Ep. 202 – What You Must Know Before You Work With a Startup, Part 1

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-2Working at a big corporation is always a tradeoff. A large company can do more than simply provide a stable paycheck, it can promise a degree of security and consistency. When the opportunity comes along to roll the dice with your career and take a job with a startup, it’s not always easy to see the tradeoffs.The freedom, flexibility and opportunities that come with working for a smaller, leaner company come with an inherent risk of pivoting, layoffs, long-hours, endless stress and complete failure should things go badly for the business.

In this week’s episode, host and business coach Tom talks about a recent experience guiding his corporate lifestyle-loving friend through the promise and perils of taking a job with a startup. As always, Tom is joined by co-host and producer Jason Pyles.

• Show opening, and recap of the new show schedule

• “Have you ever worked for a startup?” (3:00)

• What kind of business counts as a startup? (4:00)

• Jason’s day job story of startup to corporate (5:00)

• Tom compares his work experiences with his father’s (6:30)

• Startup “puberty” (7:30)

• The appeal of working for a startup (8:30)

• Tom’s friend considering the jump from corporate culture to working for a startup (11:00)

• Benefits and risks of working for a startup (13:30)

• Why it’s often a good idea to moonlight as a startup founder (15:00)

• Assessing personal startup fit (16:30)

• Three steps for determining startup fit:

  1. Define the interests: Is there an alignment of interests?
  2. Develop questions for the company based on your interests: How well does the company’s interests match with your needs?
  3. Determine actual fit and alignment: Assess the overall risk and reward.

• What’s most important to you in taking on a new job with a startup?

  1. Financial security
  2. Long-term stability
  3. Wealth creation
  4. Freedom and flexibility
  5. Professional and intellectual challenge
  6. Advancement and career opportunities
  7. Work/life balance

• Ranking these categories by personal priority

• To be continued …

• Next episode: Asking the right interview questions, and what responses to look for

• Sign off, and how to contact the show