“Should I apply for a job with a start-up?”

Whether you’re looking to switch jobs or you have just completed your MBA or post graduate diploma in management, this question might not have been so important to you. After all, are not entrepreneurial ventures too much of a risk for business graduates to begin their careers with?

People look for stable and well-paying careers with established multi-national companies. Why would anyone take the road less travelled into an uncertain future with a start-up?

It is time to get the facts right on start-ups. One look at the market would dispel any myths about how “risky” they are. While it’s true many ventures rise and fall, you may have not noticed the steady evolution in capital investment deals in Indian start-ups.

Start-ups are definitely thriving and are a great job opportunity that should inspire confidence in job aspirants! Here are some compelling reasons why start-ups are a great place to begin your career.

Six reasons to join start-ups

1. Increase Your Employability!

If you’ve been reading up about trends in business education programs, you wouldn’t have missed the questions raised about the employability of today’s graduates from India. Employers are no longer looking at just your college credentials. Here’s the hard question they’re asking – Are job aspirants truly capable of taking up real-world responsibilities? 

A start-up environment will develop your real-world skills like few other places can. Your decisions will have a direct impact on the business’s success or failure. This can be a great incentive to think creatively, focus on what’s critical and lets you generate value!

Companies want to place responsibilities on the shoulders of employees who can translate education into action and who are willing to take up ownership. Few things can rock your resume like some solid work experience with a start-up venture!

2. Experience a Steep learning curve

People have confessed that they have learnt more in a few months with a start-up venture than in the years they have worked with some MNCs. This is because of the multiple responsibilities you are expected to juggle in a start-up. Yes, that means hard work and sure, extra hours too, but there is a certain enduring reward in terms of experience and readiness to adapt that you gain in smaller but more dynamic workplaces that many start-ups boast of.

3. Bag new skills & showcase your responsibility 

There’s no better chance to show off what you’re capable of than when you’re with a start-up!
Panel meeting at Startup Village, DhananSekhar, CC 3.0

Multiple responsibilities can build up your talent pool and skills, preparing you for more challenging business opportunities in life! Working with entrepreneurial ventures will mean that you will need to create room for tasks that go beyond your usual job description, from regularly handling invoices to doing boring admin work.

Some people could have a problem with that; others see it as a bright opportunity. Being faithful in the small things only shows your employers that you can be entrusted with bigger things. Not only will such roles broaden your horizon and show you how teams need to work, they give you hands-on experience that you can boast of later in life!

4. Feel free to innovate

Start-ups are envied for a work atmosphere that fosters enthusiasm, innovation and passion. There is room for propelling innovative ideas at every front and the possibilities of leaving your mark in a start-up are plenty. Apart from this, the fact that you get to work with an entrepreneur is almost priceless. Entrepreneurs are able to locate a problem and have a great drive to find new and better ways to solve them. They are great examples to learn from. 

5. Be the change

Here is your chance to bring in changes at work-culture the way you envision it. There is enough and more room for you to bring in positive, empowering ideas and strategies that can benefit your company eventually. This is not easy to achieve when you are working with large organizations who have set processes in place, which, while having its own benefits, leave little room for transcending norms and creating a better business culture which could influence the very philosophy of how a company works.

6. Learn how to operate a start-up

This trumps working in larger structures and organizations any day. If you dream of having your own company someday, guess the one thing that could prove invaluable for your dreams?

That’s right – your rich experience at a start-up!

The variety and detail of work you could end up handling could include setting goals, tweaking strategies, finding office space, designing logos and even figuring out insurance and legal services. Such exposure could place you miles ahead of your peers in terms of long-term growth!

Conclusion

Working in a start-up demands commitment, initiative and sacrifice but also lets you set up a solid base for your business education to generate maximum impact! The fact that business schools like AIMS and others have specializations in entrepreneurship, gives us a glimpse into the importance today’s educators attach to start-up ventures. Few other work ecosystems have the potential to harvest rich dividends out of your PGDM program experience than start-ups can.

Yes, not all start-ups pay grand salaries. But, as some incredible start-up success stories will remind you: never, ever underestimate the results of joining a start-up. There’s probably no better place to start a career, while experiencing growth and delivering value.
Are you ready to apply for jobs with start-up ventures? What are your main concerns? Share your thoughts!

“Without risk, there’s neither success nor failure”.