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“Startups are not micro corporations”, a quote best said by Steve Blank. You can’t apply the same structure and rules to a startup with a large corporation by just placing it on a smaller scale. In Steve’s context, he’s referring to business planning and customer development. It’s a good idea to look at how the same thought process can be applied to working in a startup. Knowing the difference between a startup and a corporation is crucial when it comes to working with a proper business mindset.

In large corporations there are positions that are advertised widely, also, depending on the job, there may be high competition among other applicants seeking the same position. For the most part, your position in a large corporation is already defined clearly from the start and everything you need like your tools and office is given to you specifically by the company. With all that said, keep in mind that it’s also extremely important to align yourself with the other employees: know how everyones agenda adds up, know what they do in the company, and know how to communicate efficiently with them. Large corporations and startups are completely different, so don’t treat them as a same entity.

Startups differ in that there are rarely any ads posted in the media. You’re expected to do more work; the more you can handle, the more responsibilities are then given to you. You know how in a corporation you get the tools and training you need to move up through the ranks? Well, in a startup you don’t have all those tools which means you may have to find your own training. You might even have to create it. You’re expected to learn as the startup moves forward and simply go with the flow for the most part. You’re really not loaded down with any work in a startup, you’re just expected to be productive. If everything is setup correctly and the startup is built right (compensation structures in place, right culture and so on), no one within the startup needs to worry about being “overly productive”; it’s expected each individual be productive anyways, as with any business of course.

So, there are both pros and cons within a startup and a corporation; but given that they are vastly different, it’s essential to understand how they both operate. Knowing where you are in a corporation and in a startup will make it much easier for employees to work with one another. Things may not be as black and white as expected, but if you have an entrepreneurial mindset you can do well in any structure no matter how small or large it is.

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Tags: mentality

This entry was posted on Monday, October 31st, 2011 at 5:51 pm and is filed under Entrepreneur Inspiration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.