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Want to found a startup? Work at one first

blog.lawrencejones.dev

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Re: Want to found a startup? Work at one first

#101

Post by ryanmercer »

As someone that spent 15 and a half years working for FedEx and then jumped ship to join TrueNorth shortly after their Series B I've definitely found it interesting.

FedEx:

- an ancient dinosaur, using a LOT of ancient tech (I did my job in an AS400 terminal for 15 and a half years).

- A bureaucratic dinosaur, even backfilling positions could take 6 months just to get a posting and even simple office fun activities had to be kicked up the chain to corporate legal for approval

- You were a serial number, mine was 628254

- Everything I did was micromanaged to the second via time stamps

- Reviews were rigid, mechanical, impersonal

TrueNorth:

- Agile, even in the 6 months I've been there things have rapidly changed (and for the better) and that just blows my mind. I know it's normal for a startup but it's truly like magic to me.

- Not a bureaucratic dinosaur, our CEO is hands on in the trenches still. She's there asking questions, looking for feedback, keeping a decent working knowledge of everything that is going on. There aren't a dozen people between her and the lowest rung of the ladder.

- I'm not a serial number, I'm just Ryan. I'm treated like a human being.

- Reviews are typical for modern companies. I can also ask my boss for feedback any time and, unlike at FedEx, know I'm going to get actionable feedback and not have him scrutinizing everything I do for the next few days/weeks wondering what I'm trying to hide/cover up in my work.

---

I definitely see a lot at TN that is being done much better than at a dinosaur like FedEx, we have the ability to just try something if we think it's going to work better unlike at FedEx where it would have to be kicked up through multiple rungs of management, then non software engineers would be tasked to investigate it, then maybe 3-4 months later a very limited time study would get approved and done, and then that new process - regardless of if it was better - would get buried. At a startup it's just "sure, give it a try, see what happens" most of the time or a much more immediate feedback "actually, that is going to be an issue because of x, y, and z".

I did join TN when it was north of 50 people though. It had 2 years and change of operating before I joined so I did miss out on the truly chaotic bits but 100% I would say I'm now better equipped for either a brand spankin' new startup or a decades old company due to my time here. I absolutely think differently than when I started 6 months ago and I don't feel stifled by some antiquated system of doing business. If I have an idea I can go explore it, or even try it, I can grab 15 minutes from someone's calendar to ask why they're doing something a certain way and what about it is annoying/is awesome, and I can take that and maybe apply it to my work or even let my brain percolate on how to improve that for them.

If I ever had an idea for a startup, I 100% feel better equipped to take stab at it now that I've worked for one. I definitely know what is working as far as communication, documentation, scoping, etc.

Re: Want to found a startup? Work at one first

#102

Post by N_A_T_E »

Sounds like the big lesson is having autonomy to do whatever needs to be done to solve the problem at hand. Pattern matching how to handle situations based on previous success/failures might not be the best way to deal with early stage startup questions where you have to navigate unknown territory.

Re: Want to found a startup? Work at one first

#104

Post by ooopsnevermind »

I worked at early, fast growing startups and later founded and raised venture capital for my own startup. You'd think I'd agree with this article, but I actually don't, here's why:

1) Working at fairly successful startups gave me excuses to put off starting my own company because I was still "learning so much." In retrospect, I should have started my own company years earlier.

2) Identifying startups that will turn into rocketships is hard. If you are that good at identifying successful startups early on, you should probably consider becoming a VC. :)

Re: Want to found a startup? Work at one first

#105

Post by ryanmercer »

jononomo wrote: post #77

Does anyone care anymore about just having five kids and a backyard and a loving spouse and a wall full of books and solid church community? I'm so tired of people just trying to make money.

My wife and I are quite religious (LDS). We have 50~ nieces and nephews, 2 rooms full of books, a little over a half acre yard, grow a sizable percentage of our produce, and nature willing would like to have kids.

I still would like money though, lots of money. I need 600k-1 million USD to quit working just to live. With my current income, inflation, etc., I'll likely still be working until I physically can't though. If I magically had that 600k-1 million today to retire, I'd then be content on the money side. I would have the freedom to pursue whatever I wanted to do with my time, from volunteering way more to tinkering with crafts/considerably expanding our growing/YouTube/writing/whatever.

You can want a morally upright life with lots of personal relationships, and still want/dream of a nice little pile of money.

Re: Want to found a startup? Work at one first

#106

Post by iddan »

I give this advice to many aspiring founders I meet and I practice it myself. Have been working in multiple early-stage and growth startups at different stages with the goal of becoming a founder one day including right now at FlyCode (S22)

Re: Want to found a startup? Work at one first

#107

Post by ghiculescu »

lawrjone wrote: post #82
hcks wrote: post #73

Contra a lot of popular belief here: I don’t understand how working as an engineer (because this is always what seems to be implied) will improve your odds at starting a startup. Working as an engineer, and kickstarting a business are two very different jobs. Even in practice successful tech startup founders seems to be 40 yos with a background in management consulting. So I really wonder where do people get the idea…

I'm not sure most successful tech start-up founders have management consultant backgrounds, I've not seen that at least! Speaking to the point about not having been a founder myself: you're right, and hope I was clear about that in the article. But I have spent the last year as the first employee working on building out a start-up, where a big challenge is in establishing a team and learning how to build a product th…

> But I have spent the last year as the first employee working on building out a start-up, where a big challenge is in establishing a team and learning how to build a product that people want to buy.

Lots of people have these experiences but don’t succeed as founders.

I suspect a key difference is you are currently doing it without real risk, and with someone else’s risk appetite. I’d be wary of trying to apply the exact same approach when it’s your company on the line. So in that sense there will be just as many “firsts” either way.

Re: Want to found a startup? Work at one first

#108

Post by yalogin »

I don't buy this argument at all. It fully depends on your mindset. No big company pays you to become lazy and entitled, at least not the FAANG ones referred to by most as the gold standard. If you cannot show initiative and growth in a big company you don't belong in a start up. People with initiative and a drive to do things thrive anywhere and in any condition. They solve problems no matter what the form is and forge ahead. I do see that working for a startup can be great, but this whole "work at a start up first" is just trying to glorify startups and nothing else.

Re: Want to found a startup? Work at one first

#109

Post by whispersnow »

I have worked at a startup, joined the founding team of a startup, as well as consulted at a VC before. IMHO, I don't feel that it is a pre-requisite to work at one first. Though there are spirits a successful founder needs to have, but "working" at a startup is completely different from "owning" it. The mindset, pressure, things to handle, are at totally different levels for the founder. And that's not necessary being gained/build by working at a startup.
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