What are the pros and cons of working at a startup vs. a large established company? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.There are a lot of pros and cons to both working in a startup and a large, established company.
The pros of a startup:
Upside. If a startup becomes successful it can be a life changing event.
Agility. Since a startup is so new, you constantly need to pivot and find your right market fit and customer value proposition. That can be incredibly exciting.
Passion. Most people working for a startup want to grow something big and be part of something special. There is nothing like the bonds you can build through this creative process and the intrinsic ownership created.
Breadth. Startups are always understaffed and so you have to wear many hats. There is really no better training for a young person than working at a startup because you have to literally do everything. As you grow in your career you can specialize but early on doing everything is excellent training, especially for senior management roles down the line.
The cons of a startup:
Risk. Most startups don’t succeed and often times it can be for reasons outside of your control. Sometimes the economy changes and funding dries up or a million other reasons. As a result, if you’re working for day to day stability, a startup might not be the best choice.
Work/Life balance. If you’re going to do a startup right, you have to become obsessed with it. As a result, that can often consume all of your time and some of the other aspects of your life – family, friends, exercise – fade into the background.
The pros of a large, established company:
Resources. You can do a lot of really cool and impactful things when you have resources behind you. And you can have access to that when you’re at a more established company.
