5 Things Students Should Know Before Working at a Startup

For students and fresh grads, a career in corporate or in government is a path taken by many. A career with startups, however, is a path that is a lot less explored.

And founding a startup themselves? Even less so.

This may be in part due to the limited opportunities our nascent space has, the relative stability and attractiveness of corporate and government jobs, and the visibility of startups when students start job hunting.

Despite this, a reported 50% of Filipino jobseekers still highly consider joining startup companies mainly because of promotion opportunities, growth, self-improvement, and work-life balance, among others.

How important are students are in the startup space?

Students play a valuable role in the space. Apart from giving existing teams a fresh perspective, students are the pipeline for future founders, supporters, and enablers.

Nurturing them is imperative to fostering growth within our ecosystem. And the earlier, the better—or so the saying goes.

In this article, we’ve taken the time to recall our pre-startup selves as well as interview a number of student founders and interns to bring you the 5 things we wish students knew before getting into the startup ecosystem.

1. Don’t be intimidated by working closely with movers and decision makers

Small startup teams give students and fresh grads an opportunity to work closely alongside seasoned decision-makers within a company.

While this could be an opportunity to learn greatly, It could also be a very intimidating experience and can cause low self-esteem and general withdrawal from interaction.

Ieran Perez, our former analyst intern shares: “It was intimidating working next to seasoned individuals. My knowledge isn’t as comprehensive as theirs, and mine’s just beginning to build.”

This sentiment is repeated by several of our respondents.

If you find yourself in the same shoes, we advise you to trust why you are there; team members are picked and trusted a founders for a reason. The people who hired you see your traits, skill set and culture fit within their organization—all of which may not shine if you’re constantly focused on your feelings of intimidation.

So next time you feel intimidated or insecure, remember that your team believes in you, and that should more than enough reason to be more confident and open up to people around you.

2. Mentorship can make a huge difference in your career path

Whether you’re a student intern or a student founder, the right mentorship will provide you with a concrete understanding and direction of where you want to go.

Leah Cioco, a student founder and former Founders Launchpad intern says: “Our first mentor showed us the way of how to address pressing problems in our space and gave us a grasp of how to sustain our efforts.”

Mentors give us a bigger and more accurate picture of where we want to go at an accelerated pace.

Fortunately, the local startup space has a strong mentorship culture and members of the community are mostly open to giving guidance and sharing knowledge.

You could find mentors through meetups, industry events, in-campus incubators or your personal network. Once you have found a suitable one, HBR provides a handy guide on how to establish and nurture a healthy working relationship, give it a read here.

3. True startup life is so much more than just competitions

While events and competitions are highly visible to the general public, they only reflect a fraction of the whole business journey.

Don’t get us wrong here: we’re more than thankful for the initiatives that grow and support our space and all the players in it, competitions included.

But we also think that students should know and be excited to do the work that everybody does on an everyday basis, not just the highlights and exciting stuff like joining (and even winning) startup competitions and hackathons.

True startup life—the real work that turns ideas into unicorns—entails years of fast-paced research, problem-solving, product development, painful feedback, and failures.

All these things behind the scenes are what truly define the startup experience and are what build you up, not to mention your skillset and repertoire too

4. Startups offer unique learning opportunities

Our interviewees unanimously agree that their experience in the ecosystem enabled them to upskill and learn about themselves in a way that formal education or engagement with more traditional forms of businesses did not.

It’s no secret in the community that job descriptions often serve as guidelines rather than rigid rules when working with a fast-moving company. This means that personnel are more often than not expected to wear different hats according to what the company needs.

Jules Lastino, a venture intern, shares: “Being in a startup is undoubtedly a lot of work. As a team member, you need to be on-the-go and be ready for anything.”

That being said, the life in startup is not for everyone. You’ll need grit and a strong work ethic to stay planted in the space.

However, if you’re up for the challenge, sticking to startup can give you hands-on experience in operating and growing a business. This provides students immense personal growth, resilience, and a deeper understanding of their strengths and areas of interest.

5. Internship opportunities are invaluable

In startups, interns often take significant responsibilities and witness the direct impact of their work on a company’s direction and everyday operations.

The possible tasks you could be assigned are plenty: assisting with product development, refining marketing strategies, participating in fundraising efforts and competitor research, among others.

Aside from the learning experience, internships also allow for invaluable networking opportunities and mentorship which could help you build relationships beneficial in the long run. As they say: “Your network is your net worth.”

Overall, internships give students an opportunity to build their skill set, work experience, and network which are immensely important for starting up their career.

It also builds out fundamental traits such as work ethic, resilience, adaptability, and creativity all of which are needed to thrive in an ever-evolving business landscape.

Key Takeaways

Embracing a career in startup offers unique experiences for students and fresh graduates, including rapid growth, strong mentorship, and hands-on learning.

Startups allow you to work closely with decision-makers, engage in real-world problem-solving, and build essential traits like resilience and adaptability. Internships provide significant responsibilities and invaluable networking opportunities, shaping you into a versatile professional.

If you are looking to kickstart your startup career, Founders Launchpad is always looking for capable interns who have a passion in helping build companies. Check out our website for more details.