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Why you should join a big company first

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Re: Why you should join a big company first

#11

Post by seldo »

bmj1 wrote: post #4

This really resonated with me, I was one of those cocky, over-achieving kids who thought I could start a company fresh out of college. Instead, I've worked in Product for 26 months and learnt some really good skills: how to write real requirements, how to manage expectations (up and down), how to negotiate, how to measure and to focus on moving the needle, how to build a GTM plan and execute against it, how to deal w…

You do learn lots of good things at companies, but you can also learn bad habits -- you can acquire a predilection for long meetings, acquire a taste for political point-scoring over (more difficult, less fun) compromise, and a default position of creating process over improving communication. Those things are survival skills at a big company, but very bad for small ones. The trick is to identify which of the skills you're picking up are good or bad and using them appropriately when you strike out on your own.

Re: Why you should join a big company first

#12

Post by bmj1 »

seldo wrote: post #11
bmj1 wrote: post #4

This really resonated with me, I was one of those cocky, over-achieving kids who thought I could start a company fresh out of college. Instead, I've worked in Product for 26 months and learnt some really good skills: how to write real requirements, how to manage expectations (up and down), how to negotiate, how to measure and to focus on moving the needle, how to build a GTM plan and execute against it, how to deal w…

You do learn lots of good things at companies, but you can also learn bad habits -- you can acquire a predilection for long meetings, acquire a taste for political point-scoring over (more difficult, less fun) compromise, and a default position of creating process over improving communication. Those things are survival skills at a big company, but very bad for small ones. The trick is to identify which of the skills…

Excellent point - I find the long meetings aren't such a difficult thing to avoid - but certainly politics and unnecessary process have no place in a startup.

The other big lesson I learnt, the hidden cost of complexity, and importance of keeping things simple (I don't think you can get this until you meet the real world): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6331082 (just submitted to HN, realised it hadn't been shared yet)

Re: Why you should join a big company first

#13

Post by pg »

I used to advise people to go work for an existing company for a few years before trying to start their own, but I now think that was bad advice. It's true that you learn things working for a big company, but you learn more, faster, starting your own.

A lot of people we've funded have said they wished they'd quit their corporate job sooner. I don't remember any saying they wished they'd stayed in it longer.

The one point in this article that's valid is the last one. Startups take over your life. So if you want to focus on other things besides work, you're better off with a regular job than trying to start a startup.

Re: Why you should join a big company first

#14

Post by kemiller »

Yep. If I had it to do over, I'd do it that way. The options are better now, though. 15 years ago, if you wanted a big software company you had Microsoft, and, uh... Sun? Oracle? Now you have Google, Apple, Yahoo, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, not to mention the in-betweeners like Square, Dropbox, and Github. It's an incredible time to be starting off in Software. Unless you're sitting on the idea of the century (hint: probably not) it's not a bad idea to accumulate up cash, pay off debt, and build a great network.

Re: Why you should join a big company first

#15

Post by sergiosgc »

The time window for playing the startup game is very short. Fresh out of college you don't have as many financial responsibilities as a few years down the road. Take that financial freedom as a license to risk working at or launching a startup.

You won't be able to do it when you have a mortgage, two kids to feed and clothe, and college savings on the horizon.

Re: Why you should join a big company first

#16

Post by mrkurt »

sergiosgc wrote: post #15

The time window for playing the startup game is very short. Fresh out of college you don't have as many financial responsibilities as a few years down the road. Take that financial freedom as a license to risk working at or launching a startup. You won't be able to do it when you have a mortgage, two kids to feed and clothe, and college savings on the horizon.

Sure you can! You can arguably do it better. :)

Re: Why you should join a big company first

#17

Post by nostrademons »

peter_l_downs wrote: post #5

The article opens with the question: > “Should I join Microsoft or a startup?” but really seems to answer the question: > "Should I join Microsoft or start a startup" which is really very different.

I think his audience is people who already know they want to start a startup, but aren't sure about when.

And as someone who worked for 2 startups, founded one, ended up at a big company, and hope that there will eventually be another startup in my life: I agree with him. I learned a lot working for a big company, and had I known that when I started out, I probably would've been much more effective at evaluating the startup opportunities that were available to me. Having a couple years at Google or Microsoft on your resume doesn't hurt you when you're doing your own thing, and can give you a bunch of experiences that you simply can't get when you're bouncing around between startups.

Re: Why you should join a big company first

#18

Post by Apocryphon »

What really is a startup, these days? A handful of hackers in a garage or a co-working space? Somewhere established but still youthful and fresh- Path? Square? Quora? Someplace much older but with a sense of dynamism and a startup ethos- Google? Apple?

Re: Why you should join a big company first

#19

Post by [deleted] »

pg wrote: post #13

I used to advise people to go work for an existing company for a few years before trying to start their own, but I now think that was bad advice. It's true that you learn things working for a big company, but you learn more, faster, starting your own. A lot of people we've funded have said they wished they'd quit their corporate job sooner. I don't remember any saying they wished they'd stayed in it longer. The one p…

[deleted]

Re: Why you should join a big company first

#20

Post by ktd »

pg wrote: post #13

I used to advise people to go work for an existing company for a few years before trying to start their own, but I now think that was bad advice. It's true that you learn things working for a big company, but you learn more, faster, starting your own. A lot of people we've funded have said they wished they'd quit their corporate job sooner. I don't remember any saying they wished they'd stayed in it longer. The one p…

>A lot of people we've funded have said they wished they'd quit their corporate job sooner. I don't remember any saying they wished they'd stayed in it longer.

I feel like the fact that you funded these people constitutes a very significant selection effect here.

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