Bolidea – Giving Rise to Stellar Companies

by Magda Rocki

One of Bolidea’s main objectives is to attentively find and recruit capable people interested in working for the technology startups that we build. In order to do so successfully, we obviously need to be aware of the factors that make it interesting for someone to work in a startup environment.

So, we carried out a semi-scientific analysis by drawing on our communal knowledge of the corporate environment, our personal experiences, as well as feedback from other startup employees. That being done, we can now present a few of the many reasons why we believe you should consider working at a startup.

Being a self-actualized employee is indispensable to your well-being:

While in the typical corporate environment, hierarchical work instructions and top-down directives propel and direct your actions, a startup environment naturally thrusts you into frantic self-discoveries of the mechanisms and physics of your tasks. You will gradually accrue a series of self-descriptive adjectives after the word self, such as self-starter, self-motivated, self-learner, etc, which will bring you to be a self-worker working for the greater good of the startup. Not only will you then be astounded with your rapid learning curve of the tasks you manage, but also at the ease with which you traverse from pupil to teacher and back again.

As Vijay Anand wisely states in his post “So you want to work for a startup.Really? “:

“No one in a startup is going to tell you what to do, how to do it and when to do it. But sooner or later someone will come and expect that it you deliver it.”

Deriving truth from Vijay’s statement, resting contentedly on your laurels in the startup environment is unheard of; but along with the incessant knowledge- ingesting mentality of the startup environment, as your skill set expands exponentially , so does your versatility , confidence and rapidity in wearing the knowledge hats demanded by different positions.

Bureaucracy is somewhat of an abhorrence to you:

Some might argue that rigid boundaries and hierarchical flows of information bring about a sense of security and regulation, but who has not balked at some ridiculous triplicate form to be filled out or become impatient with convoluted office politics? Be prepared for the informality between peers and upper management and the fluidity with which information and execution flow in a startup environment. There is seldom any office politics or ego posturing damming the speedy course of information, execution or action.

If you have yet to perfect the art of the corporate passive-aggressive behavior, and giving your opinion [and having it heard] is a primordial nutrient for your contented growth, then heed rapidly towards a startup. While your creativity and ingeniosity might be quelled by the red-tape formalities of larger corporations, thinking and breathing out-of-the box are handsomely rewarded in the realm of startups.

Your psychologically well-being is also taken care of –no chance of an identity crisis happening–as there is rarely the occurrence of a numbered employee in a startup.

Your natural biorhythms balk at the regular 8 hour workday:

In fact, you fervently believe that there are never enough hours in a day to accomplish all the projects your heart dreams of. Sharing, learning and experimenting are deeply ingrained in your personal credo and time just stands in the way.

Whereas in a typical corporate environment, the office is eerily empty once the clock strikes five, it is standard to work lengthy 50-70 workweeks in the startup environment. And yes, you can still manage to have a life AND work at a startup. (By the way, most of those hours are flexible or commute friendly, so you won’t receive dirty looks from co-workers if you have other pressing engagements (such as studying for finals).

Your don’t want to have superficial relations with your peers:

Startups epitomize the defining characteristics of an adoptive foster family, here you gain a sense of belonging and a sense of comradery not often found in large, faceless corporations. Faced with often daunting and challenging tasks, you develop stronger ties well- exceeding polite, professional relationships.

The best part being, meeting some interesting, intensely brilliant people with quirky personality disorders rivaling those of your much-loved Uncle Joe- just like any regular family.

To sum up, most startups will consume your time, energy, and passion, but return your investment tenfold. You will undoubtedly learn and do more than you would at most other “ordinary” jobs. You’ll be exposed to more aspects of the business, and have opportunities to contribute and guide the company. You’ll also come away with the personality of a starter and be better prepared to move up your career ladder and/or start your own company and/or help another startup.

The few reasons mentioned above, offer just a glimpse of the vast motivational forces that might steer prospective workers into entering a startup environment. Of course, startups do possess their drawbacks and are not a flawless work environment for everyone, but we’ll develop that subject in a future post. Now we lay this question out to you: what made you join a startup or what deciding factor would?