Six Things That Won’t Happen When You Join a Startup

They say fortune favors the brave…not the naive.

Image by mohamed_hassan

So, you want to work for an early-stage SaaS startup.

You know it’s going to be tough, but you’re up for the challenge. And hey, if some sacrifices need to be made (fewer boozy lunches? More two-minute noodles? No big deal!), then that just makes life more interesting, right?

Not so fast. Before you zip off to your new startup hotshot company and get all zuckerbergy on us, there are a few things that nobody’s going to tell you about.

So, allow me to be the one:

You won’t be working 9 to 5

Maybe the biggest startup misconception of all is the hours you imagine you’ll be putting in. People think startups mean a relaxed, non-serious work environment where nobody cares if you rock up at 10am, leave at 1pm and come back at 4pm (the next day).

But they fail to account for one crucial startup truth: Nobody knows what time zone your company is in. Also, nobody cares. Not customers, investors, suppliers, partners, or potential new hires. The hours you keep will be whatever time zone they are in.

Look, you may get lucky and have a nice mix of different time zones to work with throughout…