First day at an analytics start up coming over from a 5k+ employee dinosaur. What should I be on the look out for in terms of different culture, expectations, drama, etc?

Already feels like I went from Office Space to Silicon Valley. We are still 100% remote so the onboarding has been a bit different than I am used to.

🎈 Mentorship
5
CaneWolf
Politicker
4
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
I've done something remarkably similar. It can be challenging but here are some things I'd say to keep an eye on:

-Everything is way more personal. If you don't like the UI of the product and say something on a call, the person who built that UI is very likely on the call. Be really careful how you give feedback.
-Leadership might be a bit maniacal/totalitarian. There's a fine line between invested and overbearing though so don't just subject yourself to abuse because it's a startup.
-There are typically far fewer rules. A lot of the set procedures, especially around sales operations, contract language, etc., may not be there. You'll be inventing some of that on the fly.
-Put your nose to the grindstone and work before giving feedback. Given the aforementioned personal nature, people want to feel like you buy into what they're doing before you start to change things though.
-Try to build relationships on a 1:1 level in every department. You're going to need all of those people at some point.
-Your responsibilities as a salesperson are likely to be much broader and there will be a lot more of the grunt work. Don't be surprised if you're asked for input on marketing decisions, mining event lists, etc. It's part of the game.
-Know if it's time to run. A lot of people (myself included) don't stick the landing when it comes to a start-up. If your "oh shit" meter starts to go off, you're in the wrong place. It's okay to bail. If you feel that way and you don't bail, you're gonna get fired eventually.


OGKushWizard
Good Citizen
0
Account Executive
Wow a lot to unpack but all great stuff.  

I really like "Put your nose to the grindstone and work before giving feedback. Given the aforementioned personal nature, people want to feel like you buy into what they're doing before you start to change things though."

I could totally see myself putting my foot in my mouth so thanks for all that info! 
Beasthouse
Opinionated
2
Corporate trainer
my entire 20s hahah
Beasthouse
Opinionated
0
Corporate trainer
whyyy did it take me sooo long to learn that " people want to feel like you buy into what they're doing before you start to change things though." that's so painfully truee


SaaSsyB
Opinionated
1
SDR Manager
I did the same thing! 

Be ready for the trade offs and be ready to ride the wave. 

Things will not be as structured - BUT this gives you more freedom and the ability to help create build the environment you want.

Change that used to take months to implement at your last org will now happen on a moments notice - you are now in an environment of perpetual change.  This can be frustrating at times, but far better than working somewhere that utters the phrase, it’s always been done this way.

You build closer relationships throughout the org - and will have access to your c-suite.

I came from Fortune 500 companies and love the start up madness. But you may miss the more structured environment of an established org. Best of luck! 

 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
1
🦊
How's it going?
heypumba
Executive
0
Business Development Manager
Had this exact conversation today.

Best practice sales is you being able to focus on what you do best (selling) and bringing in experts at the relevant points in the sales cycle.

It's really hard to do that when the structure doesn't exist, so to succeed, you'll need breadth of knowledge - you don't need to be the expert, but you need to be able to get stuff done without needing the expert so often.
Trinity
WR Officer
0
BusDev
Lack of resources, meagre budget, and be able to change course (pivot) all the time.
I think drama is everywhere. You can choose to be part of it or not.
Beasthouse
Opinionated
0
Corporate trainer
ufff have fun
System failures
stress Tests
changing true north star quarterly
everything is personal because its built off their blood sweat and tears
if there are no rules make them it helps a lot in the long run
be a man of many hats but make very very clear that you specialize in one hat 
don't underestimate anyone I mean anyone. any of them could be your boss or future client do not judge anyone there for where they are at but rather expect them to have the same successes that you are hoping for and calculate to include them in your success.
GRIND GRIND GRIND then find a way to systematize and automate so your can grind even more
Pachacuti
Politicker
0
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
You're a few months in now - what have you found?
saasesforthemaases
Tycoon
0
Account Manager, West
My current play is my second Series A play and is now at Series C. I have felt this feeling you're feeling before as I came from a publicly traded company originally. The best way I can put it is that 'gravity leaves the room' when you join a startup. There is something that you can trust about working at a larger company. Maybe there is something even reliable about how terrible Office Space is... its comforting? Knowing that its so fucked up that you can truly mess up and you'll still be an A player and nobody will know the difference? That all leaves when you join a startup, and what you're left with is the need to manufacture tooling, motivation, and most of all results with your own hands. Structurally, you are moving from a fucked up skyscraper, to a construction site with limitless potential. The problem is now you have to figure out how to build. And build quickly.
The way I would describe it is that you're moving from knowing how to use the slot machine to reach the desired end state to having to build the slot machine. That's the biggest difference between those two types of organizations. You will need to generate your own results, but you'll also likely need to generate your own expectations/goals, strategies to get there, and be able to speak to them as you ramp.

This has at least been my experience. I would say don't go in expecting anything - just try to build your own scaffolding out the gates and instead of waiting, build your own goals and then validate that those goals align with leadership.
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If sales people didn’t have quotas, and were paid just a flat rate of whatever they sold, do you think think that A)Salespeople would work just as hard? B) Create a better culture within the Sales Org? C) Create better relationships with their buyers?

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Is starting your own business the only option for a laid-off salesperson after you reach the milestone age of 50 ? How does one get hired at 50+ without compromising pay, dignity, location and happiness ?

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Do you have to do comp corrections at the end of every sales month because the reporting and finance team never get it right?

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Are comp corrections the demise of your existence?
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