Venkatesh Haran’s Post

In 2018, I rejected a job offer from BCG & chose to join a startup instead. Many termed it as a stupid decision back then. But why did I take that decision?  Here's the story: Just 3 months into my first job, I resigned (a story for another time) and found myself at a crossroads. After a month of searching, I was presented with two opportunities: 1) A position at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 2) An unexpected offer from a co-founder of a renowned tech startup, who had recently ventured out to assist various startups in their growth marketing endeavors globally. The decision wasn't straightforward for me. I opted for the latter. Many thought it was a bit out there, and honestly, there were times I questioned it too. 👉 But here's the thing: I had this gut feeling about what I needed to learn at that point in my life. I was super curious about how startups are born, how they grow & what really makes them tick. That's something I felt I wouldn't get to see up close at a big firm like BCG. Joining BCG would have offered security, prestige & immediate validation. But choosing the startup path was like hopping on a rollercoaster of learning. I got to work with some amazing early to mid-stage startups across different countries. It was tough, no doubt, but I learned a ton - stuff I probably would've taken years to pick up otherwise. This journey, with all its ups and downs, played a huge part in shaping Codeyoung. It wasn't just about learning how to run a business; it was about discovering what kind of leader I wanted to be. Alongside a team of passionate individuals, we've been able to grow Codeyoung into what it is today. Looking back I can say, While joining BCG might have been the right choice for many, But I am certain I made a better choice :) -------- 📍 My takeaway: Stay true to yourself, irrespective of how it compares with conventional wisdom. Don’t make a decision on the basis of the parameters society established for you.  There are no set rules. Choose what works for you. It’s okay to look stupid in the short term rather than being miserable for a lifetime. #entrepreneurship #learning

Transitioning into a startup role can feel intimidating, so to help shed some light on what it's ACTUALLY like, we sat down with some Jumpstarters and chew the fat...   Stella Buhalis joined Gaia after working as an investor in a VC firm 💳 Tom Cockbain was on a General Management graduate trainee scheme before joining Zero Gravity 📈    Edward Anders joined Compose after gaining some consulting experience 💻   The common themes on what it's really like moving into a startup? 🚀🚀   🌍 High-levels of autonomy: you can often be dealing with customers in week one, or leading on projects independently! This clearly isn’t for everyone but if you do like w 🎨 Room for creativity: unlike corporates, startups don’t have a tried and tested playbook of how to do sales, marketing etc. which means you have a lot more leeway to try out new things and see what works! 🎯 Real-world impact: I worked in consulting for ~4 years and there really is nothing worth than working on a 100 page PowerPoint for 100 hours a week only to see it gather dust on a clients proverbial shelf…at a startup there simply isn’t time for anything which isn’t building product or traction…and there is nothing more satisfying than seeing your work direct lead to a sale or building a product feature that customers love! 📈  High-performance environment: In big established companies you can hide or take 6+ months to get to grips with stuff, in a startup there isn’t anywhere to hide…the flipside is that you can progress super fast, and much faster than the yearly review processes in corporates   As Tom summarised: "The challenges are immense but it's very exciting"   Working in a startup definitely isn't for everyone but for the right person, it can be an incredibly rewarding high-growth career where you get to have an impact from day 1.    If you think you fit the bill – check out Jumpstart today 👇👇!  https://lnkd.in/eU_B_X2G

🌟 Embracing Short Tenures with Startups: A Learning Opportunity 🌟 In the fast-paced world of startups, it’s not uncommon for professionals to have shorter tenures. While some might view this as a red flag, I believe it’s essential to recognize the unique value these experiences bring. Working in a startup environment often means tackling diverse challenges, adapting quickly to change, and acquiring a broad range of skills in a condensed time frame. Each role, no matter how brief, offers valuable insights into problem-solving, innovation, and resilience. Prospective employers, instead of focusing solely on the duration of these roles, should consider: 🔍 Adaptability: The ability to quickly pivot and embrace new challenges. 🔍 Skill Diversification: Gaining a wide array of skills and experiences in a dynamic setting. 🔍 Resilience: Learning to navigate uncertainty and thrive in fast-evolving environments. These experiences reflect a proactive mindset and a readiness to tackle complex problems. Let's view short tenures not as a limitation but as a testament to agility and a commitment to growth. I hope prospective employers don’t view career transitions as 'red flags.' Instead, I encourage them to reach out for a discussion where we can explain our experiences and the genuine reasons behind these shorter tenures. 🚀 #CareerGrowth #StartupExperience #Adaptability #ProfessionalDevelopment #JobMarket

Unpopular opinion: Most companies don't care about their employees. They're just numbers on an Excel sheet. But not at Level SuperMind. Here, each employee is much more than a number.   They’re learning a lot more than just their regular jobs. They’re treated as a potential founder of the next unicorn. Our approach is simple -> Push every individual to their top 1%. We want our employees to exceed their potential. This way their growth is not linear but exponential. As we’re growing as a company, every team member is growing with us. Personally and professionally. In fact, One of our Co-Founders Aayush Anand, once joined us as an intern. He leads all the teams now. This is the kind of growth we envision for every employee at Level SuperMind. P.S. Follow us to learn about how we do things at Level SuperMind. #startups #growthmindset #personalgrowth #unpopularopinion

May it be the well known "PayPal mafia", or "Rocket Internet SE mafia" – there are many myths around where unicorns are made and quite often it's about "where do unicorn founders actually come from?" Endeavor studied the career journeys of the top $1+ billion founders and came up with some pretty interesting findings: https://lnkd.in/dE3SNDYT 💡 One finding caught my attention – especially in the light of this years US election: 50% of the top US unicorns founders are immigrants or second-generation immigrants. 🤝 Thanks Rubén for sharing the insights! If you are interested in all kind of startup/venture/VC news, subscribe to his newsletter The VC Corner: https://lnkd.in/dNzmZAid

Startups are indeed a wild ride, having spent a decade navigating various roles within them. Starting from doing free work to establish my network, I progressed to consulting, advisory positions, co-founding, and founding my own business (not in that order). Through three small exits and numerous failures, the journey has been transformative. At times, overwhelming amounts of chaos, fears, and insecurity. Fellow founders will know! I shifted gears and pursued success with a global firm to make a broader impact. Joining Accenture has been a dream come true. The company's renowned brand and dominant market position are truly inspiring. Hearing positive feedback from current and former employees validated my decision. Past colleagues reminisce about their time at the firm, express regret for leaving, or aspire to return, it signifies being on the right path. Embracing change has been key to this rewarding transition. "Let there be CHANGE" #startups #Entrepreneurship #careers

AI can't change the status quo, whichever good or bad, strong or week, for policy/decision making. Try this for real, our mind-blowing AI-IP story, based on fact. This sets us apart from AI. Is there any AI products you know, that can interpret and answer the following Chinese-English multilingual questions? With our intellectual property (IP), a copyrighted multilingual metadata, we can answer for decision/policy making, with evidence. "Who, in the Ontario province of Canada, has new US patents granted on the nearest Tuesday, when the USPTO releases the newly granted US patents on a weekly basis?" "Who, in the "江蘇‘’ pr ovince of China, has new US patents granted on the nearest Tuesday, when the USPTO releases the newly granted US patents on a weekly basis?" Metadata is an enabler. Without metadata, NO data can be found/retrieved, even by the most advanced technologies, like AI, NVIDIA chips, supercomputers, etc. https://lnkd.in/g-aJFnXR Experiment results showed that, with our intellectual property (IP), a copyrighted multilingual metadata, we are doing what AI, like ChatGPT, can't do in data analytics. Our IP can also make your information service UNIQUE in the world.

This tells you the career pathways of unicorn founders in USA. - Big 3 consulting firm experience is NOT important - Big 5 tech gaints experience is NOT important - Education is important most important is ▪️ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET ▪️ #entrepreneurs #consultants #unicorn

Fascinating research on the founders of 'unicorn companies' that again demonstrates the value of prior work experience when it comes to entrepreneurship: 'founders included in this study gained a decade of experience following their undergraduate education, on average' https://lnkd.in/e3xT6u5C #entrepreneurship #startup

Where do unicorns come from? #startup  #fundraising  #angelinvestor  #investments  #VentureCapital  #vc #Entrepreneurship  #venturefunding  #investing #TechNews #Innovation #technology #unicorns https://lnkd.in/eZ-fYkaY