Working in a Start-up – The funny side.

Everybody knows the positives of working in a start up. One gets to work on diverse projects. There’s no pigeon holing in a certain role and this translates into greater learning. The impact value of your efforts is much greater and since you always know how your efforts fit in the bigger picture, the satisfaction is greater. The work can get hectic but the stress is less. Your manager’s there for the start up experience too so he’s not constantly breathing down your neck and making your life difficult.

Alright. Work’s fun in a start up but there’s another side of the story. The funny side. Here’s why it can be funny.

1.In a corporate, the roles of every employee is pretty much clearly defined. The guy who picks you up everyday to work drops you back end of the day. And he does just that everyday. He’s the driver, that’s his job. In a start-up, he’s dusting your desk immediately after he drops you at work. Then he’s serving coffee to everyone. After a while, he’s washing the boss’s car. Then he’s getting lunch for the guest who has dropped by. And then he’s away dropping cheques at the bank. After a while, he’s back serving you another round of coffee in the afternoon. The chap is a driver-janitor-odd jobs guy all rolled in one. He’s your quintessential start up employee who pretty much does everything.

2. Back when I was new at the job, I was talking to a guy who had worked there for quite some time about appraisals. He told me, “They doubled my salary after a year”. That got me thrilled. Not for long though. I realized later that he started off dismally low, and even after the “enormous” hike, he was still making dismally low. To put things in perspective, 8K to 16K is a double hike. Interestingly, everyone makes different money and there are no fixed salary bands for every designation. And funnily enough, you might much more money than a person who’s been there for years!

3. Now, the differential pay scale can make life difficult when the person who’s been there for years finds out the newbie who’s just joined makes much more. You see he won’t like it so much and suddenly, you will have the management summoning you saying ,“Look boss, don’t tell anyone how much you make. Keep it secret, ok?”. This can shock you quite a bit.

4. Another day, your laptop stops working and you turn to the IT guy for help. Now, he doubles up as the Production Manager as well and finding him free to have a look at your laptop will take a few days time. When he finally gets time, he has a quick look and says, “Okay. Hard disk’s screwed. I’ll get it fixed. In a week”. A week?!! And I wonder why it takes so long? In a corporate, the IT team will simply pounce on your laptop and fix it in a jiffy gaining them points for minimum turn around time and leaving you with a brand new hard disk and a system in top shape. On the other hand, my IT guy/Production Manager needs to inform the insurance guys first who will have a look at the system, assess the damage and then approve the new hard disk. A few unnecessary formalities follow and you spend a week feeling helpless and cursing the poor hard disk that misbehaved. In a start-up, systems aren’t in place and this can be a real pain in the neck.

5.Then there’s the issue of product development. Your R&D declares that it has come with a groundbreaking industrial application that works like magic in their laboratory. Then they hand it over to you to sell the industry. And you promise the world to client. Unfortunately, not all products manage to work wonders when you scale up. And when it doesn’t work great, you end up looking a complete idiot. Then you get to the R&D with feedback and the product evolves. Nothing comes easy. And you gotta take that in your stride.

Working in a start-up isn’t easy. Especially if you’re coming from the comfort of a corporate work place. Eventually, you get used to the system (or the lack of it?) and work becomes interesting. The systems and products gradually evolve over time and you need to work hard and be patient. The start-up ride can be bumpy but you will have interesting stories to tell. The trick is to enjoy the ride while you are there.

This day last year ..

Back then, I was on campus, working on my Dual Degree project. I could have left campus a month earlier but I voluntarily asked my guide for a month extension to continue on my DDP (read self-rape) Why? Simple. I didn't wanna leave Insti. Mu Sigma (the company I was heading to) had given me a joining in mid-August (that was 3 months to kill) and during my 5 years in insti, the longest I could survive at home was 2 weeks max. and after that I *had* to go back to Insti. And now, there was no coming back! Besides, in addition to a good grade, I might end up putting a paper which would help my "back-then" app aspirations (this was icing on the cake!) There was simply nothing to lose!

Next thing I randomly stepped into my guide's office. He must have expected me to ask for fundaes on how to present my work as "results" in the thesis but I was like -

"Sir, I have some interesting ideas blah blah which I want to work on. Can you allow me to stay back for another month?"

Initially taken aback, my guide who looked a combination of confusion + pleasant surprise agreed! So, I got the permission from my guide, then KBR (the HOD - wise old man figured out that I wanted to stay to put more peace but I somehow managed to put a straight face and say "No sir, Project still incomplete" ) and finally many more formalities later, I got my extension which meant more time on campus, more peace and of course DDP ;-) Everything going clockwork...or so I thought.

The evening of the same day, I randomly checked the placement website. Not so randomly actually. I was doing this frequently ever since Mu-Sigma cut our packages by 25% quoting recession (this was a real shocker - until then I was thinking lay-offs, late joining and package-cuts during recession happens to others!) Anyway that day there was a notice from Mu saying there's an urgent requirement and they want me 2 months in advance from June 1st itself. This was 2 weeks from back-then and I was like what the hell!!! I just got myself an extension in the morning and now, I need to finish up in 2 weeks! Damn those interesting ideas and damn this stupid strat of wanting to stay back! PLAN FAIL! PLAN BOMBED!

The next 2 weeks implementing my "interesting" ideas were seriously hectic! Nowhere close to the peace I had imagined I would put but somehow I finished up on May 30th, 2009 ?(this day last year) and got the legendary nod of approval from my guide to start writing my thesis but I wasn't celebrating. Not yet. I had to join MuSigma the day-after and I'd one frikkin day to empty my room (people who have seen my room will know the enormity of this task!), get my no-dues, finish up formalities and get the hell out of insti! And again, you might wonder if it's allowed to join a company before finishing one's viva...damn, even before writing a single page of your thesis!!!! But somehow all thanks to my guide (he raised an eyebrow when I told him I'm gonna join before my viva but finally gave in!) and some last ditch gladiator effort - I managed to get away!