Starting new role at a start-up after buy-side - please help
I've just signed for a role at a fintech start-up but I have never been around VC / start-up people before and my first day is in a few weeks. I wore a white shirt no tie for the interviews and was surprised how direct and informal the people were. I assume I would look super weird if I came in wearing a conservative suit (even without a tie) on my first day. But then again, wearing shorts or even lululemon pants with a t-shirt feels too casual. Also, how does it work culturally?
In IB/PE from my experience everyone is very professional, only talk to you if needed, and people form office friendships slowly. I'm expecting it to be super chill and everyones to be like: "yo whats up bro, welcome!" or something along those lines. Any advice would be welcome - is there a WSO for the start-up scene?
Always dress 1 level higher than expected, but never 2.
Have a quick conversation with someone. If they are tee and jeans, go polo and trousers. If they are polo and trousers, go button up shirt and trousers. If they are shirt and trousers, go smarter coloured shirt and smart trousers. And so on.
It’s never failed me to dress 1 higher (except black tie, don’t get that wrong).
You rarely under estimate the dress code. And if you do, worst outcome is that you’re at their level.
Sounds great man, thanks for the advice - what about culturally speaking? like is it just chill university style conversations or still formal?
I, in almost all cases, agree with what kliptse posted but, with startups, you actually don't want to dress too formal. Coming from the buyside, that will mark you out as odd (think about how the random tatted-up PM in a tee might react to the finance bro on day 1 who's wearing a button-up).
Don't overthink it. Look at how your interviewers were dressed - imitate that. End of the day, most startups are very casual (ie t shirts and jeans casual). Exceptions might be for enterprise software or anything where you're meeting clients in a more old-school industry or super late-stage co's. B2C, sub-enterprise B2B SaaS, etc will all generally be super casual. If you're still unclear after checking on that, go dark colours: long sleeve tee + perhaps a cardigan or zip-up sweater (not hoodie) + black jeans + nicer sneakers (common projects, veja, etc). You'll look decent while still being casual.
In terms of conversation, yeah, going to probably be a big shift. The random BDR or HR coordinator or EA will actually think it's ok to strike up a random convo. As will the VP Sales, Head of Product, etc. Things tend to be much less hierarchical. People will share pretty personal stuff much more quickly (on average). In all likelihood, will be a material shift from finance, which can be great if you didn't enjoy the stuffiness. On the flip side, no it won't be like college (probably) for the simple fact that people are older.
Just relax and mirror your new co-workers, and all will be well.
Nice man, thanks for the advice and heads-up. I've been emailing with some of the folks there and already noticing I'm way too formal / long-winded... how do I adapt quickly enough to fit in and thrive? Would hate to be culled during probation but this is whole new set-up for me so there is some risk
Well just mirror length, tone, etc. I guess you could use chatgpt haha (some prompt like "make my email sound more like this one"). Long story short though, just give it time. It'll happen naturally.
As part of that, definitely don't overanalyze your email tone. As an ex-finance guy (though never one who really clicked with the culture), I can understand the email tone concerns. But, believe me, that's something that no one is really thinking all that much about. It's the kind of thing you'll learn over time to let go, but for now, just relax and don't overthink it. You'll ultimately (as with most successful startups) be judged on the quality of your work - not the minute details that get people in trouble in the world of front office finance.
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