Revolt, Monzo, Klarna, sound familiar? Well, they are some of the hottest startup’s right now. They started off like us, a couple of highly motivated individuals sharing ideas, looking to improve old processes by introducing innovative technologies. These companies have become incredibly important in representing the UK tech ecosystem, and have helped to develop the UK tech sector.
Now more than ever, startups are disrupting industries and providing the workforce with a change from traditional multinational companies. It is also an exciting place to build your career, get better insight into how companies as a whole work and have a say in the future of a company.
So, without further ado, we give you 5 reasons why you should join the world of startups!
1.Grow with the company
When working for a rapidly expanding company, you have plenty of exposure to challenging tasks. This will give you the opportunity to dive right into projects. If you work hard and want more responsibility, you will get it. This is because the best startups honestly believe in developing talent. And as the company grows, you will also grow as an individual and will be able to broaden your remit within the company without the risk of stepping on the toes of your colleagues. Also, startups will never shy away from building partnerships with employees. It is common that startups will offer shares as an incentive to high performing employees.
“I am working on how to develop and use NLP in the risk analysis products we are building. Trying to understand what the customer would like to achieve, understand what the customer’s data is telling us, and working with the development team to see how to put it into practice. I’m also keeping a good eye on the technologies coming down the pipeline, for example, NLP models that can ingest huge numbers of documents and then generate extremely realistic text on any topic.” – Barry Haddow (Head of Natural Language Processing)
2. Have more responsibility
Working for a startup will usually involve working in a smaller team. Because of this, it is unlikely that you will find someone with the same skillset as you. With fewer employees, the company must make more use of its resources and tasks are shared out among the team. This allows for more productivity, and greater responsibility, enabling you to make an impact on the company from day one. Things happen quicker as well. There is no decision by committee, often you are given the responsibility to make big decisions quickly and on your own. So, if you are someone who loves a challenge, you will find working for a startup highly rewarding.
“Working at Aveni has been different from my previous roles as projects move at such a fast pace and you need to be flexible and ride the waves of change as they come. But because of this, I’ve been able to learn so much more in a short space of time. Also, the smaller size of the company allows me to have more autonomy to experiment with new ideas and challenge current situations. This truly makes me feel like a significant part of a growing company and a key part of shaping its development.” – Hayfa Bukhari (Marketing Executive)
3.Make a real impact
When working for bigger organisations, you might find yourself getting lost in the crowd. But, when working for a startup, your voice will certainly be heard. There is a lot more flexibility, allowing you to make the role yours and learn new skills along the way. Not only is the process rewarding, but future hiring managers are drawn to candidates who can contribute to new projects. Also, another plus is that if you ever decide to go out on your own and start your own company, you will have lots of relevant experience. So, if you are looking to make an impact in your next job, a startup is the way to go!
“I’d always been attracted by the idea of working for a startup. I was really motivated by the prospect of being around whilst the foundations of the company were being built, from both a product and company culture perspective. I love the idea of being able to look back and say I played a part in some of the early decisions which helped the company eventually grow from a simple startup to an industry leader.” – Robbie Homer-Plews (Business, Development Analyst)
4.A new way of thinking
In a startup, things are more transparent, you can share your ideas and expertise as every decision you make is visible to the wider team. You will notice that startups tend to have a unique style of working. They tend to be more relaxed, casual, and flexible in their working environment. But there is no denying that working in a startup is tough as you often have a heavy workload and a busy schedule to tackle. But that challenging work often pays off and you get the recognition you truly deserve.
“I really enjoy the variety of work you get at a startup. We don’t have any silos – no dedicated front-end developers or testers or data scientists – everyone has to get their hands dirty with a bit of everything. It definitely keeps things interesting!” – Gary Muir (Full Stack Developer)
5.Company culture
You and the team are the company culture, so you can make suggestions and the sooner you join the company, the more likely you will be in becoming part of the culture you helped create. You will also get to know your coworkers on a personal level. It is like working as part of a close-knit family where you can share your thoughts openly and freely.
With a startup, you will be surrounded by passionate people as a startup usually begins with an idea to solve a problem and takes a team of talented individuals to implement the idea and create a sustainable business. By joining a startup at its initial stages, you will be part of a small team of highly motivated people who care about their work and are eager for it to succeed. Larger firms tend to draw talent by offering higher salaries and extensive benefits, whereas startups focus more on finding people who are committed to the company’s purpose, bringing more meaning to your work and a sense of belonging.
“It’s so fast-paced and we have to try out tools and approaches that are new to us, but everyone is really supportive of each other and willing to help. It’s hard to keep up and not get too attached to your work but having the opportunity to try something new is great. No two days look the same and it keeps you on your toes for sure.” – Mhairi McGinlay (UX designer)
If you would like to find out more about what goes on behind the scenes at Aveni and how you can work for us, check out our careers page.