After being in consulting for the first couple of years of my career I landed a dream job as a sales trader at an investment bank. I was 27 and I always dreamed of being at the core of the moneymaking machine of the bank. Soon I was trading multi million dollars deals and the adrenaline and stress were addictive.
But after almost 3 years on the dealing room I was questioning the journey I was on. Do I see myself being a managing director in 3-5 years from now? Is this the end goal of my journey? Don’t get me wrong, having a front office job at an investment bank can be very attractive. Nice compensation, annual bonus, discount on mortgage and the list continues. The golden handcuffs was a reality! But I wanted more creativity, passion, challenge and adventure in my work. Something had to change.
Here are three reasons why my journey went from the corporate world to the startup world:
Big companies means big procedures
The bank I worked for employed over 100.000 people worldwide, so you can imagine there were a lot of internal procedures. The structure is solid and everything is comfortable and predictable. At a startup, you are the one who is setting the tone. You’re the one that creates the culture, the organizational structure and the business model. Every decision is crucial.
Entrepreneurship means direct impact
In a big corporation it sometimes feels that your input is not always recognized. As a startup founder you’re solving real problems. My first startup was focusing on how to improve people’s sleep by designing a new pillow. I received many emails of customers that thanked me because they had the best sleep in their life. That is impact!
Exponential growth as an entrepreneur
After several years in the corporate world, it felt like I was doing the same thing every day. I love the “Chief of Everything” title, because as a startup entrepreneur you literally do everything needed to drive the business. From customer service, bringing packages to the postal office and closing deals with suppliers. You’re being challenged and will grow on all aspects.
I hope my journey so far can inspire you.
To your success,
Andrew
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