Talent Question: What would you consider selling points as to why you'd join an early stage/growth start-up?

couaphang·May 02, 2022

I am curious as someone working in the growth stage tech company, what are some reasons you'd leave your current employer to join a small company? Instead of just going to work for the big companies that will pay a nice salary vs. startups that maybe more equity heavy on the front end with a somewhat competitive base.

teresaman·May 03, 2022

A couple things I can think of: autonomy, and impact of work, as well as the mission / product of the company could be one that resonates with the individual a lot!

Alexa167·May 03, 2022

- Opportunity for outsized financial upside- Career growth (can take on more responsibilities more quickly at a smaller company)- Impact (can have more of an impact on a smaller company than a larger one)

ilonatrn·May 03, 2022

I do work at a very early stage startup! I joined as the 5th person. I was ready to make that leap because I had used the product and had many hours of conversations with the CEO about the direction as a customer.This is a +1 to what other folks have said, but:- Outsized impact on the company/product- See rapid evolution of product/business model/customer interactions- Outsized impact on culture, operations- Rapid career growth and opportunity to get thrown in the deep end- Opportunity to work broadly across departments- Super tight knit team- Ownership of your work/department- Clearer idea of how your work impacts customers, the business- Ability to try on different hats (super important for me as I was pivoting functional roles)- Learn directly from senior management- Excitement of building something from nothing- Get to know 100% of your customers and see the love grow- Agile org- Maybe one day I'll make more money off of this - I'm comfortable with my comp even though I know it could be easily doubled elsewhere. But I appreciate the excitement of contributing to my team :) And I think I'm learning skills faster than I could elsewhere, and could leverage that if I ever do decide to switch companies