When Startups Align

“You work too much.”

A phrase I’ve heard many times — from family, friends, strangers, co-workers, acquaintances, girlfriends, exes… You might think that at this point an alarm goes off in the back of my head whenever someone points it out. Well, it doesn’t — and it’s not because I’m stubborn (a trait especially the lattermost would be quick to point out).

“It’s not work if it’s something I would be doing anyway.”

This is my response. When I reflect on this question, I feel a tremendous gratitude for how much I love what I do, although this is mixed with the sad realisation that a staggering number of people waste their lives doing things they’d rather not do. For too many people, work is a necessity to be avoided whenever possible. Work is merely a means to enable them to live their real life. If this is you, there is something you can try — work on a small early stage startup.

Part of what I love about working on startups is that they are likely to produce environments that allow for the alignment of work and life.

Working closely with a small group of awesome, dedicated people towards a common goal means you quickly become close friends. Spending time with your friends is something you’d do outside work anyway. You also care that much more about succeeding, because it means your friends succeed too.

Having ownership over the work you do and being responsible for the success it brings means that your actions have a very real impact — not only on you, but also on your friends. This motivates you to maximize this impact and focus on that which is important. This is something you would (or at least should) do outside work anyway.

Because startups often tread uncharted territories, trying new things is encouraged. So is contributing to multiple areas, meaning anything new you learn is likely to be useful whether or not it’s within your current scope of responsibilities. In turn, this exponentially increases the chance of discovering new things that you love doing and is deeply intertwined with motivation and success. You will want to achieve things — not because someone told you to, but because finding and doing the things you love is hopefully what you would be doing outside work anyway.

Having worked on two early stage startups over the past four years has shown me just how powerful startup environments can be in enabling the alignment of work and life. You can’t isolate one aspect, such as smaller teams, and apply it like a band-aid to larger organisations. It’s the delicate balance of self-reinforcing, mutually beneficial behaviours that combine to create a virtuous circle.

If done right, working at a startup is akin to spending your days with a bunch of awesome friends, bonding over your shared sense of ownership and responsibility, doing things you love, discovering new interests, growing as a person, learning, amassing knowledge, and playing a crucial part in ensuring the success of everyone involved.

That sounds like something I’d love to do all day long.

So sure, let’s call it “work”.