I've been in startups for the last 8 years. From Series B/C onwards to even a unicorn, over time worked at 3. One of them was an outright scam, raised many millions of $s from top investors, and then ultimately died. Also close with CXOs at decent sized startups, and there is a pattern out there.
A few thoughts:
There is absolutely no vision for the future that they have. They do it for the fame, money, and cause a lot of pain in the process. Nothing good comes out of it. Investors love this breed.
I wish I'd done more than just leave the scammy startup. At the point, I decided against whistleblowing. Because I thought there's so many people employed here, they would all be impacted. Over time, 200-300 people more joined after I left. Once the scam was caught, all of them lost their jobs.
I'm not a coder. I'm a generalist. Over time, my pay grew but not in line with my peers who went into consulting/VC and then came back to big tech/startups. Over time, you disadvantage yourself if you stick around as a generalist in startups for too long. The next team pays you at some premium over the last one, there's no step jump. You need to somehow find a successful startup early, and genuinely, that is impossible to game - even VCs have to bet on 20 to get it right.
These are a few disjointed thoughts. I hope they give some insight. My only takeaways:
A startup with experienced folks and a well defined set of roles and responsibilities >>> one where we're all "a family"
Totally. The one which was a scam, when times were good we actually were a family. We’d do most dinners together outside & all of that. We’d meet on weekends.
When things went bad (I was long gone by then), it was disgusting behaviour between people who once were best friends.
These folks certainly have a very different definition of family!
Can you expand on generalist point? Whats the pay parity like? What sort of consulting VCs did your friend go to?
Basically, over time people did MBA etc. I skipped and stayed at startups.
Those people did consulting/VC etc. and get paid close to 70-80 LPA now after becoming manager (I’m talking about the top ones, who I compare myself with)
Vs. that, my salary remained in the 45L vicinity, and so I began to question all the hustle I did, expecting a payout. That never happened. This was back when I was still working.
Thanks for the reply. Am in a similar boat, although Post MBA, but considering generalist roles.
Had an additional query, not sure how apt for you but, where do you move from generalist roles? Other startups, naturally start your own or PE/VCs
In the future, lets hope india brings forth more passion-driven founders and less of those fueled by vanity and blind overworking.
100%. For that to happen, VCs need to know what kind of aggressive is right, and what kind isn’t.
So far, too many bad actors got promoted. Now all the chips are falling. Hopefully, this will help in correction.
Thanks so much for sharing, very insightful! May I pls ask: good to know that you’re thinking to start something of your own, but i’m curious if you’ve had this thought before - if yes, why’d you choose not to start up?
Thank you! Why not startup earlier: always felt I had more to learn, and genuinely was enjoying most of what I was doing in previous roles
I think most importantly it was about confidence in self. I lacked it earlier, felt I’m not good enough to do it. I may not be even now, but I have more confidence because the initiatives I took in past companies worked out well.
It’s a feedback loop. It becomes longer if you are not very confident.
thanks so much for sharing candidly! really appreciate it
Real founders are the one who love the pain of running a company it's much similar to a person loves to go to gym everyday just to feel the pain that muscle building gives
- heard this from one of the successful startups founder and I loved this analogy.
Lovely way to put it
how have your health been over period of time - both physical and mental?
First few years wasn’t the best At some point developed an alcohol habit and also some anxiety
Over time worked on it, had more control as I gained trust and confidence. Now workout almost everyday and mentally much calmer.
Anxiety (not medical anxiety) can sometimes be a good thing. Only the paranoid survive.
@Royalflush agree with many points. And as an ex consultant/uber person, have the following points -
1 -> True. They’re not good at execution, but good at thinking. And they look great on the team.
2 -> Yes, but not one of the majors
3 -> 20-40% sounds absolutely correct. But last I’d been involved in supporting DDs, I did see more ground work, and hence I hope some positivity. The absolute worst is foreign funds but, they have no idea how to do ground research on Indian startups.
Interesting. Yes b2b m’place is super scammy. GMV round tripping, cancelled orders, etc. quite bad
I have a offer from a company in banglore. The company has been around for more than a decade but did not have a office in india till now. I spoke to few people and i feel like the culture can be good and i can vibe with the people. Another offer i have is accenture. I am a tech guy but i have always wanted to give startups a chance as i feel i can grow much more than in MNC not just tech but also business management or operations and also it can very rewarding if played well. Open for suggestions!
@JumboVane7 if you enjoy being alert and are comfortable asking difficult questions, go for a startup. You will learn a lot.
How can I as a fresher distinguish among scammy startups and the genuine ones?
Unfortunately, as a fresher it is very tough, because your network is limited However: look at negative ratings on Glassdoor, they really speak. Try to see if too many people have left recently on LinkedIn, it’s a sign.
And best if you can find somebody to speak with through a warm connection
I have a remote job with 250k USD/2CR base salary and get to travel for free internationally 6 times a year to beautiful places in Europe. My manager is a saint and I don’t think I will ever find someone as good as him. I am considering ...
What an absolute shit show https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/technology/fraud-threats-sexual-harassment-zilingos-ankiti-bose-files-fir-against-co-founder-ex-coo-12706929.html
Zilingo is already defunct. A once billion dollar startup that is now literally 0. One of the major startup scams. I...
Zilingo is desi Theranos
One of the founders come from a very big tech giant. And both of the founders were IITians (might be a signal for you what not to look for when choosing a company)
It has been the worst experience of my life in all honesty.
In intervie...
Name and Shame. What is the use of this post if we dont know as to who has done this so that other GV Users can be sa...
Name and Shame
