I had the pleasure of
interviewing an upper student who was on his way to starting his 3rd business venture. We had a long discussion about motivation,
future goals and then entrepreneurial landscape. Of course we came to the
obvious questions:
“What advice would you
give to anyone who wants to try entrepreneurship but hasn’t started?”
“Just do it. The upside
is there is no roadmap or template like how there is one for a resume or
something. So you aren't really wrong, it just may not work.”
“Ok so then is it this
freedom that holds everyone back?”
“Probably, but if you
can’t deal with uncertainty then you probably shouldn't be an entrepreneur.”
Get your feet wet
The startup life is in
no way easy. Late nights and early morning are a given. Sacrifices will be
made. So wouldn't it be smart to experience the trials and tribulations first
in a low risk situation? This way if you find out it’s not for you, you won’t
have disappointed investors, employees or customers. Take a job at a startup to
just dip your toes in, you get to experience the life without the risk of
absolute failure looming overhead.
You don’t have the
resources
Working for a startup is
a great platform to help build your networks and meet people much higher up the
food chain. Often, we have ideas but not the means to make them a reality. By
working for a startup you’ll experience the pleasure of seeing your plans
become a reality, while building the resources you need. Some startups are
internships only while some offer equity, some offer pay based on performance
and in some rare cases you may even get a salary. More than that, you’ll build
up the mentorship, connections and friends in high places you may need in the
future.
You don’t have an idea
or the business sense to execute it yet
In this case, it might
be rewarding to work for a startup in the industry you’re interested in so that
you can gain experience, expertise contact and have time to incubate your idea.
You’ll learn more on the
front lines than you’ll ever learn in a classroom or a book.
There’s no shame in
working for a bigger fish
I’ll sell this point
with an anecdote. I had an idea to start a social venture and after my partner
and I spent 8 months developing the idea, writing the business plan and
entering competitions. We found TWO startups doing exactly what we planned to
do… word for word. If you’re entrepreneurial minded it would be wiser to go to
these startups and offer your ideas, expertise, research and performance than
try to scrap resources together and compete.
If you want to do more than your peers...
If you want to be more than your peers
If you want to meet people your peers will never meet
If you want to accomplish was your peers never will
Then work for a startup and be an intrapreneur first! Check out
My Career City. The experts on staff help students and recent graduates find jobs in the fast-paced and rewarding world of start-up companies.
Join today and see the great job opportunities they have available for someone just like you!
