Today I got an email from Europe where a well qualified engineer who recently graduated from a university asked some very good questions about "When should I join a startup?"
As I reflected a bit, I was reminded of two CEOs I spoke with this year who were having to fire vice presidents. Each of the VPs had come directly from successful careers in global multi-national corporations. When they experienced the wild roller-coaster ride in the startups they quickly lost their nerves and panicked, turning negative about nearly everything in the startups. They had to go.
That is so common it has become a general rule: "Don't hire people without prior startup experience."
I know that sounds like a circular problem. But somehow, some way, related experience must be gained before attempting a startup. It can come from working for a series of smaller and smaller public companies. And from jobs that put you in contact speaking daily to startups. That eases the eventual jump into a startup.
So I told the inquiring engineer to look for a great boss in a successful public company. That boss will look for the engineer when the boss leaves for his next job. Riding the coattails of a rising star works well. It often leads to a startup lead by the boss. It also allows the person recently graduated from school to begin to acquire skills that can be transfered to a startup.
Some young people jump directly into a startup after graduating. A few make a good go of it, but most leave the startup within a year or two, mainly because the startup fails. Others realize they are missing the skills needed to be a real vice president and thus leave to gain those skills before they are pushed aside in the startup.
BOTTOM LINE: Leaping into a startup is not wise. Walking into one increases the chances that you will succeed and the startup gains from your contributions. Consider that before your enthusiasm clouds your wisdom. Your personal unfair advantage lies in a collection of skills and experiences that others do not have. You will want more successes than failures to talk about with your next employer.
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