Want to Join a Start-up? Here’s What You Need to Know

We Work office, Boston South Station. Image courtesy www.wework.com

If you read last week’s blog, you’re already aware of some things to consider when evaluating an opportunity. But if you’re interested in pursuing a role at a start-up company, there are a few more specific things you should keep in mind. Take this advice from former consultants who have found success in start-ups:

Do it for the Right Reasons:

Frankly, you should just go into a start-up expecting it to fail, because that’s actually the most realistic outcome. Then ask yourself, “If this fails, do I still want to do this?” If you’re doing it because you want multi-million dollar outcomes, then you’re delusional because that’s a highly unlikely outcome. If you’re doing it because it’s a great team, the product is interesting, the space is exciting, and you’re going to learn something that you’ve never had a chance to learn before, those are good reasons to do it.

– Arjun Moorthy, VP, Business Development & Channel Sales, Hubspot | Boston Consulting Group Alum

Be Prepared for Change:

The biggest lesson I’ve learned from Voxy is that I’ve messed up absolutely everything at least once, and I’m still here, because I can either lick my wounds and sit there feeling sorry for myself, or I can get up, realize no one really cares about excuses and try to find another thing that will work. It’s all a huge trial and error and it takes mental fortitude to get through all those errors.

– Paul Gollash, Founder & CEO, Voxy | Booz & Company Alum

Consulting is something that attracts risk-averse people and makes them more risk averse the longer they spend time there. And in start-ups you need to thrive on risk. You need to be comfortable with the world changing beneath your feet all of the time. You may start at a company that is focused on x, but if you’re not getting traction, you may say “we’re rebranding, we are now a company doing y.” That takes some getting used to. We are fundamentally changing the way we are thinking every single day, every single month. To a certain extent, BCG trains you well for that, but here you’re living with your decisions and living in a high risk environment.

– Vatsa Narasimha, EVP, CFO, & Chief Strategy Officer, OANDA | Boston Consulting Group Alum

Your Background will Benefit You…

In some ways a start-up is similar to BCG – like if a presentation blows up the night before it’s due, everyone, no matter how junior or senior, is going to sit down and split up the work. That mindset is valuable in a start-up.

– Vatsa Narasimha, EVP, CFO, & Chief Strategy Officer, OANDA | Boston Consulting Group Alum

I think consulting firms do a great job at picking people who are obviously great academically out of undergrad, but who are also weirdly wired in college to – with no compensation or real clear reason – choose to be Editor of the school newspaper, or to be head of a bunch of clubs, or start a nonprofit on the side … there’s this compulsion to get things done right and done well.

– David Snider, COO / CFO, Urban Compass | Bain & Company Alum

…But Don’t Be Overconfident:

A big [pitfall to avoid] is thinking you know all the answers. Consultants are all about structured thinking, but sometimes you can get so fixated on your idea by proving it to yourself a hundred times – in your office, in the shower, etc. – that you can convince yourself you’ve found the absolute right answer. You need to be flexible enough to realize, “Wow, I totally missed this, and now I have to course-correct if I want to stay alive.”

– Paul Gollash, Founder & CEO, Voxy | Booz & Company Alum