4 ms·

If you want the startup life, find a startup where the founders (white men probably) have small children and professional wives.

lloyd-christmas 8y ago
Except if the significant other is part of the business. Family businesses tend to not care much for (or are oblivious to) employees' outside lives, since their work/life is already one and the same.
- pm90 8y ago
  Meh, it can go either way. The first company I ever worked for was a sorta family business. The owner was also the CEO and was very responsive to the needs of employees. He would throw parties in their manor, and everyone knew each other well and there was much less rivalry/competition to climb the proverbial ladder. Very true about working for people who're married with kids; this gave the owner, and the company, a kind of professionalism that has served me well in my own career. They were really kind-hearted people, until it came time to make some serious decisions about the future of the company. Often times family businesses are unwilling to sell or dilute their equity since their identity is so tied to the company. This became a huge deal when there were talks of taking the company public, accepting outside investment etc.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
pjg 8y ago
This is a "stereotype" and may be the case some of the time, but definitely not the rule. I'm doing a product startup in fintech. Extremely high stress levels i.e. we've had 4 near death experiences in the first 3 years of our startup (one had to do with money running out, others more to do with specific business we're in). We've not just survived but improved! However there is no traditional work-life balance. I typically work 6 days/week and some/many others in the company do too. I have kids and working spouse but trade my time 50:50 with my spouse in terms of spending time with kids. Bottom line: Your mileage may vary, but just because a founder is married with kids is no guarantee of a 9 to 5 daily routine
l_t 8y ago
Choose a startup where: - People regularly take vacation time. - They're happy to hear that you care about work/life balance and will not work more than 40 hours a week except in emergencies. - You're not strongly invested in whether the company experiences long-term success. - They have a moderately refined change control process (e.g. Scrum, but anything works as long as it collects all the work in one place to be prioritized and scheduled). - You don't have to go on-call. (For many, this can be quite stressful.)

lloyd-christmas 8y ago

Except if the significant other is part of the business. Family businesses tend to not care much for (or are oblivious to) employees' outside lives, since their work/life is already one and the same.

pm90 8y ago
Meh, it can go either way. The first company I ever worked for was a sorta family business. The owner was also the CEO and was very responsive to the needs of employees. He would throw parties in their manor, and everyone knew each other well and there was much less rivalry/competition to climb the proverbial ladder. Very true about working for people who're married with kids; this gave the owner, and the company, a kind of professionalism that has served me well in my own career. They were really kind-hearted people, until it came time to make some serious decisions about the future of the company. Often times family businesses are unwilling to sell or dilute their equity since their identity is so tied to the company. This became a huge deal when there were talks of taking the company public, accepting outside investment etc.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

pjg 8y ago

This is a "stereotype" and may be the case some of the time, but definitely not the rule. I'm doing a product startup in fintech. Extremely high stress levels i.e. we've had 4 near death experiences in the first 3 years of our startup (one had to do with money running out, others more to do with specific business we're in). We've not just survived but improved! However there is no traditional work-life balance. I typically work 6 days/week and some/many others in the company do too. I have kids and working spouse but trade my time 50:50 with my spouse in terms of spending time with kids. Bottom line: Your mileage may vary, but just because a founder is married with kids is no guarantee of a 9 to 5 daily routine

l_t 8y ago

Choose a startup where: - People regularly take vacation time. - They're happy to hear that you care about work/life balance and will not work more than 40 hours a week except in emergencies. - You're not strongly invested in whether the company experiences long-term success. - They have a moderately refined change control process (e.g. Scrum, but anything works as long as it collects all the work in one place to be prioritized and scheduled). - You don't have to go on-call. (For many, this can be quite stressful.)