High-Velocity Personal Growth

High-Velocity Personal Growth

We say on our podcast that “building a startup is soul-suckingly, mind-numbingly hard - but it’s the best thing ever.”

It’s funny, when people read that quote and ask me about it, they often take “the best thing ever” to mean “the surest and safest path to guaranteed success.” Then they ignore all the stuff we said before that, the stuff about building from scratch being AN INCREDIBLY RELENTLESS SLOG WITH A HIGHLY UNCERTAIN LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS.

Sure, there’s some hand-wavy acknowledgment that there’s risk involved and that a startup is no sure thing. But, as any parent of a teenager can tell you, human beings are notoriously poor at judging risk.

And so, because super{set} companies are hiring like crazy, I end up in plenty of late-stage interview scenarios where I say to someone currently ensconced in a Big Tech company somewhere:

> “ I should let you know our compensation philosophy, which looks different from a big tech package.  Depending on the salary-equity tradeoff you pick, you may be looking at a 30-40% cut in cash compensation compared to your current role in big tech.”

They raise their eyebrows. Or, if it’s Zoom, I wait a couple of beats for a laggy feed, and then they raise their eyebrows. They mention something about startup risk and compensation. I acknowledge:

> “You’re right.  There is more risk in joining a startup.  But there is non-cash compensation for these risks. You will find great joy and immense learning as you learn to horizontally scale yourself and grow in new and diverse ways that will unlock doors for you as a contributor, manager, and human.  Throughout my career, I’ve worked at multiple startups, and each time, I’ve viewed it as investing in myself, and I’ve had tremendous personal growth along the way. I would urge you to reflect on adding variables like growth and learning in your decision-making equation.”

The interview ends, and so often, despite my intense and eloquent story about working at multiple startups (and I’m working at a couple concurrently right now), I get the interviewee's eventual “thanks but no thanks” note. Bummer - but I knew that candidate wouldn’t have worked out when I saw those eyebrows raise.

‍Startup Compensation is More Than Cash

If your goal is simply to get rich, the easiest path in the tech industry is joining a big company and staying for the next decade to rest and vest. That’s it. No secret. Startups aren’t the easiest path.

But remember the other variables to the equation I mentioned in my interview conversation, the ones I raise with everyone I interview? Those variables are growth and learning, and here startups have the edge. It’s not that one won’t grow or learn in big tech; it’s that the velocity of personal growth in startups is 10x faster. 

The choice is up to you, but I’d take the high-velocity route, with the learning and development it brings, any day of the week. In my career choices, I’ve bet on personal growth and found that startups have the edge. That’s a bet I’ve made not just once but again and again in my career.

My Advice for Startup Interviews

Before you hop on an interview with me to work at one of super{set}’s early-stage startups, here are a few pieces of advice for you to consider:

1. Come prepared with questions. Think about the impact you want to have.

I always make it a point to leave time in interviews for the candidates to ask me questions.  I always appreciate it when candidates ask me about the hard problems that are still to be solved at the company they are interviewing for.  Ask me about what makes these problems hard, what solutions have been explored, and most importantly, what role you can (or will) play in solving these problems!

2. There is no right path. Have an idea about your ideal.

Not just an idea about your preference for big tech versus startups, but other vectors: location, the problem being solved, the size of the team, B2B vs. B2C, etc. You won’t be able to learn and grow if the role is missing something important to you. Don’t over-idealize the supposed glamor of the entrepreneur because that hype doesn’t match the reality - be honest about what’s important and what’s not to guide your path. 

3. People and culture are deal breakers. Bet on the people before betting on the product.

If a role checks all your boxes, but you don’t like the people or the context in which you’re working, you won’t be successful. That’s why we spend much time at super{set} thinking about our performance culture. It’s that simple, but you’d be amazed how many people lose sight of this.

4. Startups are built to solve a market need. Think problems, not product.

Sometimes, I notice people enamored with a particular sector - yesterday, it was Crypto, today it is Generative AI. But the fact is, we build startups in response to markets and customers. As a builder, what should excite you is the nature of the problem facing the end customer and how you can solve it through technology. I saw this first-hand at Rapt - if I had over-idealized supply chain tech, I wouldn’t have made it through our crazy pivot to ad tech that we had to make to address a more urgent market need.

5. There’s no place to hide in a startup. Everyone earns their keep.

In startups, you’re either doing the thing or aren’t. You can’t skate by and wait until the following performance review. A high velocity of personal growth is only achieved through a high velocity of output: things don’t just happen to you: You make them so.

6. Ask ‘So what?’. Horizontally scale yourself.

I love this metaphor of “horizontally scaling yourself,” which means taking the engineering concept of horizontal vs. vertical scaling and applying the same thought process to one’s career. Meaning, think about adjacent areas to your role - like marketing, product management, and even putting yourself in your customer's shoes. Ask the profound why, what, and so what behind the work. In Big Tech, you’ll never get to spread your wings and peek over on someone else’s patch. In a startup, the pace and limited resources demand that you horizontally scale and grow accordingly.

7. Experience can trump cash. Accept a fair deal.

Finally, the point that made me write this piece in the first place: the cash compensation that a startup offers you will be less than you can earn in big tech. Don’t let this leave a bad taste in your mouth after you receive an offer - nobody is pulling the wool over your eyes, at least in a company with a fair and transparent culture. On a risk-adjusted basis considering equity, the startup deal is probably comparable to a big tech company because markets are efficient. But think of how you value the other variables—namely, growth and learning—and ensure they factor into your comparison.

‍Join Us in Early Stage Company Building

Working at a startup can be the best investment in yourself you will ever make.  While big tech is cutting compensation in this downturn, there is a great luxury of being focused on building at a startup, where the leverage from being in the early stage, ready to ride the next wave of investment and growth, supercharges our collective prospects as entrepreneurs. 

While there is no one-size-fits-all “right path,” if you sleep on my advice and wake up tomorrow morning still eager to build in the early stage, come and join us at a super{set} company.