I took a risk last year, leaving my job of 6 plus years to join a pretty new Tech Start Up. Mainly because there’s a lack of growth opportunities and I’ve been wanting a challenge rather than staying in my comfort zone.
Did it work out?
Short answer is no. However, I did managed to hit 1 year + 1 month mark before they announce that the investor is pulling out and they are shutting down operations altogether. Which means everyone is going to be jobless. Thankfully they have the decency to let us serve out our notices. This happened earlier in March this year and before that in January, there was actually a round of layoffs done as management were told to reduce budget. And within a short span of 2 months, the investor decided to change his mind again and withdraw altogether which seals the fate of the company. To be honest, the layoffs was a little unnecessary in a sense as it creates a lot of resentment towards the management who’s also drawing a salary and towards those who survived. We eventually ended in the same boat.
Was it worth it?
Yes. Albeit a short stint, I had a lot of fun and learnt tons. Plus I can also add to my portfolio that I’ve worked with the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo himself. That is some bragging rights there. Haha.
It was also a lot of fun working with like-minded people. And I did also kind of fulfilled by dream of being in gaming as it was a tech start up creating an app to gamify the live football experience. I had faith in the product and enjoyed the product personally even though I was not a hardcore football fan myself.
We all believed in the product to be honest but it didn’t get the time needed for it to take off. A lot of things was not implemented in the end. While it’s important to be agile, there’s a lack of faith somewhere in a product already created that was pretty good that the higher ups just keep wanting to create something new to get immediate traction. We all know that things doesn’t really work that way. It was literally only 5 months from official launch that the investor decided to pull out.
Key Takeaways
Joining a fresh start up especially in Tech is 100% risky. It’s super fast paced and at times you might feel like you’re working non-stop with no breaks. I would say it will feel like a crash course and you will lag behind if you can’t keep pace. Would I recommend it? Yes. But be prepared that not every start up will be a success. It will be a great learning experience though. So if you do have an opportunity and you can afford the risk of losing your job without notice, take it and learn as much as you can.
XOXO,
Joyce
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