How to decide

By now you should already have a good idea of the tech job role you’re looking to move into, and what you are hoping to achieve in your move to a career in tech. If not, it’s worth taking some time to go through the questions from earlier in this guide.

If you’re early in your career, have few outside responsibilities like family or a mortgage, and are looking to maximize your range of experience then a startup could be a good option. On the other hand, if you’re currently working in a field like banking or management consulting and you’re looking for a role in corporate development or business operations then you’ll need to look at the larger, more established tech companies that have these business units. It really will come down to your individual situation and goals.

A note on startup risks

Our examples have focused on startups that grow from pre-seed right through to IPO, but reality shows that most startups will actually fail. If you do want to work in startups then you need to have a plan in place for this eventuality.

Imagine you take a job at a Series A startup. How long would you be willing to stay in the role if growth suddenly stalls? Slowing growth can take a heavy toll on a startup’s morale and will negatively impact their valuation, so any options you have will be worth less, and may never be worth anything at all. If you took a lower salary to have a shot at the startup lottery, how long will you allow before you cut your losses and move on?

Startup life is full of ups and downs and I’m certainly not suggesting you would need to quit as soon as things become tough – most successful startups will experience some growing pains. But there is a difference between temporary growing pains and permanent stagnation (or worse), so if you choose startup life then do yourself a favor and have an exit plan in place.

Researching potential companies

You may be asking how you are supposed to know where in the life cycle a particular startup currently happens to be. Good question! A good place to start is by checking if the company has a profile on Crunchbase, which should list any recent funding news.

Alternatively, most venture-backed startups will use funding rounds as an opportunity for some PR so you can Google the company’s name along with terms like “funding” or “series A” (or for more established companies, “IPO” or “acquisition”), and see what comes back. Of course, if you get to the interview stage with a company you can simply ask them about any funding they’ve taken and their future growth plans. You can then use this information to try and see whether the company is on a positive growth trajectory, and decide whether it is a good fit with your goals and preferences.