Electronics Weekly Electronics Design & Components Tech News
Well, I promised this here a couple of weeks ago, so here goes:
1. Corporate stuff. Corporate promotion ladder; corporate pay-scale; corporate training programme; corporate policies and procedures.
2. Structure; routine.
3. Demarcation.
4. The illusion of job security. Sadly, a lot of people are realising at the moment just how illusory this can be. I’m not saying it’s any better in a start-up, but at least you can see it coming.
5. I can’t think of anything else.
Let’s face it; it’s more fun in a startup.
i dont have a way to the 10 large corporations
Thanks, John. I agree!
#9: One major advantage of working for a large firm is that you really understand how seriously inefficient big business is. The more experience you get, the more you will know just how much waste there is. Consider your time at large firms to be R&D for finding ideas to launch your next start-up.
#9a: Once you learn how slow and inefficient a large corporation is, launching a start-up to compete with the big boys suddenly looks much more attractive.
Thanks for getting us to 8. Let’s hope someone else can think of two more, because I’m struggling!
The brand image/credibility issue is something I worried about before we started Air – getting “through the door at Nokia and Samsung” was surely going to be a problem. However, looking back, this has been much less of a problem than I anticipated. Some of the ways we’ve avoided this difficulty are:
(i) Building a team with broad experience (carrying a lot of credibility with them from former corporate lives);
(ii) Building and maintaining a wide network in the industry;
(iii) Feeding off the credibility and network of our investors;
… and more. This subject will probably get a posting of its own sometime during the next few weeks.
“Purchasing power” also deserves its own post and is surely a problem from time to time – but actually not with regards to travel. I’ve found that a decent travel agent can do a better job than a corporate travel department. In my experience the latter are steeped in policies, procedures and politics which are more of a hinderence than a help …
Fun? Maybe, maybe not – depends on how the individual defines fun.
Large Corporation vs Startup – I’ve worked in several of both and they’re decidedly different. I enjoyed both in different ways, and each has strengths and weaknesses, good points and not-so-good points….so I thought I’d help you to add some more points to the list…
4. Maybe you can see it coming, but unfortunately it can happen blindingly fast in a startup. So fast in fact, that you’re high and dry before you can say “Oh, bugger…” Forget redundancy payments – as an employee, you personally can be left holding bills in you hand that you’re going to have to pay; that flight from last month, that printer you purchased on your credit card….not nice, believe me.
5. Purchasing power. Suddenly, when you’re in a start-up and you go out into the big wide world, you’re a complete nobody from a company image point of view (at least at the beginning). No huge discounts in nice hotels in Seoul and Tokyo anymore, and forget any chance of wangling your way to the top of the wait list and onto the flight – no corporate travel department to fight that one for you whilst you prepare yourself enroute to the next customer visit.
6. Brand image/credibility. This is a bit similar to above. At least the corporate name used to get you through the door at Nokia and Samsung to show your stuff…
7. Size and presence – sometimes it is just important that you’re big and there. Standards bodies come to mind.
8. Knowledge and wisdom. The amount of this held in the little grey cells of a large Technology Corporation is nothing short of astounding. Sure, most large companies are total pants at managing what they’ve got, and as for leveraging it for business gain……but that’s a different challenge. If you need more of it in a small operation, you have to build it, or go buy it, which costs time and money, neither of which you may not have enough of.
9. OK, we need two more….