Reflections: 1st Month Back in a Tech Start-Up

For more years than I can count I dreamed of working with a large, stable brand or MNC. I started my career in 1996 with an HMO start-up in Southern California – what turned out to later to be a model for ObamaCare from what I understand (I haven't lived in the U.S. for 13+ years but that's what I read). From there I moved on to a consumer electronics tech start-up, working with passionate Linux developers around the world, manufacturers in China, and getting my first taste of a tech start-up drug that I wouldn’t shake for many, many years. 

Like any drug, working years for start-ups can take its toll because – sadly – many start-ups don’t succeed. I remember the first time I learned that a start-up I was working for had failed. We all walked in one morning and a man in a suit (something you don’t see often in many tech start-ups) handed us checks and asked for our laptops. I’ve seen layoffs due to lack of funding, from being too soon-to-market with technology, and the worse of them all … when layoffs are due to young, inexperienced teams mismanaging growth and spending.

Start-Up vs. Big Company

So the dream was to work for a larger company, one that would be around for years to come. And I’ve done that now. One with 2,000 employees for a couple of years, another was a relatively short-term contract role for a company with offices around the globe. Indeed there was stability, which was what I thought I really wanted. But I was micromanaged, given almost no freedom to do what I do best, and I had to deal with a flippin’ ton of bureaucracy. 

Turns out that I was dead wrong about what I really wanted, something I learned quite recently. 

FinTech Reality Check

Well, today marks one month to the day that I’ve been residing in Malaysia and that ‘full stack finserve and fintech’ have became a part of my vocabulary! This is a new market for me and the ramp-up is exciting.  Here’s what I’ve been reminded:

1. Troubleshooting challenges and brainstorming ideas everyday is addictive! There is no way of knowing what any day will bring and that is work nirvana.
2. Multi-tasking is king (well, Queen!). I’m back to working with passionate team members who all wear SEVERAL hats a day.   My department is comprised of 5 teams. So multiply those several ‘hats’ x 5 and you have MY eventual number of hats. And that is a marvellous amount of multi-tasking.
3. It’s life in the fast lane, or no lane at all. Everyday is about innovation. It’s about the micro-rotations that make success possible. It's about the big changes that help correct a path before it’s too late. Either way, it’s about adapting, and it is undoubtedly 100% about Kaisen (something I was taught at that HMO start-up where I began my career).

There is a feeling of support between peers because everyone seems to be working hard towards the same objectives, which would never be the case in a larger or highly-matrix’d company.

Like many start-up folk, for a long time I believed that I was only interesting to start-up companies but that turned out to be false.  The bigger lesson I needed to learn was that I'm only interested in start-up companies.  And that is something I won't forget again anytime soon...

- Angela Carson

MY BLOGS

LuxuryBucketList.com > my new'ish Asia travel blog

Angela's Adventures > my personal blog, with tons about being an expat in India, Hong Kong, and now Malaysia

AngelasBangalore.com > India's 1st luxury travel blog, #1 on Google, recommended by Condé Nast Traveller