From corporate to startup
Over 18 months ago - just ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic, I made the pivot from corporate to the startup world. (Read my earlier article, Daring to pivot, about why and how I made the change). Reflecting on the journey so far, my objective for this article is to help others considering a similar career move to give a glimpse of what it is like.
The shortest way to describe the experience is to list 10 observations and highlights.
Startup world
1. The fun stuff
T-shirts – yes, everyone likes to wear t-shirts and it is ok to be much more casual.
New acronyms to learn such as MVP (“Minimal Viable Product”), PMF (“Product Market Fit”), LTV (customer “Lifetime Value”), and AMA (“Ask Me Anything”)
Coffee catch-ups and “Office Hours” are a great way to connect, albeit these have been virtual until recently.
Emoji filled chats – I discovered the dancing blob! But my personal favorite is the shining star as it is so versatile. 🌟✨
2. Power of Community. Highly characteristic of the startup world has been the openness of people who are willing to help. You can ask anything and there is someone there who will volunteer time to help you answer or connect to others.
3. Talk with customers. You need to be inquisitive to find out the needs of customers and what they are doing to solve things. It is about discovering the customer segment, having a clear view of the problem you are solving, before diving into build a product/solution. Then repeat this often to talk to more customers.
4. Speed not scale. Speed matters, scale not as much in the pilot stages. You learn to act faster, test and get feedback, iterate, and repeat this. As Y Combinator (YC) founders say, “Do things that don’t scale.”
What has been hard
1. Starting from scratch. Making a conscious effort to walk in with a view that you do not know anything. Being curious and doing research opens to a new learning curve filled with ambition and hopes.
2. Building a community. Finding supporters who are willing to give back, leverage their networks to unlock introductions, and offer advice. I am truly thankful to those who have supported me along the way the last 18 months.
3. Finding a co-Founder. While I am early in my efforts and casually keeping an eye out for a potential co-Founder match, what I know is that you need to have a similar passion for solving the problem and capabilities that complement each other. It can be lonely and that is why building and engaging in the startup community is important. Joining the Startmate Founders Fellowship has been incredible in my goal to immerse in the startup community.
Growth journey
It has been an immense growth journey to:
1. Upskill. I have learnt how to create customer journey maps and customer personas (UX), what goes into great user interface (UI) design, how to create impactful pitches (with and without decks/visuals), how to build product using no-code/low code, how to get a new app on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, develop product roadmaps, create a global community, written and contributed guest articles, and used new design and productivity tools. Participating in the YC Startup School was a crash course in learning how to build a startup. Highly recommend this.
2. Network. My global network has exploded! I have had hundreds of conversations and met so many interesting people along the way. Most importantly, I have prioritized time to reconnect with previous connections. Having the time for these conversations is really motivating and I have enjoyed listening to learn more about what other people are doing.
3. Pay it forward. I continue to give back to others who seek advice on their career and personal growth or business /startup idea. You learn by asking questions and helping others to discover their path forward.