Is a scale-up actually right for you?

I recruit for a lot of start-ups and scale-ups in investment technology. I love them. They're also not for everyone, and I'd rather say that upfront than find out six months after someone's joined.

The honest bit first

There's real risk. Benefits are generally not a patch on what the larger firms offer, and pay can be lower until a serious funding round gets done. It can be chaotic. Direction can change overnight. You need to be honest with yourself about whether you can handle that.

I hear the phrase "roll your sleeves up" a lot. Nobody I meet in these businesses has sleeves. They all wear t-shirts.

The upside is real too

If you're willing to take the risk, the rewards can be serious. Equity that could actually be worth something. Earning potential you'll never get near inside a big corporate structure. And far more scope: fewer people, less hierarchy, less bureaucracy, more ownership and a bigger impact.

It's also where people learn fastest. In a big firm you can build a career around one slice of the job. In a smaller one you're often building the pitch, running the demo and earning trust from a standing start, every single time. That's hard. It also makes you very good, very quickly.

Not every AI company is going somewhere

One question I get from candidates more than any other right now is how to tell which AI businesses are building something long term and which are riding the hype.

A big funding announcement isn't the answer on its own. Look for real customers and real renewals. Look at who's backing them and why. Read what the leadership team says when they're not being scripted. And ask the people interviewing you how they plan to keep clients beyond year one. The good ones will have a proper answer.

So who does it suit?

If you enjoy delegating, or you're aiming to run big global teams as a hands-off leader, it's probably not for you.

But if you're experienced, you know how to get things done, and you know you could contribute a hell of a lot more if people just left you alone a bit, a scale-up is well worth a look.

Photo: Tim Foster on Unsplash