Hi All, what can help me join an early stage startup and grow up to the top close to the founders within a year? I want to be in the middle of the action
Has anyone here done it before?
If they have the right culture then showing excellency in your role, helping out others in the team, having opinions on decisions taken (not just for the sake of it) should help you get closer to the decision makers.
Remember that at an early stage startup, everything revolves around the product, and you will be rewarded for aligning with that.
Speaking from experience, you will be involved in "the action" in a team of 30 people either way
Thanks for the answer. This is what I’m hoping for. I want to be involved in the action and show some quick wins and make impact so that I’m noticed and not lost in the noise.
It’s important I do well at this role as I have FOMO about leaving Amazon
Don't worry, you'll have a lot of fun building the product. It'll be a different experience, lots of iterating, lots of responsibility, big wins and losses.
You'll learn a lot as long as the founders foster a good culture
remote or office? how many members totally?
I work at Amazon
But I’m considering joining an in person startup with 24 people. I will be the 25th or so employee
role?
By working 24X7 for peanuts. If they even suspect you being not satisfied with the pay or crib about WLB, its game over.
This is the most realistic answer. Even if you’re good at what you do, you’d be cast aside if you seem like a 8 hour work, then fuck off kinda guy.
Sad, but true.
Not really. That's totally a wrong advice in my opinion.
Working 24*7 is detrimental to productivity as well as the employee's health. No sane leaders will ever want that.
But yes, in an early stage startup, deadlines are something that is really important and it wouldn't be a typical 9-5 job. One should only choose such a job if they believe in the idea/product and don't mind doing more than what the job asks you to do! And you would do it without thinking it as a job even for less pay simply because you believe in it and you want the product to succeed
Align yourself with the vision of the founders. Understand what exactly they are building and what their target market is. Actively take part in key decision meetings and propose your ideas and solutions which you think will add something useful or solve existing problem, thereby increasing the value and UX of the product
Thank you! This makes a lot of sense. I’ll try to take part in meetings. Tho this is something I am not great as as I tend to be a bit weak on the communication side. My dev skills are pretty good tho
You don't really need to be super vocal or extrovert pro max ultra. Just need to come out of the "I'm a dev" mindset and towards "I'm a dreamer who does what it takes" mindset. It helps you think like a user while thinking like the owner of the product. Helps you take a balanced business decision on how you can have max profits to run the business while keeping customers happy.
Align yourself with the vision of the founders. Understand what exactly they are building and what their target market is. Actively take part in key decision meetings and propose your ideas and solutions which you think will add something useful or solve existing problem, thereby increasing the value and UX of the product
Background -
Easy Way (but will be of no use in the long run) - Be a SYCHOPHANT (Chaplus/chaatukaar). Suck up to your bosses, be the yes man.
Short Answer - You can't do this in 1 year, you have to be consistent and patient enough.
Long Answer (Hard but good in the long run)
Attitude Never say never, if the task is too difficult, you should be the person doing it. Whatever it is, even if it is way out of your comfort zone (But understand your boundaries, e.g. I can't do Sales if I am a deep core engineer)
Product Focussed & Result Oriented You complete your work, things are out in the public, and your work is not done yet. You have to track what worked and what didn't. Be honest, report your findings (RCA, good or bad), and share them with the audience. Showcases that you are responsible/mature and gives you visibility. (Surprisingly, very few do this).
Deliverability Always deliver more than you are asked to do. That one surprise element that you did extra makes you stand apart from the crowd. It shows you are willing to go that extra mile even when no one is watching.
Weekends/Weekdays (it doesn't matter) - Ownership You will have no social life, I am not asking anyone to do this. It's a personal choice and a decision that you will take. But being available almost all the time with a TAT in minutes whatever the time is shows that you are available if there are even the slightest of hiccups. Show you are reachable when the going gets tough. This will greatly dent your personal life, but this is a choice you have to make. It also shows your ownership of the product you are building. (Pagerduty will constantly wake you up at 3 AM in the night).
Empathy towards your customers/colleagues Colleagues: Be the person everyone wants to go to when things are going wrong. Be the saviour everyone wants but doesn't deserve. Be the nice person for a change even when it won't give you anything in return. Customers: Having worked in Healthcare/Fintech, I have learned that customer empathy is extremely important, and it showcases your work.
Summary This is extremely hard, whatever you do, don't be a SYCOPHANT, it will never work in the long run.
I have seen a lot of highs and lows in the last decade, but I suppose I did it the right way, took me a long time to reach here, and I keep learning everyday, but these 5 things mentioned above are now engraved in my DNA, and I can't do things any other way.
Best Wishes : )
I can really relate to this.. I've been with this startup for the last one year..its been crazy....you have to be a nice person...and it demands you to be available all the time
Also I'm gonna try working towards things that you mentioned
Create more and more value/impact! That's the single most important thing you can do See where the leaders want the org to go do, deliver impact around that goal
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