Ask HN: Starting work at a early-stage startup, what should I expect? Starting tomorrow I'll be working at a very early-stage startup with $400K funding and three other people. I'll be working as a software dev, any tips? Things I should expect? Thanks all! |
Other general advice:
- Expect some chaos, it doesn't mean the founders are bad, it is normal when things are this early.
- Expect things to be a bit disorganized and that they won't have processes setup and even on-boarding will not be smooth, just go with the flow and help them find places it can get better.
- Don't try to implement crazy processes and procedures when the company is so early on. Product fit/delivery is more critical than having a good CI/CD process or having deployments perfect.
- Be willing to jump in and help do whatever is needed, be a true team player and don't complain.
- Find ways you can contribute to solving the problem beyond just writing some code. Find quick ways to test ideas and to show the team results.
- Enjoy yourself, and don't forget to take time to relax and unwind away from work. Startups are fun, and hanging out with the people you work with is good bonding and has lots of positives, but make time for things away from work and separate from just work people. Otherwise you will lose your identity outside of work and that is hard to recover from mentally.
- If you have specific questions let me know, happy to share my personal experiences and what I tell new hires myself.
- Workplace policies have only ever been communicated to you, you're now going to see them in action. Expect contradictions immediately, and set the tone early for your expectations based on your hiring contract (i.e. If they told you it's 9-5 but you observe this not so and you're de facto expected to be there much longer, do not ignore this. Address immediately.)
- Do everything you can to make your boss / the founders look good. This includes your own job, of course, but show initiative in all manners of the organization. Know a potential lead for new business? Make it known. Have a suggestion that will speed up your teams output? Prepare a succinct explanation of it.
- Do whatever you can to be positive, it will be welcomed and deeply appreciated. Founders are constantly smelling burning money and putting out fires when possible. If you can smile occasionally it'll distract everyone from the multitude of Horrible Looming Realities that follow every startup. If you're known as a "nice colleague" it'll do you wonders.
- Learn more about your own output. If you work in a better environment than the one work has created, attempt to foster one that calls for better work. Not everybody loves working in an open concept office/shared workspace.
- Back up all requests / suggestions / comments with data. Nobody likes a 'talking head.' If you can speak your bosses language (increasing value exchange) you'll have their ear no matter if they follow your requests or not. It is extremely important you tie every comment you make about building a better product/company clearly ties back to what you are all there to do.
- Keep a work journal. This helped me immensely to process all the lessons learnt in startup land. And I cannot recommend how important it is to reflect on your work. Even 5 minutes of writing in a doc every evening will do you wonders at making better decisions, especially as your team starts to inevitably grow.
Best of luck!
That means you may find yourself working on very different things every day, maybe even things outside the traditional software developer role. (For example, you might be asked to help on customer support). Be open to wearing multiple hats and being a team player.
Also don't expect to get too much direction. You'll need to be a self-starter and autonomous. In fact, I encourage you to take the initiative and even lead projects. There's no better way to hone your leaderships skills than at an early-stage startup.
Finally, don't think of it as a regular job where you clock in at 9 and out at 5. You may not be told explicitly to put in extra hours but if others are doing it you probably should too. You are a part-owner after all (if you're getting equity).
That being said, don't forget to take breaks and recharge!
I’m two years in as a cofounder. We have one full time employee beyond me and my business partner. We raised under a million in a pre seed round.
Prepare for what will feel like whiplash when it comes to the product. At this stage, you’re trying to find product market fit within the market you’ve chosen. The idea the founders pitched to you and their investors is likely not where you’ll end up, and that’s ok! Just don’t misinterpret agility for stupidity or lack of vision. Running a business is really hard, and getting other people to buy what you are selling will be wavy and confusing.
As an engineer, invest in things that speed up your process. If you deploy often, make sure your deployment process is optimized. If you need hyper reliable software, spend time investing in testability, test documentation, etc.
Spend a lot of time mentally preparing that what you build will get thrown away, but that’s not a bad thing.
Realize that productivity is cyclical, and you when you’re most productive, block off your time. When you’re less productive, try to tackle low hanging fruit or bang out small tasks that are nagging you or your customers.
Get a therapist if you find yourself stressed or anxious. Talk therapy can help you stay on track.
You’ll likely work a lot of nights and weekends, but carve out time for yourself when you can.
Thank any significant others for giving you the space you need to be productive.
Add a hobby that will force you not to work for an hour each day (we added an 8 week old lab puppy I’ve been training for the last year).
Get sufficient sleep every night.
Realize you’ll disagree with decisions that are made, but learn how to trust those around you when they’ve been empowered to make a decision. It’s ok if they’re wrong, and it’s ok if you would have been right. You’ll make mistakes to, and that’s just part of life.
I could honestly keep going for an hour :) starting a startup is really hard!
How are you going to split the equity? Do you have that number in written? Vesting?