Camp Startup

I have been asked many times to describe the differences between being an employee of an established “large” company and being part of a small startup. The best analogy that I can find is that being in an established company is like staying at the Hyatt while a startup is comparable to going camping. And when I say camping, I don’t mean a luxury RV with power receptacles and satellite TV parked at a full service national park.  I am talking about backpacking in the wilderness with just your tent, food, utensils and a collection of some of your closest friends. And remember, you are camping not because you want to, but because you don’t have any real money to spend, otherwise you would be staying at the Hyatt!

Now don’t get me wrong - I love camping and it can be very rewarding in terms of its experience, but it is “different” to being in a five star hotel, or for that matter, just being in ANY establishment with a fixed roof, running water and indoor plumbing.

As early stage seed investors we (at Brightspark) are constantly faced with the challenge of ensuring that the companies we invest in adopt the right culture and operate in a manner commensurate with their stage of evolution. There are certain behaviors that work best and make sense at a particular stage of development. For anyone who has gone through the experience, you typically understand what is expected at an early stage.  However, if you have not been there, it is left to your imagination as to what to expect.

The universe of employable people who have been through a true startup experience is extremely small. I often meet individuals who insist that they understand startups because in their previous company, they operated a separate division or that that they were part of a small business unit or that they joined a company when there were only 40 employees. After a short period of time “camping”, they realize that they were in fact just part of a group who lived at the Hyatt.

Initially you will notice a lot of similarities between the big hotel and your previous big employer. Here is a comparison of what you initially found there and what you will find when camping or at a startup:

 

The Hyatt	Established Business	Camping	Startup
Nice Address	An address	No address	No address (initially)
When you check-in you are shown to your room	On the first day someone takes you to your office	You pitch your tent	You have to find a location to house your new offices
Ornate Building	Nice building	Tent	A roof over your head
Reception and Grand Lobby	Receptionist	Tent	Don’t worry nobody is going to visit, yet
Phones, Fax, Internet	Phones, Fax, Internet	Tent	No communication infrastructure, you have to find it, buy it, install it, configure it, maintain it
Maintenance	IT department	You and your camping buddies	Er…, you and your developers
Room Service	Operations, assistants	Tent?	No Services

So, like camping, creating a startup requires that you setup the infrastructure yourself and maintain it on a daily basis. Many things you took for granted back at the Hyatt, or back at the big company, just don’t exist anymore. You have to take care of them.

Once you get over the infrastructure hurdles, you then have to realize that you have to change many of your habits, expectations and your overall outlook. In a startup you have limited funds and you have to make sure that you have as long a runway as possible to ensure that you don’t run out of money before you deliver your product or find customers or, in general, get to the point where other investors will put in more money because you have proved that you have great technology and are addressing a large problem with a huge marketplace!

Just as in camping, you take enough food with you that will enable you to have a great time, see the sights and not have to go and seek out civilization or the nearest 7-Eleven before you have to.

In a startup, you are competing with many other smart people, like yourself. All of you are in a race to get to market first, get the best publicity and be noticed by the major players. You cannot assume that you are smarter than anyone else or that you have the luxury of time. You are starting off from scratch, you have no credibility, you don’t work for the big company anymore, people don’t know who you are and you have to establish your name and gain credibility. It’s like meeting someone on the camping trail and saying that although you do live in a tent, a very nice tent, you used to always stay at the Hyatt. Sure.

I think you get the picture; actually, I am sure you don’t. On your next vacation, grab a tent and a backpack and you will understand what a startup is all about. And enjoy it, because when you do begin your startup, you are not going to have time for any vacations for the next few years!

 

 

Comments

[Paresh]

Hi Tony,

This post reminds me of my days at startups and also my camping trips. Both were fun, working with limited resources and having the infinite fun and sense of success and satisfaction.

Cheers,
Paresh

[Lindsay Lent]

I love the analogy. Those who have never been camping can't understand the experience and likewise with startup - ya gotta do it to know it.

Of course, the more you do it the better you get at creating your campsite. Marshmellows anyone?

[Randy Charles Morin]

Hey Tony,
No vacation? Common! I run a startup. As for vacation, I ran the startup from my motorhome (while on vacation in DisneyWorld) for most of March and I'll do it again all this summer. Revenues grew 10-20% in March to another all-time high.

[Magnus]

I'm very stoked BrightSpark started a Blog! Excellent info here and great insite to the VC mind set. Our mobile start up will be on the hunt soon enough.;)

[Reader from the start up world]

A superficial and narrow analogy. Differences beween large company employee and startup are more than lack of infrastructure. What about the other side of the working equation?...freedom to create new market concepts, different risk profile on decision making, lack of turf issues, increased accountability...the list is long. You can stay at a Hyatt on the edge of the park and take a pre-arranged tour of the local scenery (big company) or you can pitch a tent on the top of the hill, wake up to the morning sunshine and freshness of the early dew, and experience a sense of excitement that comes from starting a new day with unknown opportunities and events (startup).