#StartupPreference #5Vs50 #SmallVsLargeTeams
Hey everyone! 👋 Let’s talk startup preferences – do you lean towards a 5 person startup or a 50 person one, and why?
I’m currently at a series B company with around 60-70 people but considering a change due to some frustrations. I’ve got offers from a 5 person startup fresh off their seed round and a 50 person series B startup. Both seem promising, but I’m torn.
Here are my thoughts so far:
– Smaller teams mean more work but also more trust 🤝
– Larger teams distribute pressure better but come with more overhead 🤯
As a possible solution, I’m thinking of weighing the potential for growth and learning opportunities in each scenario. What do you think? 🤔Share your insights and let’s help each other out! #DecisionMaking #CareerMoves
The payoff from a startup is the equity. Join earlier, higher risk:reward ratio if they make it big. But, will they make it?
You’re bang on about what diff companies are like to work for. IMO if you aren’t focused on share options you should optimise for learning or getting skills in a direction you want to move in
IMO it depends on career stage. If you’re still very early in your career, the seed stage startup offers a potential faster path to seniority assuming the startup grows. If you’re later in your career seed startups offer little in terms of growth and you’ll likely need to be at a larger company to move up.
There is a natural tiering effect that when you move up tiers your seniority gets bumped a level down-ish. Like a VP at a series A might be considered a Director at a series B. Of course that’s dependent on how you’re able to sell yourself. But just something to keep in mind for career progression – I didn’t know this and sorta painted myself into a corner of being too senior for A and too junior for B simultaneously and it is not a fun place to be.
I personally prefer 50+ person. By 50 employees you can see what the culture of the company is going to be like and they’ve just proven so much more by that stage.
Going in as employee number 5 is a complete lottery – and to be totally honest, what are the actual chances of vesting all the equity, the company succeeding in such a huge way, and being able to capitalise on your options? So rarely happens.
It depends how much runway the 5 person startup has. Need at least 2 years .
Otherwise the 50 member as it will provide you stability . Since they just raised series B it means they got some big folks supporting them and their idea.
Same cannot be said about the 5 member one
The perfect number is a balanced 3. Everything above this is complexity. Which is more cost and risk. Decision making changes. Vision alignment becomes more difficult. 3 individuals collaborating efficiently are creating exponential output. If this collaboration is maintained for a long enough period it creates sustainable energy. This is not symbolic. This is literal.
Personally, I prefer the dynamic and close-knit environment of a smaller startup, but the choice ultimately depends on your comfort level and the specific opportunities presented by each company.
A fifty person startup isn’t a startup. If they haven’t figured out a business model, they won’t make it. They are a huge red flag to me.
A lot of helpful feedback here. I would just add that if you want to join a very small one but you’re hesitant about where it’s going, just make sure you negotiate a salary that you’re happy with and don’t get blinded by a ton of equity that most likely will never amount to anything. That way, you can enjoy the perks of a small team while still feeling financially secure.
The one where you vibe better with the senior executives as you can have upwards mobility.
There is much more trust at a 5 person startup. You get to work on a lot more!
20+ is a hard transition from a management perspective. There is often introduced some amount of middle management even if it’s just role based and not direct. Budgets get stretched because there is focus on headcount tightly attached to revenue. That transition stresses everyone out. There is often focus on growth of team instead of process.
Hard to say which is the better option for you…but…I think we can all probably agree that becoming employee #4 after starting as employee #12 warrants a look at greener pastures….👀
Good luck with your choice!
“Super cool” is a rare thing to find…!