Corbin Otis

Business development at Harness

What is your preferred company size and why?

Hello all, im in the market for a new role and was curious what others opinions are on company sizes and what they prefer. start up 1-200, 200-1000, 1000 - 5,000 etc and why?

Ive been with large companies startups and mid size companies and felt the growing startup was the best experience for me for a number of reasons.

Access to management, not just your direct report. Input is valued and implemented. Coaching is a focus. You feel like you are building together.

What is your ideal fit and experience with company sizes?

👥 Hiring

14 comments

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Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Been with 1-200 and very large as well.

Currently at the 200-1000 range, and really like it. Our team needs to do more support work than I've been accustomed to, but it all contributes to the company success. In a larger company, it's harder to see the impact your efforts make.

Business development

Awesome. That is my experience as well. I want that feeling again.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Those companies are out there.

Honestly, sometimes I am tasked with something that falls just outside my area...and I have to remind my own self that I'm tangibly helping the company. Smaller companies do come with their own issues.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

SO. MUCH. SUPPORT/ADMIN. WORK.

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

☕️

200-1000

Business development

Why do you feel that is a sweet spot for you?

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

☕️

If you're on the 200-500 end you're in a scale-up: rapid growth with a solid foundation built for the operation of the company from a sales, CS, marketing, etc, perspective. The 500-1000 you are growing into a solid market position and, if you joined and stayed around from a prior stage, you are likely moving into serious leadership roles (if that suits you).

Gizmo

Politicker

Once you get over 5,000 you start running into bogus commission caps and processes that work more against you than for you. Less than 400-500 and you often don’t get as much support and have to wear far more hats.

So probably somewhere right in the middle.

HVACexpert

Politicker

sales engineer

Are you only considering start up? I’ve been at companies with thousands of employees now I’m at a company with less than 100 and I love it.

Business development

Structure and foundation. Happy to work at a startup, but I need it to have a strong foundation with founders who have solid track record. I was just at a place that lacked that and it was not a great experience.

Maximas

Tycoon

Senior Sales Executive

500 to 1000

detectivegibbles

Politicker

Sales Director

Personally, size is irrelevant to me. Good and bad companies a plenty with all types of sizes.

Find the right fit via who you'll be working with day to day, week to week. Who's leading you, who are you leading, what's the culture like, etc.

WheelofCheese

Opinionated

Sales Executive

I've primarily worked for large companies (over 5,000 employees) and can tell you there are both pros and cons. On the positive side, they most often have financial stability-- unlike many startups, and have more ability to offer competitive pay/comp. That being said, it's important to look at how the company is owned. Is it PE backed? Publicly traded? Privately owned? This can affect how budgets are handled (e.g. tighter purse strings with a publicly traded company since they have shareholders to satisfy). How are decisions made regarding budgets, etc. On the downside, decision-making can be slower with the different levels of approvals required. A smaller company is better able to make quicker decisions as a whole. This can be a competitive advantage.

Another thing to consider is your career path. Are you looking to stay in your current role for a long period of time? Or are you looking for the opportunity for career advancement? With a larger company, there may be more opportunities to grow. Start-ups tend to have their own leadership team in place (unless you are on the ground floor helping to build the company) and it may be harder to move up the career ladder as they (sometimes) have fewer leadership roles available.

All this being said, a start-up can be an exciting place to work (i.e. your input may be more valued as you mentioned) and may even offer you equity as part of your comp. Additionally, with smaller companies (in general) you could have the opportunity to "cash in" when/if it eventually goes public if you have built up some equity. I worked for a smaller company years ago and made bank when they went public. It's great when it happens!

I could drone on and on with the various things to consider, but my best advice is to do your homework on the company. Check out Glassdoor for employees' reviews as part of this research.

Good luck!

RelationshipMaker

Opinionated

Head of Sales

I've ben in corporate (1000+) and they have some great perks but you always feel like a number.
Currently in a SME (50+) and it's a more friendly feel. It does have issues with Directors that are essentially autocrats.
I don't think it's a company size issue, more a company values and management style issue for me.
As long as I have a boss that just keeps out of my way and let me do my shit, I'm cool.
Good luck.

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Corbin Otis

What is your preferred company size and why?

14 comments

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