Are Startup Jobs Worth It?
I might have a job opportunity with a Silicon Valley tech startup. The company has 20-30 employees and my job would be development related. I'm curious how a job like this would look on a resume in terms of exit opportunities for other consulting/financial industry type jobs (should I turn out to not like it).
I assume it would depend a lot on the specifics of the projects I would be working on (of which the details I'm not yet aware), but in general does anyone have any advice on what I might expect?
It depends, if the company is well connected, doing well, and doing really cool things it would look great for a lot of MBA programs. But that can also depend: if the company is similar to Digg, Zyanga, Delicious, Tumblr, etc it would be awesome, but if it's a generic software company not so much. HBS is trying scoop up eutreprenuers left & right. If you really knock it out of the park there, VC would be definite option.
Startups have to be evaluated on a case by case basis. If you're really passionate about the company and its product, and truly believe that it could be the next Google/Facebook, by all means join, and if it's successful enough, you won't have to worry about exit opportunities ever again. But otherwise, failed startups are a dime a dozen in Silicon Valley.
Exit opps depend a great deal on what your specific role is. By "development", do you mean software development or business development? If it's the latter, transitioning into consulting or VC is feasible, although difficult without an MBA. If it's the former, I'd be more cautious.
i worked at a startup. worked out great for me. you can PM me. I helped with capital raising --> similar to investment banking work.
^ Try telling that to the first 30 employees of Google, all of whom are multimillionaires or billionaires. There was even a chef who had tens of millions worth of options.
Startups are way riskier, but the potential rewards are huge.
Have you ever even worked at a startup? You have no idea what a startup is like if you're comparing it to a game of craps. And it's not like banking is a cakewalk either. It's by no means a straight shot to MD/PE partner.
Working for a tech startup (Originally Posted: 03/31/2013)
What is most important if I'm looking to work for a tech startup coming out of a top 10 CS program (at least according to US News)? I'm working on launching a mobile app startup this sophomore summer, with hopefully an internship at a startup next summer, or advancing my own if it is successful. However, my gpa may only be a 3.3-3.4 upon graduation.
Would this be a major setback? Would my experience makeup for it?
A major setback for what?
For getting a position. I'm trying to get an idea how difficult it would be to break into a mid - top tier startup given my background and stats.
How do consulting firms view experience in a tech startup? (Originally Posted: 06/06/2013)
I'm working with a small but rapidly growing tech startup. We're working out of a well known startup accelerator and my focus has been on a) customer acquisition b) content marketing c) closing a seed funding round (although my involvement in this is minimal).
Is this type of internship / experience recognized among consulting firms?
It all depends on how you spin it. It sounds like the company is growing. If you can quantify your success in the firm in bullet points on your resume and come up with a convincing story I would say its solid.
Of course, top firms prefer the known quality of a name brand tech firm over some unknown early-stage startup, but that won't automatically disqualify you. It's all in the spin.
I would say it depends on the stage of the startup.
If it's pre-seed, accelerator stage, like you mentioned... I wouldn't think it to be very relevant.
If the startup is more built out, e.g., few rounds of funding, 100+ employees, profitable... then that's a much better sell.
i'm thinking about going the other way.... got an offer at a ecommerce startup that has received multiple rounds of funding.
the package they've offered is absolutely shit though. absolute fucking dog shit. and no equity.
Honestly, I would say not very well. Many of the new hires I've seen with significant startup experience have had ego issues and didn't fit into the culture well, which in turn has made people with this background a tougher sell. Some were gone within 6-12 months of starting.
Thanks for the feedback. I would argue that's a more personal issue that would be different for each person/each case. But you're right in that it does give startup hires a reputation.
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