Why job in a startup matters for early founder — Advice to new founders!
Gear on! because this story sums up my professional life so far.
I share regular case studies that I think worth sharing, keep reading more www.FazalShah.com
Article was written on Jan 4 2024 – Here’s a: Medium read
It’s been six years since my graduation. In that time, I’ve started my own agency, built a game studio, and worked with almost 100 clients. Our games and apps are now being used by nearly 10 million people around the world.
But here’s the thing: the one thing I regret most is not working at a startup sooner. Let me explain why.
Working freelance and learning from YouTube and blogs is a powerful way to grow in tech. It’s how many of us get started, and it’s undoubtedly an essential skill in today’s fast-paced world. However, at some point, you’ll hit a wall. There will come a moment when no course, certification, or online forum can guide you past the challenges you’re facing.
What will help you in that moment? Experience. Specifically, the experience of someone who has faced those exact challenges before—your founder, your manager, or even your CEO. These people have solved problems you can’t yet imagine. And their mentorship is priceless. You might be running your own startup by now and thinking of switching to a job… but not that fast.
In my case, freelancing allowed me to earn well and automate my operations. I trained a close friend to take over my freelance projects, helped him hire a team, and streamlined the entire process. Today, he runs the operations independently, sends me my share, and consults me when needed. From the outside, it might look like the dream setup: passive income, less stress, and freedom.
But for a passionate founder, that’s not enough.
There’s always a hunger to do something unique, to push boundaries. And this often leads to a stage where you need funding or support. Without a rich network to bootstrap your ideas, the journey gets tough. This is where working at a startup comes in handy.
Believe me, I have learned so much in 2 months of a job that I couldn’t by running my own games & apps studio in 6 years, but they are not a waste, my studio is why I am at a good point in job where I can interact with the CEO directly, work on our product roadmaps forms scratch, hire new team mates, define strategies & help them onboard and explain what we are doing & why we are doing, most importantly why they should be as motivated as I or my CEO are?
I learned about a totally different side of tech, i.e telco tech & how we are connected. I learned from my mentor on why we need so many people & who can do better at what they do.
And maybe this is just my story, maybe you get successful early, I hope so. I was successful until I met our CEO & my mentor who teach me so many things a day that I can’t keep up.
We are successful in our own circle and it’s not the end of the circle, find a startup where you can work with amazing and creative leadership style people who helps you each step of the way. And they are like Mentor to you. Even if you need help with something totally different then what you are doing, if they are eager to teach you that, believe me you are going to love your job… And never be conservative on the topic that you are from one field and switching to a new filed, it makes you much more better at what they do when you mix up the whole experience.
So here I am, sharing my reflections from the past two months, hoping they resonate with someone out there. If this inspires you or sparks a conversation, let’s connect on LinkedIn. I’m always up for a chat and eager to hear about your journey.
Oh, and if you enjoyed this, feel free to clap (yes, up to 50 times!)—it might even help this article reach my mentor, and that would make my day.
Best of luck with your journey. Signing off,
The guy still figuring it all out. 😉