The startup industry is replete with failures. However, the point to ponder is while a startup has every opportunity to rise from the ashes once again, what happens to the career graph of startup employees in such cases?
Tiny Owl, Grabhouse, Zomato, Helpchat, Snapdeal and many more have fired employees recently. It is another matter that the capital intensive food delivery startups are more in news for the wrong reasons. In October 2015, Google India head, Rajan Anandan and Amazon country manager, Amit Agarwal invested in meal delivery startup DAZO which shut down recently due to lack of capital.This is a marked change from the previous trend where firing an employee was unheard of. The employee was simply called and told to look for another job but was also comforted that he/she could freely work till the time another job was at hand.
Hence, its imperative that before you join a startup, you remember the inevitable risks involved which are also taken by one and all including venture capitalists and angel investors. For those interested in joining startups, here is a 6 point reality-check:
#Startups have immense focus on higher revenues at minimum overheads, leading to extra pressures – fewer hands to do more work.
# Startup funding is 100% milestone linked and hence there is little flexibility or buffer in terms of performance.
# Unstructured and open-ended work culture may entail long hours and uncertain routine.
# Stock option is obviously a high risk option.
# Ownership changing hands is a distinct possibility due to ever increasing requirements of funding–this brings in strong possibilities of redundancy.
# HR is never a last resort here. Do not depend on structured policies – take the unknown in your stride.
Even in Silicon Valley, the mecca of startups, it is worth noting that the failure rate is 70% – so much so that failure is worn on the sleeve as a badge of ultimate success. So failures and startups are 2 sides of the same coin and if you want to join a startup, then keep this in mind. It will prepare you for the strong kick and glorious uncertainties that the startup ecosystem offers.