If you’re considering free-ing yourself from the shackles of corporate life you’ve come to the right place.

For some, deadlines, defined-roles and a Pret just next door completely cuts the mustard. It never did for me. Calendars blocked out by internal ‘alignment’ meetings didn’t appeal. Standing desks and cold-call hours. Weekly fruit baskets being considered an office ‘perk’. Sleepless nights dreaming about Powerpoints and spreadsheets.

None of this would motivate me for 48 hours a week. If it doesn’t either for you - this is why I think diving head first into a small company within an industry you know f*** all about might be the best thing you ever did.

A brief history on me (you didn’t ask but I’m going to tell you). I chose not to apply to University early on - no subject jumped out to me, and the years of looming debt didn’t do many favours in convincing me to go. I spent the following 5 years skiing, cooking, serving cocktails, wine by the glass and eventually managing a heaving sports pub in south London. 

At that sports bar, I met a lovely man, Owain. He played guitar most weekends to the hopeful, drunken crowds. We’d chat regularly and his approachable nature meant I trusted him, despite not exactly being ‘close’. So, one day I asked for his advice - “where can I go next?”. I had no degree and pretty naff grades. No idea of what industry I’d suit, or where to start looking in order to find out. I felt belittled by the world of work and the next step felt like an impossibility to climb. But sometimes the only way to start is to ask for help. Owain got me through the door at a start-up company that made a review site for how sustainable you though products were.

Here’s some facts about me then:

• I knew f*** all about what makes a product sustainable.
• I’d left a total of 0 reviews in my life.
• My personal carbon footprint was pretty atrocious.

Nothing about this company suited me and I suited absolutely zilch about it. So, naturally I took the interview. To get that interview, I called Adam (a Co-Founder), every day at 12pm for 2 weeks straight. He eventually gave me 2 minutes to chat and arrange a time to go in. I think this says more about how desperate I was to leave the hospitality industry.

The point is: I persisted for a job that didn’t suit me. That persistence turned out to be one of the best things I did. 

I got the job, at was then called Wherefrom, now Really Good Culture. I was their 6th employee and I’m still here two and half years later. Over that time, there have been moments of confusion, lack of direction and times where I didn’t feel like I was good enough to do the job. I think that’s natural in a young company. When you strip back the protection of corporate structures, processes, sense-checking - you’re left with people. But all my personal and professional growth has been hugely helped by from these times of trouble, and are the reason why I love my job.

So here’s everything I’ve learnt working for a young tech startup. 

1. There’s always someone else who can do it better than you can. Put your ego aside and lean on people and resource around you. You’ll improve your own work and learn so much more in the process.
2. You can feel the weight of the work you do and decisions you make - it’s so rewarding. See every piece of work, every phone call, every email and every decision genuinely impact the direction of a company and watch how that affects your motivation levels.
3. No role is small. There’s only a handful of you which means you have as much responsibility as the person next to you. No fading into obscurity here.
4. People are awesome. Surrounding yourself with people you care about every day will change your perception of work. There is no rat race when you enjoy spending time in the office. Not just that, but people build you up through support and friendship. That’s pretty alright too.
5. You can learn anything and you learn it quickly. Roles and responsibilities are broad, more than likely you’ll adapt time and time again. This just means you learn every facet of the business and gain a wider perspective on the industry surrounding you. 
6. No stooges. Say goodbye to getting your ducks in a row and ‘circling-back’. Piss-away your former corporate policies and above all have fun.some text
   1. Side note: You may be exposed to the occasional ‘Spiritual Guru’. Although exhausting, it’s a very fair trade-off.
7. Learn to fail and fail to learn. You’re constantly adapting and innovating, it’s one of the most exciting parts of work. With that comes plenty of fuck-ups. Sometimes your genius idea doesn’t come off quite as you wanted. Don’t be disheartened - analyse where it all went wrong, pick yourself up and go again.
8. Don’t be intimidated by experience. I started wearing glasses on sales calls as I thought it made me look older and more responsible. I worried people thought I was too young and ill-experienced to have any authority. After some time (and gained experience on my side), I’ve realised everyone’s input is just as valuable as the next person. Re the whole: Fresh Perspective piece.
9. Work can be fun. There’s a trend in full emergence right now shitting on the traditional 9-5. Plenty of 9-5’s suck, but that’s because of the culture, the workload, the hours, the people. There are places that offer love, support, laughter, progression, innovation and flexibility.

I’ve also learnt plenty of trivial stuff. Like building a coherent growth loop, or how to enter the market as a brand new soft drink that aims to disrupt the sales of a monster like Coca-Cola. 

2 and a half years on I’m being brought on to advise on a separate companies growth strategy. That’s an advisory role from spending my working days pouring Guinness with no degree - that’s progression.

But, above anything else 2 and a half years later, I still love my job.

Whatever you do; ask for help and have fun doing it.

Bertie

xx