Why join a startup?

What is a startup?

A startup is when a company is in the early stage of development with potential for future growth. They are typically founded by one or two entrepreneurs. For this reason, a startup may not have a concrete structure or set funding.

I have always entertained the possibility of working for the government or an established company but working for a startup hadn’t crossed my mind. Through speaking with others that recommended working for a startup, I started to wonder if it would be right for me.  

Related: Interested in networking your way into a startup? Check out the advice in my other blog Asking myself “why should I network?”.

Why join a startup?

There are multiple answers to the question “why join a startup”. Joining a startup presents unique opportunities that cannot be offered elsewhere, including:

Flexible work environment ✔️

Many startups offer a casual dress code, flexible working policies and unique perks.

Role diversity 🎩

A startup offers different learning opportunities since it exposes you to different roles or tasks that you might have not considered.

Career growth 📈

As the startup quickly grows, there will be more leadership opportunities to move up in your career since there are fewer employees.

Space for creativity 🎨

Startups don’t have set procedures like larger companies allowing for creativity and innovation to be fostered for the company’s success.

Virtual coffee chat for investigating 

 For my second coffee chat, I chose to network with someone who graduated and had experience working in startups. In fact, they had previously worked for a startup that I had an interview with soon. So, I figured that it couldn’t hurt to make that connection to talk about an acquaintance and have common ground with the interviewer.

I asked, or investigated, about the management, the work culture, and the work-life balance. I also asked for advice for students in their last year. Below is what they had to say.

Read more: Check out the 10 Networking Questions Guideline to start your own virtual coffee chats. 

Advice on startups, COOPs & networking:

• Googling “best startups to work for” is a good start to finding startups that align with your interests.
• Later-stage startups can be less stressful to work for since they are more stable and offer the same benefits than early-stage startups.
• Try to learn as much as possible and take as many opportunities as you can in your COOPs.
• Google is also your best friend to learn something new for a job.
• Task tracking is essential in remembering what you did during the COOP and helps with promotions, interviews, and resumes.
• A good tip for networking would be to remember that people love to talk about themselves so it’s important to ask them questions about themselves.
• Don’t take the first job offered after graduation if you aren’t interested in the industry.

Don't miss out on your chance of landing a job in a startup! Keep track of upcoming networking events offered by the Telfer Career Center here.

Key takeaways

What stuck out to me the most was the advice that she gave on task tracking. It seems like such an obvious thing to do, but admittedly, this is not something I thought of for my own COOPs. Also, I realized the importance of knowing how to google and working independently for startups.

Do you want to be ready to negotiate for a promotion? Check out my free Task Tracker spreadsheet to get a head start! 🫡