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I spent about 15 years doing SaaS and tech startups, then switched to working for a scientific non-profit. The first difference I noticed on my first week here

I spent about 15 years doing SaaS and tech startups, then switched to working for a scientific non-profit. The first difference I noticed on my first week here was that, while they do produce software (thus me being employed) they do not have anything like a delivery process in place. There aren't product managers, nor really project managers as I recognize them either. Consequently, things which would have taken a month at the YC startup I came here from take six months to a year instead—no exaggeration. This has both pluses and minuses, as it can be frustrating just not making progress due to completely preventable holdups, but on the other hand I now have one of those jobs people talk about where they can work for an hour a day and still make all the deadlines with time to spare. I'm certainly not complaining, I've done years of crunch and I prefer this to the marginal salary I gave up. The second difference I noticed is that people actually understand what my company does, because I can say "we research [disease X]" rather than "we're building a best-in-class, b2b SaaS product/platform ecosystem that augments existing teams, but to be honest, we're just trying to demonstrate product-market fit for investors so we can get our second round, and ultimately get acquired by one of the big players".

tslmy 3y ago
Thanks for sharing your story. Switching from a tech to a "non-tech" (if you allow) company doesn't sound like an easy decision. I assume the NPO must have a vision and/or a purpose that attracts you. Do you mind sharing some of the reasons that motivated your switch of career?
- karaterobot 3y ago
  Sure! What I wanted from this job was: 1. To work on a stable product. At startups, I never got to work on the same product through multiple versions across several years. I wanted the experience of launching something, then iterating on it. To become an expert in a market and develop long-term relationships with users or customers. All the startups I'd been in either failed or pivoted within a couple years, and all the consulting work I'd done with startups was always parachuting in to help on something and then leaving soon after. 2. As mentioned, to work on something more fulfilling than SaaS products. No shade on anyone who works on these, they are often really fun and exciting. But, my last job was trying to sell a yearly $60k subscription service to companies so that they could lay off members of their team and replace them with our product. My current job is helping scientists who are researching a very nasty disease that has directly affected my family. Not only can I explain what my current company does a lot more easily, I can honestly say I am there for more than the money or how good it looks on my resume. 3. Less work. My previous job had been described—by leadership, with a wink and a nod—as 'a pie eating contest where the prize is more pie'. That is, work really hard until we get PMF, then if we get that, work even harder so that we can get acquired. At the end of that, maybe my stock options would be worth something, but the owners and investors certainly would get a nice payday. I'm in my 40s now, I'm not going to work myself like a dog anymore, I kinda just want to have a nice, easy job, as long as I can feel good about doing it.
m463 3y ago
> "we're building a best-in-class ... get acquired by one of the big players" "we sell stock"

tslmy 3y ago

Thanks for sharing your story. Switching from a tech to a "non-tech" (if you allow) company doesn't sound like an easy decision. I assume the NPO must have a vision and/or a purpose that attracts you. Do you mind sharing some of the reasons that motivated your switch of career?

karaterobot 3y ago
Sure! What I wanted from this job was: 1. To work on a stable product. At startups, I never got to work on the same product through multiple versions across several years. I wanted the experience of launching something, then iterating on it. To become an expert in a market and develop long-term relationships with users or customers. All the startups I'd been in either failed or pivoted within a couple years, and all the consulting work I'd done with startups was always parachuting in to help on something and then leaving soon after. 2. As mentioned, to work on something more fulfilling than SaaS products. No shade on anyone who works on these, they are often really fun and exciting. But, my last job was trying to sell a yearly $60k subscription service to companies so that they could lay off members of their team and replace them with our product. My current job is helping scientists who are researching a very nasty disease that has directly affected my family. Not only can I explain what my current company does a lot more easily, I can honestly say I am there for more than the money or how good it looks on my resume. 3. Less work. My previous job had been described—by leadership, with a wink and a nod—as 'a pie eating contest where the prize is more pie'. That is, work really hard until we get PMF, then if we get that, work even harder so that we can get acquired. At the end of that, maybe my stock options would be worth something, but the owners and investors certainly would get a nice payday. I'm in my 40s now, I'm not going to work myself like a dog anymore, I kinda just want to have a nice, easy job, as long as I can feel good about doing it.

m463 3y ago

> "we're building a best-in-class ... get acquired by one of the big players" "we sell stock"