Joining a Startup for the First Time? 30 Actionable Tips From Folks Who've Been There
Joining a Startup for the First Time? 30 Actionable Tips From Folks Who've Been There
Top startup leaders and operators share their best tips for new startup employees, including hitting the ground running, how to prioritize what to work on, and growing your career.
Outline
- What’s your favorite unexpected tip for someone who’s joining a startup for the first time?
- PREPARE FOR TAKEOFF.
- CHART YOUR COURSE TO TACKLE THE RIGHT PROBLEMS.
- LEAN ON YOUR CO-PILOTS AS YOU PICK UP ALTITUDE.
- PERFECT YOUR LANDINGS.
- GET COMFORTABLE GRABBING THE CONTROLS.
- WEATHER THE INEVITABLE TURBULENCE.
- MAP OUT YOUR FUTURE FLIGHT PATH
PREPARE FOR TAKEOFF.
You stuck through the interview process, did a happy dance when the offer came through and marked your calendar for your new job's start date. But for new employees used to architected onboarding processes at previous companies, startups may leave something to be desired on your Day One. Use these tips to direct your own onboarding to fill in any gaps.
1. Have a mind like water.
First, leave your preconceived ideas of how things ought to be at the door. “Notion’s Camille Ricketts says it best: ‘You have to have a ‘mind like water,’ which is a beautiful metaphor for communicating just how valuable adaptability and agility is in a startup environment,” says Claire Spangenberg, VP of Brand and Marketing at Alma. “If you come in with fixed ideas about what the business is, how the company should execute against its goals, and your place in all of that, you’ll waste precious time being stuck in old ways of thinking and constantly needing to play catch up — which is bad for you and the business.”
2. Cozy up to the customer.
“It doesn't matter what job you have — at a startup, every member of the team should develop deep empathy and understanding of the customer,” says seasoned tech exec and board member Anne Raimondi. “Jump on a customer call, shadow a support team member, read customer reviews and NPS feedback, or join customer interviews. The closer you are to your customer, the more motivated you'll be, especially when you make a difference in their life. That customer love also makes the messiness and ups-and-downs (and there will be plenty of messes and loads of ups-and-downs!) worthwhile.”
3. Deeply understand the business model.
As you fill up your customer empathy reserves, start piecing together the bigger picture. “As consumers, we tend to focus on how the product or service impacts our lives. But as an employee, you need to understand how your company actually makes money (which is often not nearly as transparent as it would seem). You want to be able to say ‘We make money every time our customer Xs and it costs us money when they Y,’ says Matt Wallaert, author and former Chief Behavioral Scientist for Clover Health.
4. Find the unsexy projects to drive impact fast.
“It's a delicate balance between showing right away that you can make a difference, and also being a sponge and soaking up as much information as possible. When you're juggling this tradeoff in your head, I'd err on the side of showing in the first week or two that you can make a tangible impact because startups thrive on speed,” says David Mok, Director of Content and Partnerships for Labelbox.
5. Align your personal values to the company mission.
To lay the groundwork for long-term success, look for where your values overlap with the company’s. “Make sure you see your personal values reflected in the values of the company. Plaid has a principle ‘embrace openness and positivity’ and that principle is a direct quote from our founder and CEO and reflects what he wants our company to look like. That really resonates with me and reflects the kind of company culture I want to build.”
CHART YOUR COURSE TO TACKLE THE RIGHT PROBLEMS.
No startup is without its fair share of problems to solve on the path to scale, whether it’s narrowing in on your ideal customer profile, navigating complex markets, or putting out mission-critical fires. Armed with what’s likely a shoestring budget and limited resources, you’ve got to choose carefully what to tackle at any given time.
6. Relentlessly prioritize to avoid the wrong high-quality work
“Communicate clearly and regularly, especially these two items: 1) What you understand to be the current highest priority project and focus area, and 2) What you are currently working on,” says Dan Donohue, Director of Program Management for PatientPing. “Good communication habits linking the strategy and problems of the day to individual contributor work will make you more confident and efficient today, and pay massive dividends as your team and company scale.”
7. Pre-product/market fit? Focus on reducing risk.
In the early days, the story crafted about the startup is more important than tactical execution. “If you join a team that doesn't have product/market fit, the question you should ask daily is: How are you helping the team find it?” says Joseph Blau, former Sr. iOS Engineer at Uber.
8. Solve the present (not future) problems.
A healthy dose of optimism is critical when you climb aboard a startup, but it’s also easy to try to do too much at once or get ahead of yourself attempting to solve future problems that you can underperform in the present.
9. Think MVP, not perfection.
Prioritizing is critical at any startup. “80% of work should be focused on the no-brainers and projects that will lead to immediate growth in the core segment and 20% of work on future projects and crazy ideas that could be future growth levers,” says Laura Behrens Wu, CEO, Shippo.
LEAN ON YOUR CO-PILOTS AS YOU PICK UP ALTITUDE.
Within your small-but-mighty startup team, at some points, you’ll feel like the Blue Angels — individual jets flying in unison. Other times like you’re skydiving alone with a malfunctioning parachute.
10. Be ready to learn and teach in equal measure.
“Consider a startup like going back to school — you're going to be surrounded by other brilliant minds and you're all in a state of learning. Be ready and willing to learn from your colleagues, but also be ready to be the teacher to those same colleagues.”
11. An underrated question to ask in your initial 1:1s.
“Invest heavily in establishing relationships, establishing your credibility, and learning to navigate the organization. Spend the first few weeks mostly in 1:1s asking questions, listening attentively and taking good notes,” says Jim Patterson, Chief Product Officer.
12. Everyone shares Chief Culture Officer duties.
“Not everyone that joins a startup is aware that you are not only responsible for building the business together, but you are building the culture together at the same time.”
13. Don't bemoan the growing pains — embrace the bigger pie.
“Don't expect your job or company to stay the same for too long. If the company is growing then things will change — people, systems, process and even product.”
14. Pause and give thanks when the going gets tough.
“Along the way, pause and appreciate your people. I can’t begin to describe the wondrous feeling of being around folks who are unrelentingly optimistic and have endless wells of energy to throw at complex problems.”
PERFECT YOUR LANDINGS.
15. Embrace the art of slowing things down.
“Don’t be penny-wise pound-foolish. By all means, save runway where you can — but don't pass on software that costs $100/month to instead spend the equivalent of $1000/month on inefficient processes.”
16. Find problems, but bring solutions.
“Take it upon yourself to own solutions to problems. It’s one thing to identify issues, there will be lots of them in startups, but what the company needs are owners and people to fix them!”
17. Don't hoard your ideas.
“Don't aim for perfection before getting feedback. Do your research and have a point of view, but don't feel like it has to be perfect before you start to socialize the idea and get feedback.”
18. Avoid the headaches that come from 'I'll fix this later.'
“Set yourself up to scale. Once you know you're going to invest in something, spend a little extra time upfront to put the right tools, processes, and documentation in place.”
19. Use benchmarks as your guide.
“Always seek and bring data to the table. If you’re at a company that’s not data-driven, push the culture to look at data and make data-based decisions.”
GET COMFORTABLE GRABBING THE CONTROLS.
20. Remember to pick your head up and look cross-functionally.
“Even if you lead a particular function, it's still so important to understand what every other function is doing and how you can help.”
21. If you don't know who's in charge, it's you.
“Think like an owner. See the company as both a community and an asset.”
22. Own the little things.
“Anyone in a startup is a critical team member. Think of it as your own business. If there is trash to empty, empty it.”
23. Don't hold on too tightly.
“The more you can adapt to the needs of the company, especially in the early days, the more likely you are to grow with the company.”