What you need to know before taking your first job in a small startup

My first job out of college was at a small startup company, I was their first hire and joined as a Product Manager. It was a good deal for both sides, they needed someone cheap that will work hard and take on multiple responsibilities, and I wanted that title and I was ready to work hard to earn it.

So I joined their team and was given the title of Product Manager but in all fairness, that wasn’t what I was doing during my first year there. What I actually did was… everything, except for programming. Sales, marketing, customer support, project management, UX, UI and more. Joining as the first employee meant that I was hired to help them out of “garage mode” and become a real company. That’s exactly what we did, and in the 18 months after I joined we were able to get a Round-A investment, sign with international customers and leave the startup hub we were in for our own office space in a WeWork building.

Joining a company in those early days is not easy, it is hard work, long hours and a lot of responsibility. It takes a lot to get a company going, and when companies like that hire they are looking for linchpins, someone who is indispensable, who can and will take over as many responsibilities as possible.

So before you sign up to join a small startup company (In the Pre-seed or Seed stage, usually up to 15 employees), here’s what I think you should know:

No money means you need to wear multiple hats

Small startups usually don’t have enough funds to do all they need to do. There are so many hard decisions when it comes to how to spend the little money you have while still keeping the company afloat for long enough to survive. That means that if you’re joining a company in these early stages, you’ll need to do much more than your title suggests. Basically, any seat that is open will need to be filled by the existing employees.

This includes customer support, marketing, presenting at conferences, working with outsourced designers and contractors, managing clients or writing support material, there’s so much to do, and the needs change almost on a daily basis.

So before you take that job, be sure that you are ready to go beyond your experience, taking on more responsibilities, learning new things as you go, and altogether doing everything you can to help your startup succeed. This isn’t going to be easy, but it’s definitely rewarding.

Low salary now but a lot of experience later

We already discussed briefly why funds are low at this point, this means that you’re not necessarily going to get the salary of your dreams, and maybe even not the standard salary for your title and experience. If this is your first job out of college, maybe that’s not such a bad thing. The experience you’re going to get from working at a high paced startup environment is so much more valuable than your first out-of-college salary (which is almost always low).

For your next employers, knowing that you stepped up to help a small startup grow, that you can take on multiple responsibilities, learn new skills on your own and think outside of the box is so much more impressive than someone who had a comfortable 9–5 job.

There’s no such thing as working hours

When it comes to acquiring or maintaining your first clients, your startup needs to impress the hell out of them to make them trust you enough to give you their money. To achieve that, you’ll sometimes be required to work during the weekend, be available to answer emails or phone calls and keep them satisfied. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should give up your weekend altogether, but you need to keep in mind that if you’re looking for a 9–5 job where you can disconnect after you go home, then a small startup may not be for you.

Stock options is real money, but also not really

Small startups use stock options to compensate employees for the difference in the salary they are offering vs. the average in the market. The sooner you join the startup, the more stock options you usually get. “An option is simply the right for you to buy shares of stock in the company at a predetermined price in the future. If your company is able to grow and be successful, then your stock options can become very valuable for you”. (A Simple Guide: Stock Options for First Time Startup Employees, I highly recommend reading this as it covers everything you need to know about stock options).

While stock options can become real money, there’s no guarantee that it will. Around 90% of startups fail, 20% of startups won’t make it past their first year, so don’t count on these options to pay for your next vacation or to pay off your student loans. Look at it as a nice bonus in the rare case of success and as the fuel to get your company to success.

When reviewing your stock options agreement, make sure to understand all the details including how and when you can exercise your options. Keep in mind that early employees usually get more stock options because of the higher risk in joining the company in that early stage, and that you’ll need to stay in the company for at least a year to get just 25% of the offered options. This is a smart tactic because on-boarding new employees takes time and money, and small startups can’t afford that. So these two elements play as an incentive for you to help the company grow and stay onboard for longer.

Know when it’s time to say goodbye…

By far the hardest part for me was knowing when it’s time to leave the startup I was working for. Being there from the start meant that I felt like I was one of the founders. I cared about the company and its success because for 3 years almost all of my time and energy went into it. However it’s important to remember that you are not one of the founders. Your thoughts and opinions count less, and one day you’ll probably find yourself disagreeing with the decisions the actual founders make, but there’s nothing you can do about it other than express your opinions and hope they’ll listen.

Knowing when it’s time to leave is a key part for every job you take, not only in small startups. For me it was when I felt like I have nothing new to learn anymore. I felt like I exhausted all the skills I could learn from that role in that company, and it was time to move on to a place where I can take my skills to the next level. Some of the signs you should keep an eye out for: Constantly feeling bored and tired, completing tasks on auto-pilot and having no path to promotion.

It’s an amazing roller coaster ride

I know I might have made working for a small startup look scary, so I want to finish with some good things:

• In these early days, every success is huge. For example getting a new customer to sign and get them on-boarded is so gratifying. And it doesn’t get old quickly.
• Results for your hard work will come pretty quickly and you’ll learn new skills on a weekly basis. Before you know it you’ll have so much knowledge on so many topics.
• Projects are also smaller and shorter than in bigger companies so you can iterate faster. Working faster means you can see your product improve, your clients happy and your company grow.

Finally, the rush of the startup world is real. It’s addictive, you feel like your work matters, like you’re part of something bigger than yourself, and every second feels important. It’s one of the best feelings in the world. So if you think you have what it takes to join this crazy ride, do it. You won’t regret it.

Do you think I missed something? Is there anything you think people should know before joining a small startup? Share that in the comments below! Can’t wait to read it.