For the past half a decade, loads of start-ups and small business have sprung up all over the World employing over a million people. Many of these startups fail just after conception. Those who have survived have touched the lives of people around them tremendously. I happen to work for one of those startups that has survived and is making a great impact on the community where it resides in. I do not wish to mention the startup, but for those who know, figuring it out wouldn't be difficult. Let's go with the name "TechCore".
I started at TechCore in June 2017 as a digital marketing intern. My job was to ensure that the company's core message is sent out to it's users using social media (Twitter, facebook and Instagram). I had seen the ad for interns and responded at the last minute out of curiosity. I was eventually called in for the interview. When i arrived, I was sort of lost because a lot of the other applicants seemed to be very young. Feeling like Ben Whittaker in the comedy "The Intern", my interviewers were curious that I had applied and were curious to why I would want an Internship with my age and experience.
The startup at that point had only one product which won various awards. It was working on another, which it intended to be revolutionary in terms of health.
Oh! lest i forget "TechCore" is an e-health startup providing health information for pregnant women, expectant mothers and mother of children under 5. Currently,It has an in-demand consultation service online (via it's mobile app).
I got the internship and Within six months, was assimilated into the company. My role changed when they launched a new product for teenagers. I was assigned a role as customer relations officer whose job description is to relate with marketers on the field. It also included collecting feedbacks about the product and relaying it to management.
So far so good, I have achieved a lot in terms of experiences like management, customer relations, content generation and marketing in a startup environment.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, when working at a startup, you need to have an emotional attachment to the job. The pay may not or would not be enough motivation for the job.
Secondly, startup environments are like small families where everyone loves and respects each other, ensuring that the company grows to be successful.
Thirdly, there isn't always enough money to provide for every ones workplace needs, hence the statement at the beginning of this paragraph.
So far, i would infer that the experiment has been fun and intriguing. You should try the startup-experiment. I bet you would learn a lot of useful lessons from it.