John
I was a part of a startup as an iOS app developer for about a year until I recently quit. Although it wasn’t the way I wanted things to play out, I can’t say that I didn’t gain anything from it. I learned a lot about putting a big project together, programming concepts, how a business shouldn’t run, and a few things about myself.
However, there are some things that I wish I had known, or took more seriously when getting into the startup:
Figure Out Why You Want to Do It
Before you jump into a startup, figure out why you want to do it; what is the point in joining a startup that is statistically against the odds of being successful? To be honest, it can be anything, but it should be a worthwhile reason. For instance, it can be to make more money or simply for the experience. When I initially joined the startup, I wanted to test my skills I learned from college and gain experience to expand my career portfolio. My end objective was to have this to open doors for better opportunities in the future.
It’s Not Going to Be Simple and Easy
Any project you have worked on required work, right? Startups are no exception to that law. You must understand you may be awesome at coding, but you will be doing more than just programming. There are emails, meetings, planning, contracts, arguments, and many other things that are in play to help complete the project.
Another thing that a lot of new developer’s fear is that they think they don’t know enough. If that is you, I’ll let you in on a little secret; every seasoned programmer I know uses Google – on the daily. Learning on the job is an everyday thing, and you shouldn’t worry too much about it. I am also saying that if you don’t know anything – you better learn something first.
Another thing is that you will get frustrated during the process – and that is okay as well. Getting frustrated at things is also an everyday thing that you will experience as well. When you’re in the rut, take a breather or a break, and get back into what you were trying to figure out; you’ll eventually get it.
You’re Signature is Required
With anything that deals with a lot of work and money, you can bet on contracts and a ton of commitment documents that requires your signature. What I can advise here is to do a lot of research about the subject and read every word in any document you sign. If anything, it would probably be best to hire a lawyer to look at it and explain things for you in layman’s term. I also want to notify you that this is just my personal advice and I am no professional on this subject.
Have Faith in the Idea
I firmly believe that you must believe in the product you will be working on. If it is not a great idea or you don’t have full faith it is going to work, it will be hard to dedicate your personal time to it. You need to have a passion for the idea because you will be spending a lot of time working on it. Just think about it – if you don’t care much for something (regardless if it is IT related), do you wake up excited to start working on it?
Understand the Business and Tech Side
From professional experience, I know that it can be bothersome to have to deal with the business side of things. I know it is a lot easier to just stick to the tech side and code all day using requirements already given to you. The reason I say it is a good idea to understand the business side of things too is because it helps you see the entire picture. Understanding how every piece fits in the entire puzzle will help you make better decisions on how code should work. Along with the entire picture, you will be able to explain things to the business side using their lingo. By doing this, you can eventually help make decisions that could impact the tech side of things dramatically.
Know the People
One of the most important things that I can give advice on is to know the people you will be working with. People may seem like your best friend when you first meet and try to make the project work; and that may be honest at that point. What you will have to watch out for is how people react when shit hits the fan. When things don’t go right, that is when you see everyone’s true nature because it forces people out of their comfort. When they’re out of their shell, they show who they really are.
From my personal experience, I worked with a guy that talked a lot and tried to be the nicest person in the world. Everything was cool up until certain questions were asked that irritated the guy. Another situation is we don’t see eye-to-eye on things, he’d speak in a manner where he would try to make you feel stupid. What I was thinking is why are you so butt-hurt when I ask questions or when I have opinions too?
What I found is he did not take pressure or odd situations very well and would explode like his life depended on it. During his episodes, he would grasp for straws to explain things, create false accusations of people, blatantly fabricate lies about anything, and speak in a manipulative way; it was crazy how two-faced the guy was. In any event, it’s important to find out their true nature in every emotion. That is who you will be working with for a long time.
So that’s a few pieces of advice that I want to shell out to you if you’re thinking about joining a startup. I hope it helps you avoid wasting your precious personal time.
