Written on February 18, 2025 - 5 min read
As I was updating my Upwork profile today, I decided to take a more startup-centric approach to my introduction. I emphasized how much I thrived in startup environments and how I’m willing to do more than just be a developer. At the very least, whoever comes across my profile and reads it will come away with the impression that I really love the startup culture as I was on a mission to drive that point home. This really had me thinking.
Why do I enjoy startups so much? Shouldn’t it be obvious?
Not really. In fact, I didn’t put much thought into it at all. The only basis for this preference in my less than self-aware mind was that I simply enjoyed every moment spent working for a startup in my career. So, in spirit of being a student of knowledge and enlightening myself to exactly why I felt the way I do (or do, rather), I decided to itemize my reasoning and blog about it.
The first thing that came to mind was the impact potential working in a startup environment provides. With smaller teams, my contributions are highly visible and impactful. Stating the obvious, but I think any developer with a heart enjoys knowing that their contributions are more than just meaningless updates from an invisible entity.
Each day, I knew that the Jira tickets I’m working on will be noticed. That gave me a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. It also meant that I get to own entire features or projects. No longer am I just a cog in a machine. In startups, you matter.
There’s room for experimentation and the ability to make decisions rather than following rigid processes that inhibit creativity. To me, that’s really important. That’s one of the pillars of enjoyment that keep the job fun and not feel like a 9 to 5. In a startup, I can just cook.
Startups move quickly on their race to MVP. That keeps a lot of the corporate bureaucracy that would otherwise slow you down at bay. You’re not stuck in endless meetings since execution is prioritized. Hell, I think at one point, daily standups consisted of simply “I finished my tickets yesterday, here’s what I’m working on today…” before dismissing. Took 15 minutes.
The rapid pace meant that I was constantly learning and growing, another set of pillars that make the job a delight.
You wear multiple hats in a startup. There’s no way around that. Budgets are tight and the needs of the business require you to be multi-skilled and able to take care of things a large company normally does for you. I’m comfortable with handling different parts of a project. If you have FullStack ambitions, you’ll gain a lot of useful experience here.
New challenges pop up all of the time. You’re always solving problems in a meaningful and engaging way. At least in my experience, this seemed to be the case. Startups have the potential to reveal a variety of technologies rather than locking you into a single tech stack. Again, creativity thrives here.
Your voice is heard at the very top of the company in most cases as you’re often working with the people who are making big decisions about the direction of the company. Your ideas and feedback actually influence the company’s direction.
If you’re interested, you will be in a position to understand the business side of things and not just the code. That’s extremely helpful in understanding the vision of the company and it drives innovation in how you approach the problems they’re looking to solve with your expertise.
Outdated, nonsensical corporate processes? Gone. You don’t have to deal with that in startups generally.
There’s room for innovation and you’re in a position to push new ideas forward without waiting for approval as it climbs the chain of command. And, as stated previously, you’re not just coding. You’re contributing to strategy, product decisions, and even marketing at times.
Startups generally have a clear vision and are working on something meaningful. At DFN, we built Canada’s very first digital freight tracking and logistics platform. Not only was this application helpful and solving big problems, it was also historical and impactful on the Canadian economy.
That looks pretty good on your resume, not gonna lie.
There’s always a chance you could help create the next big thing in a startup. You never know what’s going to happen down the road. Imagine the feeling of the next viral app making billions and knowing you’re one of the few people who strove to bring that idea to life.
It’s no surprise that startups have always had a special place in my heart. As a person who enjoys creative outlets, startups give me an environment where I can roam free, experiment, and solve problems in my own way without all of the bureaucracy that corporate life brings. I work closely with the company executives and form strong business relationships, I make noticeable contributions, and the continual challenges paired with the vast amounts of learning opportunities make this a no-brainer. Startups are the way to go if you enjoy free movement and meaningful impacts.
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