[.sushilkumar]

Originally Posted by m8002?

2. Start with a high salary and give smaller increment ( what happens in west).

Speaking from my own experience, this is the norm in India too now.

TBH, Majority of people got exploited a lot in pandemic with fear of loosing the job talking over & Paying loans becomes top priority. I know many who were doing 14-16 hours a day in pandemic & are expected to do this daily now. Office & home lines got blurred. Many organisations responded with pay cuts. Variable were cut out across whole while organisations announced record profits. i am not getting into merits of such pay cuts.

It,s Just the revenge of oppressed IMO

[Samurai]

Better.com CEO Vishal Garg, in Zoom call shocker, lays off 900 employees in US, India

Great Resignations on one hand, and layoffs on the other hand.

In his LinkedIn profile, he says this:

Better is the fastest growing homeownership company in america. We are empowering economic opportunity and mobility by making life's largest single purchase, expense and debt obligation more affordable, understandable and accessible. We grew over 400% in 2020 to over $20 bln in annual origination and are growing 3x again in 2021.

The company was also topped the list of LinkedIn's top 50 startups of 2021.

What do these numbers mean if you had to fire 900 in the same year?

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/tr...p-7795211.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFbbjRKBEf0

SoftBank Vision Fund pumped $500 million into Better earlier this year and has committed $1.3 billion more to the company in the coming months.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-u...c-banerjee-cfa

[warrioraks]

Fellow Bhpians - What are a few factors to consider while switching jobs from a big well established company to a startup?

At the face of it, lack of stability certainly seems to be a risk in startup environment. On the positive side it might come with more excitement and breadth of job role. Looking for some pointers beyond the obvious things I stated above.

//thanks.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Fellow Bhpians - What are a few factors to consider while switching jobs from a big well established company to a startup?

Many factors... and it also depends on if the startup has good funding for next 2-3 years, or not. I'll only focus on problems.

1) Hygiene Factor: Not talking about cleanliness here. Most of the departments that take care of your needs will be very basic or totally missing. If you need to travel, you may have to book the flight tickets and hotel by yourself. Don't expect extra curricular activities or gym or even group health insurance. You may have to fly economy instead of business class. Even parking could be hard if the office is in a commercial area. The tiny accounting department could be making lots of mistakes unless they have fully outsourced it to an accounting firm. I have seen startups with up to 200 people not knowing how to correctly process the payroll.

2) Result oriented: Startups are in a constant hurry to show results and don't give a damn about process. It is constant chaos. If you are used to highly process oriented working conditions, this will be a big culture shock.

3) Little hierarchy: Even a trainee gets to rub shoulders with the CEO on a regular basis. Strict hierarchy is not maintained, your boss may talk to your team members on a daily basis.

4) Excess freedom: Since the IT staff will be severely limited, you will have very few restrictions on using your phone or laptop at work. None of those BYOD profile things will exist. That also means you get very little help from IT department. Nobody could be taking backups. There may not be any IT management policy.

[CliffHanger]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Fellow Bhpians - What are a few factors to consider while switching jobs from a big well established company to a startup?

At the face of it, lack of stability certainly seems to be a risk in startup environment. On the positive side it might come with more excitement and breadth of job role. Looking for some pointers beyond the obvious things I stated above.

//thanks.

Don't do it, unless you are the CEO or one of the founding members.

It's okay to throw in some money as an investor, in a startup, not your career.

[kvsriki]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Bhpians - What are a few factors to consider while switching jobs from a big well established company to a startup?

Such decisions can be different for each individual, depending on the following factors:

• Current role and responsibilities, are you satisfied with your work
• Current salary + perks, does it justify your role and responsibilities
• Risk appetite of leaving a well settled job, depending on your financial situation and commitments
• Position of the startup compared to its competitors, is it unique enough to outlast its competitors
• Is the startup self funded or VC funded. If self funded, what is the source(s) of revenue, how long before it becomes profitable, how will the salaries of all the employees be managed, etc. If VC funded, how many rounds of fundings happened, who are the investors, kind of partnerships established (if any), do they have any exclusivity agreements, etc.
• What is the business model of the startup, what is it's go to market strategy, target industry & it's market size. Are the goals and vision feasible targets, etc
• In its lifecycle, at what stage is the startup? Is it still in inception phase or they have a working product/service offering or do they already have a few customers/clients where they have deployed the product/service
• What is the background of the founders/investors of the startup? A thorough research should be done on this to find out their previous ventures and how they turned out
• One of the most important factors to consider if your own career goals and in which place do you see them being fulfilled

Besides these major factors, there are a lot of other factors that can be penned down, but this list can be endless. Most importantly, if you are in a position that makes you even consider moving to a startup by leaving a well established organization, then you are already not satisfied with your current position (whether it is role, responsibilities or salary).

No doubt that a startup will give you a much broader exposure to how an organization is run and get a chance to be a part of some big that is built from the ground up, it does have its fair share of risks associated with it, which can be avoided if you do proper research and ask the right questions before being hired.

I myself have made this jump from a well established position and organization to a startup that was in its inception phase, wasn't even registered, didn't have an office, no corporate account, no big perks (at that time). But it was a wonderful adventure to part of a journey to set everything up, learn a lot about how operations, financials, administration and recruitment processes are executed, how policies are drafted and finalized. It feels awesome when the plans get executed and you taste success from all the hard work put in by you and your new family.

Since then I have been in 3 startups till now, the first 2 were acquired by larger organizations and I moved out as I didn't want to go back to the pseudo comfort of being in a large hierarchical/process oriented organization, which kills the startup culture. Also, got a better deal from the acquisition payouts and generous hikes in salary from being part of successful ventures.

Again, I can not recommend this for you, as your situation may be completely different from mine. Feel free to let me know if you need to discuss this further and other are also welcome to weigh in their opinions or counter mine

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Fellow Bhpians - What are a few factors to consider while switching jobs from a big well established company to a startup?
At the face of it, lack of stability certainly seems to be a risk in startup environment. On the positive side it might come with more excitement and breadth of job role. Looking for some pointers beyond the obvious things I stated above.

Originally Posted by Samurai

Many factors... and it also depends on if the startup has good funding for next 2-3 years, or not. I'll only focus on problems......

Originally Posted by kvsriki

Such decisions can be different for each individual, depending on the following factors:...

@warrioraks, You have received two very well written posts on advice regarding your question. I second all that Samurai and @kvsriki have written. To this I'll add that you should do your homework on the funding they already have in the bank. Not promises of private equity funding but cash in the bank. Do they have enough to last out 3 years at twice the burn rate of today. If the answer is no then think three times. Also today every tom dick and harry with a business idea and some internet play calls himself a start up. I receive about 50 serious requests each year to invest in such companies. My first start up investment was in year 2000. In 21 years I've invested in less than 10. This should give you a rough indication of how scarce are really good startups. Also to understand the real meat in a start up check out what intellectual property are they creating that can be registered in USA. All the best with your decision.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Fellow Bhpians - What are a few factors to consider while switching jobs from a big well established company to a startup?

In addition to what Samurai and kvsriki have written, startups are very "go big or go home". If you are a member of significance in the startup, the payout if/when the startup strikes big (= gets listed / acquired) will be tremendous. Anywhere from tens of lakhs to multiple crores.

If it doesn't, you'll be unemployed.

But. You'll have a good story to tell.

Also, startups depend heavily on funding (esp if revenue < costs, which is almost always the case). So, things get very uncertain when funds are about to run out and fresh funding is not yet closed. Delayed salaries being the first response.

Several of my friends are/were with startups in Hyd/Blr/Pune and they all have a similar experience:
1) high risk - high reward
2) there are immediate consequences of actions unlike big companies where you can spend a quarter just deciding the font on a slide
3) you're always on the job; no downtime where you can expect BAU during your absence.. among others.

[KL01toKA03]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

In addition to what Samurai and kvsriki have written, startups are very "go big or go home". If you are a member of significance in the startup, the payout if/when the startup strikes big (= gets listed / acquired) will be tremendous. Anywhere from tens of lakhs to multiple crores.

My thoughts are also on similar lines. I would think only about the following factors:

• Do you have skills that are difficult to find for prospective employers?
• Are you confident of excelling in the role being offered?

If you enjoy the role offered to you, and if you are confident of finding another job in case things do not work out as expected, you should choose the startup.

I started my career in a startup. I love the work environment in startups to such an extent that I couldn't last even a year in a big company. I felt like the work I did was not very important, and quit within 6 months. A lot depends on your priorities, and where you would be comfortable working.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Fellow Bhpians - What are a few factors to consider while switching jobs from a big well established company to a startup?

Am in my early 40s and just made the switch 3 months ago. After 10 years with a 30+ year old IT product company of 8000 employees across the globe to a 3-year old company with about 80 employees in 2 locations. From having to work with a team of 25+ to 2- now it's just me and another guy, also new, taking care of the same job area.

And let me tell you, personally for me, I should have done this at least 4 years ago.

Loving the speed of work, decision making, sole responsibility, and new things everyday. In three months the two of us have evaluated, selected, implemented and started delivering in beta what it took our team of 25+ more than a year to do at my previous org. I've gotten the chance to deal direct with vendors, evaluate and take pricing decisions, work with the head of marketing, liaise with department heads across the company - all of which would have required months and "permissions" to even "approach" at my previous job. (Even by some chance, if this doesn't work out in a year, my resume' will have been enriched more in this year than it has in the past 4!)

BUT a lot depends on where you are at, what sort of established org you are already at and what sort of startup you are considering moving to-

*If yours is the sole income, if you have dependents or debt, then it warrants extra careful consideration. What stage in life you are at determines the risk. If your spouse is working, that gives you an additional source of income as a buffer even if things don't work out.
*If the established company you are at is one with a good culture and management- they do have opportunities to move across functions or take on fresh responsibilities, if you can get all than within the same org itself, then why leave.
*There are startups and then there are startups. Like many more experienced people have already pointed out, if it's a fresh startup without a good funding plan in place, then think again. A lot of startups are good at giving a giving a good salary but scrimp on things like medial insurance and PF. Just because it's a startup doesn't mean they should not provide those important benefits. Some startups are in the mature stage and have already secured funding for a few years. Those are a much better bet.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

I love the work environment in startups to such an extent that I couldn't last even a year in a big company. I felt like the work I did was not very important, and quit within 6 months. A lot depends on your priorities, and where you would be comfortable working.

The opposite is also true. Folks from big companies will find startup culture very uncomfortable. My startup will complete 2 years this month. I lost only one employee during the period, and he always worked in large companies before that. Rest are all from pure startup background and have the sea legs to handle the startup turbulence and love the small company work environment.

[KL01toKA03]

Originally Posted by Samurai

The opposite is also true. Folks from big companies will find startup culture very uncomfortable. My startup will complete 2 years this month. I lost only one employee during the period, and he always worked in large companies before that. Rest are all from pure startup background and have the sea legs to handle the startup turbulence and love the small company work environment.

I agree. Most people get used to how they do many things. It is not just restricted to work. I drive a diesel car, and have not enjoyed driving any petrol cars. It also doesn't mean that there is no petrol car which I could love driving. If my first car was a petrol car, my experience would have been something else. Similarly, you could find your comfort zones in the food you eat, movies you watch, and many other things.

[GS300]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Fellow Bhpians - What are a few factors to consider while switching jobs from a big well established company to a startup?

@Samurai and @kvsriki have discussed many of the relevant points in good detail. I will add only a few other perspectives.

(My background: in my 25 years career, I have worked in some of the largest enterprise software companies for long durations and worked in start-ups in between. One of those start-ups closed down barely 9 months after me joining. The latest stint is where I have started from registering the company and looking for office space etc.)

At the core of this decision-making is, what exactly are you looking for? What is driving you to consider switching to startups?

Do you feel congested in a large company? Do the processes feel like a waste of time? Do you feel that you are stagnated, you are not learning anything anymore? Do you feel you can do more, add more value in a flexible atmosphere?

These are the factors that drove me out of large companies.

So, you should ask yourself –are you comfortable in a system where processes are not well defined, job roles are not well defined, hierarchies are not well defined?

If you are a person who doesn’t like junior colleagues questioning you, or if you are a person who expects IT department to promptly fix your computer issue, or if you are a person who likes to have a secretary booking you a conference room, well, start-ups would be a major culture shock.


Then there is the question of stability. My personal opinion is that no large company can give you stability. In fact, no company can give you stability. If you have abilities that are valued in the market, you will have stable employment – at one place or other. That’s all.

When I hire people, they often asks me about stability and job security. I ask them this: “When you look around in your circles, who do you find facing job risks – are they people working for long time in large organizations, or are those the ones who work in smaller companies?”

More often, we realize that people who work in the same job role for long time in large organizations face more job risk than people who change jobs often in smaller companies.

Just my two cents..

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by GS300

we realize that people who work in the same job role for long time in large organizations face more job risk than people who change jobs often in smaller companies.

Not really and I think it is just the other way. It is of least risk for such people.

One of the main downside for such people is that their compensation will be far under than their peers who must have switched multiple organization. It will be tough for them to catch up to that within the same org.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Fellow Bhpians - What are a few factors to consider while switching jobs from a big well established company to a startup?

At the face of it, lack of stability certainly seems to be a risk in startup environment. On the positive side it might come with more excitement and breadth of job role. Looking for some pointers beyond the obvious things I stated above.

//thanks.

You might want to define what sort of startup as well. Do you mean 3 people in a coworking, or Swiggy, or somewhere in between?

The points that the others have made are very relevant - if a senior hire did not ask me most or all of these questions, it would be a huge red flag to me.

If you are a self-starter who thrives in uncertainty (sorry, cliches), then a startup will seem like a godsend.