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Additional Posts in Product Management
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I do back in my history. So I'm not sure what sort of information you'd like. Large corporations the work tends to be very segregated. Small companies you have to be a bit of a jack of all trades and be willing to jump in and do things that aren't necessarily in your 'job description'.
As an example I was a developer at a small company and at a large corporation. At the corporation i had to ask for IT to set up a server and install all the software I needed. At the small company I was IT. Set up the server, installed software, ordered software. Basically did it all. Where at the corporation the first few weeks of a project was talking to procurement, the networking, etc - lots of paperwork and planning and not much doing.
No but that was because the owners were very careful not to do that to their employees. We were individuals that the owner had chosen from our previous company that he had gotten permission from that other company to take with him.
So I can see where your concern would be coming. The owners at the start up where I worked was careful to either take the extra work on themselves or offer extra compensation for the loss of work/life balance. However unless you have a stake in the success of the company beyond I would be careful not to set any precedents without compensation discussions. Otherwise helping out can easily set expanded expectations. (This I have had discussions with folk in similar career paths who have run into this rather than direct experience.)
Replying to your above concern about work life balance. This is wildly dependent on the company and the team. If your founders are extreme workaholics by then they’ll expect that of the whole team, either explicitly or implicitly by pinging you at all hours and you feeling pressure to reply. If there are looming funding deadlines or sales presentations, probably expect some overtime.
I think a lot of this goes down to your own personal work style and ability to set boundaries, too. If you know you’re not great at setting and keeping boundaries to protect yourself, then pay close attention to what the current employees say is the work life balance and ask them to describe a typical day for themselves.
I second that,
It heavily depends on the Founders and the company 's culture.
It puts peer pressure on others to cope up with the work deadlines, if that is the norm their.
I have - if you have ever considered yourself as a coaster or someone who likes to rely on the team (no shame in the game) and have a good enough work life balance then a small team is going to be a bucket of cold water. My transition took me from being a cog to all eyes on me, all the time, and the pressure was immense.
My biggest tip is you should assess what everyone's perception of "getting things done" is and what is everyone's definition of "getting things done", both at the individual level and as a team.
People define productivity differently and you'll save yourself a ton of headache if you can establish early on how to show you contribute to the team.
Lastly, make sure you know what your role is and what is expected of you. IMO you should define your role by:
- What is expected of you/why they hired you (Ex. Was it to build the PoC? Was it to scale the Product Team? Was it to fundraise?) Whatever the needs are of the business are, find it - AND then find the true why. Do both.
If you like being at the forefront then you will love working on a small team. Time will show you the answers. You'll do great - or not, but regardless will learn about the ideal environment for you to hone in and let your skills flourish.