A lot of people ask me what it's like working at an internet startup. I, unfortunately, missed out on the web 1.0 bubble so I am hoping to catch a piece of the new wave. Traditionally, I have worked for established companies for good, or great, salaries with amazing benefits, programs, etc.
When I got an offer to come work at Groovr, I really took some time to think it over. I have always felt like an entrepreneur but never had the courage to try and build a company myself. So I decided to take a risk and go work at Groovr. I took a pretty large pay cut, gave up my big corporation benefits and basically any security I had to go work for this new startup. What I gained was a sense of freedom that was a little unfamiliar in the work place. Oh, and the large chunk of company stock is nice too.
It is an awesome feeling to know that the harder the team and I work, the more we will get out of it in the end. When friends tell me that I'm crazy, I just say that they don't see the big picture. Sure I am taking a risk, but it's not like I couldn't go grab another job pretty quickly if things went wrong. I could always go back to consulting, etc. I have options, so I feel like it's a well planned risk and will probably pay off (big time) in the end.
I don't see myself going back to cubicles and coffee room breaks anytime soon, if ever! I will continue writing about my experiences at Groovr. We are a few months into the development of our new site/product so things are getting exciting. Stay tuned!