I.P.E.A. – The Four Attributes You Need to Work in a Startup

KashFlow has been going a good few years now and there are over 20 of us here. But we’re still very much a start-up in terms of our culture, the way we work, and the things we’re working on.

Working in a start-up is nothing like working in a “big” business.

Some people simply aren’t cut out for it.

There are four attributes you MUST have to work in a start-up business.

Make sure you’ve got them before you leave the comfort of your corporate job and discounted gym membership. Or if you’re the start-up owner, look for them in all your hires, it’ll save on P45s.

Initiative

There are no procedure documents. Your job description is fluid. You won’t get clear and detailed instructions on how to do what’s asked of you. You’ll get a fuzzy outline at best.

It’s up to you to fill in the details.

It doesn’t matter if you get it wrong, as long as you can explain why you made the choices you made. After explaining it, others might even see that you weren’t “wrong” after all.

Everyone is overworked in a start-up, there will always be things that need to be done but no one is doing them. Spotted one of those things? Do something about it, even if you’re not asked to.

If you’re someone that needs regular guidance, direction and hand-holding, then working in a start-up isn’t for you.

Passion

You have to really care about what you do. I mean really.

If you’re in digital marketing then you need to be the kind of guy that spends his evenings reading EConsultancy.

If you’re in customer services then you need to be genuinely upset if you’ve got an unhappy customer.

If you took the initiative and others disagree with you, you need to be able and willing to passionately defend your choices.

If you go home at 5.30 and don’t think about work again until 9am then working in a start-up isn’t for you.

Enthusiasm

It’s bloody hard work working in a start-up.

The perks certainly aren’t as good as they are in the corporate world and the hours are longer.

Being enthusiastic about what you do not only helps you get through the day, but it’s infectious – it helps your colleagues too.

If you don’t have a genuine enthusiasm for what you do then you’ll end up hating your job.

Aptitude

You can have all the passion and enthusiasm in the world, but if that’s not coupled with the innate ability to actually do the job then it’s not worth diddly squat.

Of course, everyone thinks that they have the aptitude. So this is more a warning to the potential employer rather than the employee.

Just because someone is passionate and enthusiastic, it doesn’t mean they can do the job.

Three out of four isn’t enough. You need all four.

Got all four? Great! Although there are other considerations too.

Speed
Things move fast in a start-up. You need to move fast, think fast and work fast.

Change
By its very nature, a start-up is still evolving. Things will change quickly. What was 100% certainly definitely important yesterday may be totally irrelevant tomorrow.

Clarity
Talking is quicker than writing. Ideas and problems get bounced around regularly. Clarity in verbal and written communication is incredibly important.

Conciseness
Did I mention everyone is busy and over-worked? Say what you need to say. Don’t use 100 words to say what you mean if 12 will do the job.

It’s not all bad

After reading the above you’re probably not so keen to work in a start-up any more.
But it’s not all bad.

There’s huge variety in the work that you do, you learn lots, you might just change the world (or a small corner of it).

And of course you get to work with passionate and enthusiastic people.

Colinbrownester

Sounds like the good old days, pity I’m too old!
Andrew Fairley

It’s funn how different start-up culture in the UK is to the US. It seems in the US, start-ups are the most exciting thing since pre-sliced bread. Everyone wants to work in a start-up in America, they get the Angel Investors all excited, they seem to offer the best salaries and brilliant perks… I suppose it is part of the entrepreneurial aspect of the American Dream. In the UK, however, there just isn’t that excitement – a start-up is seen as a risk. They don’t get the same funding, and often can’t match salaries: I recently spoke to an exciting start-up in London looking for a Lead PHP Developer, paying max £40K. In London, that’s 3 or 4 years experience, midweight level salary. A competitive salary would be £65K.

Maybe what we need is more of a buzz around the concept of a start-up. The Silicon Roundabout project in London was a good idea, but it isn’t enough. Until we have something the equivalent of Silicon Valley (and personally I would recommend locating it outside London, somewhere like Cambridge or, perhaps, Bletchley Park, the home of computing), we aren’t going to see an improvement. Kids in the US want to study Computer Science at uni so they can go and work for Facebook, or Google, or a cool new start-up. What is there in the UK to get kids excited about hacking?
- Jerry Dominguez
  
  We have some wonderful valleys and scenery in Wales, not that you would probably get out much in a start-up, but the only thing letting us down would be the relatively slow internet speed. Otherwise sign me up!
http://opencrm.co.uk Thomas Chapman

Great list of attributes you’ll need to stay on top of a job in such an environment. Despite the hard work involved (and which job doesn’t entail hard work if you are doing it for the right reasons) the rewards (not necessarily financial) are great, I think above all it means being a valued person within a business as opposed to just a number.
Pingback: Hiring again. Front-end Web Developer()
Pingback: Stats/analytics experts wanted!()
Muneeb Noor

It’s not that hard to work in start-up. Do agree with the part that its hard to even find time for scratching head, but who needs to scratch head anyway when you have got much better things to do.

UKStartups