// gazzini

Motivation

There are thousands of software-development teams in the world that work similar hours, use similar tools, and adhere to similar planning-practices. However, startups can sometimes out-perform larger organizations with vastly more resources. In the short-term, this is often the result of clever planning & heroic individual efforts. However, over months & years, I think it's the seemingly small cultural differences that compound and eventually separate the best startups from the rest of the industry.

The core difference is this: startups can attract, retain, and motivate top-talent because they're exciting:

In response, many large companies have tried to pick & choose specific aspects of startup culture & instill them into their corporate culture. Recruiters from every company love to drop the following line to engineering applicants:

The team you're applying for actually operates like a startup within this big company.

To me, this feels inauthentic, and perhaps a bit cargo-cultish. Most of the supposed "startup-like" traits advertised by big-co recruiters are now just industry-standards that have little to do with the unique appeal of startups:

The upside of a steady promotion track just can't compete with the potential to exit the labor-economy, freeing up the rest of one's life from needing to trade time for money. I think this, combined with the smaller perceived sphere-of-impact, is why large companies can't authentically nurture an entrepreneurial spirit.

If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.

However, most startups fail, so you probably won't get rich or have much of an impact at all. Many large companies pay engineers extremely well, and in-fact my friends at the top firms (Google and Facebook) have out-earned me so far by 2x or 3x, with significantly less stress & uncertainty in their lives.

The stress & uncertainty haven't bothered me to date, as it's still a very comfortable living, and I've learned more without the training-wheels of a large corporate umbrella. I also have significant equity stakes in 3 companies that might be wildly successful one day (in addition to ~5 that will certainly not).

Anyways, there are many different aspects to human-motivation, some of which are more rational than others. Any organization can cultivate morale by hiring empathetic people, painting a clear career-vision for new employees, and seeking professional coaching for new managers. At the end of the day, growth solves a lot of problems, as it creates advancement opportunity for everyone. Without it, every tactic seems like a half-measure, and with it, nobody cares whether you describe yourself as a startup or not.

Advice to Young Engineers

My advice for ambitious people is to go work for a medium-sized startup that is growing.\

That's how you'll learn the most.

Other Opinions