What to know about start-ups?

With quite a few homegrown start-ups making a name for themselves on the international front, such as K-Fit, it’s easy to see the lure in them. Yes, the payoffs are tremendous but before you are carried away by the success stories, you need to bear in mind that a lot of hard work and toiling need to be done to set things in motion. Toying with the idea of starting one? Our Features Writer lists down a few hard facts from Johnathan Lee (Executive Director of Entrepreneurship Development at Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC), Frank Koo (Head of of Southeast Asia, Talent Solutions, LinkedIn), and Ian Ho (Regional Managing Director at Shopee) at a recent ‘Rise of the Yuccies’ meetup:

The Pros

1. Flexible hoursThis is not a nine to five job and most start-ups don’t require you to be hunched over your desk all day. The beginning will be tough but once things are a lot more settled down, you’ll recognize flexibility for the commodity that it is.

2. A fun start-up cultureMost start-ups divert from the traditional suit-and-tie culture and prefer a more laidback workplace where employees are encouraged to play just as hard as they work hard. For example, K-Fit’s office is filled with bean bags, ping pong tables, a pole for pole dancing, and more. Meanwhile, Shopee’s employees can book a 30-minute massage if they’re feeling tired. All these will act as an incentive as well to grow your merry band of workers.

3. Pursuing your passionYou’ll be doing away with bureaucracies and stifling workplace traditions – operating on your own account. This is something you’ll be creating from scratch and at the end of the day, what you will take home is that sense of satisfaction instead of clocking in hours to bring home that pay cheque.

4. Working with like-minded peopleChances are, you would have filtered and screened plenty of candidates – choosing those who share your vision and values to join you on your journey. There’s nothing more uplifting than going into work knowing that your colleagues and employees share your end goals.

The Cons

1. Long hoursWe are talking up to 20 hours in a day – leaving room for little else.

2. Most start-up entrepreneurs are youngThis doesn’t mean it’s an impregnable market for the older generation. This merely means that the younger ones are willing to take higher risks – the key to success – as they have less commitments to deal with (eg. housing loans, car loans, putting their children through school. So, if you’re willing to take that leap of faith, make sure you have enough money in the bank to last you a minimum of six months before giving in that letter.

3. You’ll need to be very hands-onOn top of the long hours, this is a job which will require you do to everythingyourself especially at the start where you’ll have limited help – even cleaning the washrooms.

4. Be prepared for doors to slam shut in your faceSeeing as this is a new brand nobody has heard of yet, funding will be difficult to secure and you’ll most probably hear back from only 20 per cent of the companies you have written to. That being said, keep writing and those you do hear from will be slivers of hope and encouragement for you to carry on. Tip: run through your emails carefully as the last thing you want is to have their competitor’s name emblazoned on the top in your copying-and-pasting flurry.

5. People aren’t willing to join youWhen you haven’t built your brand enough, chances are, most people aren’t willing to jump ship and leave their secure jobs for you. Here’s a way to deal with that: market your personal brand first. Make sure you get it through to them what it is that you stand for. They have to understand you as a person first and what you would like to achieve, so that they can assess if you are someone they would like to work with.