. I’m getting experience that I’d be barely qualified or even considered for in other companies – graphic design, customer support, web development, client training – it’s the best thing that ever happened to a small-town girl with a BA in English!

Liz – VC or not doesn’t determine whether it’s a startup. If the company is relatively new, with a small team, that’s a startup. Certainly in my description and world I’m thinking of technology startups but that’s not the only kind.

I love start ups and once had the chance to work for a Fortune 500, but turned it down. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. I love the fact that business systems must be created and things are a mess…for while. It’s exciting and fun. Plus people who work in start ups are fine with the risks. They understand that structure must be created. They don’t mind the uncertainty. I love it!

Shameless plug…

If you love this top 10, you love startups, and you love sports, give us a shout: jobs@ilovetoplay.com.

More startup passion: http://ilovetoplay.wordpress.com/2007/03/10/this-is-what-its-all-about/

Marc – I don’t mind the shameless plug, I hope you find the people you’re looking for!

That’s great feedback from Melanie in the link you provided.

Just a few comments on this post, coming from an individual working for a start-up:

I think they offer good opportunities, but you must make sure to do a little homework and join the right one(s) as Marc Chriqui noted.

More influence – it all depends on how tight of a kung-fu grip the founder/founders have on operations. This also rolls into ownership and connectivity. Lots of start-up ventures end up failing b/c the founders try to do everything themselves and don’t take input from the experts they brought on who are eager to see the company succeed but perhaps have different views on how things could be run.

More learning – I would say you learn a lot of what NOT to do. This lesson CAN be valuable as long as you do not keep repeating the same thing over and over and expect different results (the definition of insanity, last I checked).

Pidgeon-holing – lots of start-ups stem from the founder having ideas of how to improve things in their job, but not having the environment or authority to make those changes. So they go out on their own. Founders must remember the environment from which they came, what worked and what didn’t, and make sure they do not impose the same constraints on their employees as were put on them.

Why do losts start-ups fail? My guess would be lack of trust on behalf of the founders regarding the employees. The vision the founders draw up is grand, but if they are unwilling to write in pencil instead of permanent marker, it will fail. All great ideas can always be improved upon.

Best piece of advice is to take everything as a learning experience! If nothing more, you can learn what to NOT look for in your next venture.

Hi Anonymous – Thank you for the comments. In the post I did say that not all startups are created equally, and linked out to some people who have written posts in the past about questions to ask before joining a startup.

I don’t take the idea of joining a startup lightly. I don’t take the idea of signing up for any job lightly. So my post wasn’t intended to say “Startups are all some glorious / perfect place,” because I know that’s not the case.

You made a great list, and it echoes my own reasons for never having yet worked in big business. So far I’ve spent my entire career (20+ years) only working for startups and early-stage businesses, and I don’t regret any of it.