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If you lack the confidence to start a startup then working at one can help you gain than to create one in the future. But I'm not confident it increases the cha

by polote 4y ago

If you lack the confidence to start a startup then working at one can help you gain than to create one in the future. But I'm not confident it increases the chances the company is going to be successful. Actually if you had the chance to work at a company that became a unicorn, you will have better chance to get founding which increase the chance that your company is going to work, so yeah. Except for that confidence and founding part I'm not sure it is valuable

ido 4y ago
But aren't these already valuable? I now run my own startup and i feel i benefited a lot from my former stints in other startups, even when some of it fell into the "what not to do" category :) Also in a startup you're more likely to need to wear multiple hats and deal with uncertainty, which are two things you'd definitely need to deal with even more in your own company.
lawrjone 4y ago
I'm first employee at a start-up now, and while not a founder, the experience I have from seeing this stuff in previous companies totally changes the game. When we decide to do something, such as make key hires, build new teams or invest in infrastructure, we have way more confidence that we're doing it at the right time. And when we do it, it's 90% what we need, skipping so many of the painful intermediate stages I've seen before. It makes a huge difference in velocity, which is key for successful start-ups. So while you're right about funding and network, you execute better too.
- polote 4y ago
  Yeah so what you explain is that you have more confidence about what your do, but that says nothing about the success rate of previous startup employee vs success rate of others
  - Jgrubb 4y ago
    Yes, having experience in a domain can help you be more confident in your decisions. Are you trying to argue that experience plays no role in long term outcomes of building businesses?
    - wzwy 4y ago
      I don’t think he’s arguing about the benefit of having confidence and experience in a domain, but rather the origin of the experience and confidence and how it impacts a startup’s success. In this case: the startup success rate of those who worked for startups vs those who worked in some other institutions (or for some, no work at all). Sure, working at a startup might make you be confident at making decisions, but will that confidence lead to good results when you’re a founder? Working at another place can give you confidence as well, but again, will it help you get the results you want in your startup? Anyhow, I’m not sure the answers matter much because the author didn’t write much about the uniqueness of the skills learnt in startups. He emphasised more on velocity of learning skills that can be learnt in many places, but high-growth startups can provide the fastest route.
robocat 4y ago
Another massive advantage is finding cofounders and employees from the pool of people you work with and meet. I think that is the best way to find suitable people outside your specialty where you can properly judge people’s integrity, ability, and their match with you (working style, filling the holes in your skills, compatibility, boss vs employee). I have done this, no I have seen other successful entrepreneurs do it.

by polote 4y ago

ido 4y ago

But aren't these already valuable? I now run my own startup and i feel i benefited a lot from my former stints in other startups, even when some of it fell into the "what not to do" category :) Also in a startup you're more likely to need to wear multiple hats and deal with uncertainty, which are two things you'd definitely need to deal with even more in your own company.

lawrjone 4y ago

I'm first employee at a start-up now, and while not a founder, the experience I have from seeing this stuff in previous companies totally changes the game. When we decide to do something, such as make key hires, build new teams or invest in infrastructure, we have way more confidence that we're doing it at the right time. And when we do it, it's 90% what we need, skipping so many of the painful intermediate stages I've seen before. It makes a huge difference in velocity, which is key for successful start-ups. So while you're right about funding and network, you execute better too.

polote 4y ago
Yeah so what you explain is that you have more confidence about what your do, but that says nothing about the success rate of previous startup employee vs success rate of others
- Jgrubb 4y ago
  Yes, having experience in a domain can help you be more confident in your decisions. Are you trying to argue that experience plays no role in long term outcomes of building businesses?
  - wzwy 4y ago
    I don’t think he’s arguing about the benefit of having confidence and experience in a domain, but rather the origin of the experience and confidence and how it impacts a startup’s success. In this case: the startup success rate of those who worked for startups vs those who worked in some other institutions (or for some, no work at all). Sure, working at a startup might make you be confident at making decisions, but will that confidence lead to good results when you’re a founder? Working at another place can give you confidence as well, but again, will it help you get the results you want in your startup? Anyhow, I’m not sure the answers matter much because the author didn’t write much about the uniqueness of the skills learnt in startups. He emphasised more on velocity of learning skills that can be learnt in many places, but high-growth startups can provide the fastest route.

robocat 4y ago

Another massive advantage is finding cofounders and employees from the pool of people you work with and meet. I think that is the best way to find suitable people outside your specialty where you can properly judge people’s integrity, ability, and their match with you (working style, filling the holes in your skills, compatibility, boss vs employee). I have done this, no I have seen other successful entrepreneurs do it.