Ask YC: Hard time at a startup

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=118797

by KayJayKay • 18 years ago

9 6 18 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I moved to mountain view from up north a few months ago after being offered a job at a nice startup. I'm a recent grad

It's been six months and i still fell like I don't know anything. The project I've been working on for the last 2 months has been just dragging along. i think the problem is that i don't totally understand the esoteric codebase we have (back end software stuff). everytime i ask a question people react like i'm bothering them with my personal problems. I realize that it's a startup but it's hard to glean what i need from the current code (that some others have confided is not that great). am i too dumb for a startup? am i going to get fired?

willarson• 18 years ago

Woah woah woah. First, calm down and remember to breath: its gonna be okay.

Next, you need to figure out why the company you are working at has allowed you to hang around for six months without helping you get integrated, or--if you really are too inexperienced (not 'dumb') for the startup, then why hasn't anyone fired you yet?

If you've been stuck for two months, and are in a resource constrained environment (which most startups are), then you need to figure out who is steering this ship, and why they are willing to let you stowaway on it.

Maybe you are being more effective than you realize, which would be great, but I think its more likely that no one has a firm grasp on what is happening, and that isn't a reassuring sign. It sounds like the people around you aren't communicating with each other, and its hard to believe that will lead to a successful product being put together.

It doesn't sound like you have a strong personal relationship with the other people there, because otherwise you probably would have just asked someone. My advice would be to first dig up your resume and update it to the extent possible, then see if you can establish a friendly relationship with anyone there who would write you a recommendation (or more likely take a phonecall on your behalf), and then ask the questions you asked here to whoever is in charge at your startup.

In the long-run it isn't worth being miserable and frustrated just to keep collecting a paycheck. Finding someone to talk about your concerns is better in every way. First, you look like you care about the quality of the job you are doing (which it seems like you do, otherwise you wouldn't be upset about it). Next, it will force the organization to figure out why its communicating poorly, or otherwise make it very clear to you that its a sinking ship.

Also, I think its a bad sign that people are snidely disrespecting their coworkers work. That kind of thing can fly in a larger company, but petty rivalry and negativity will kill a small group of people.

Best of luck!

st3fan• 18 years ago

Let me ask a more fundamental question first: does this startup have a well defined mission? In my experience the lack of a solid mission usually reflects bigtime in operations and development, causing a lot of frustration.

jyothi• 18 years ago

hey chill. They offered you, so they wanted you, you are not dumb. What is actually wrong is with the people managing your startup, NOT YOU. (isn't people management something you would want to avoid at a startup? )

Hiring a freshman, a tricky decision. Its two way.

One freshers are full of energy, you have a clean slate to define culture and mould them the way you want your team to look like.

At the same time there are 2 big issues - You need to groom them, train them, grow them. If you are not good at it or think you won't have time for it, please don't waste any time in the kid's career. (skill & time, both of which seems to be the issue at your startup)

You need to be ready to be on your own, if you think you cannot, you should happily move out. Find a company with senior folks who know to handle this better, more have time on their hands dedicated to grow you.

klein_waffle• 18 years ago

1) Almost no startups have great code. If the code doesn't solve user problems, then you should be worrying.

2) It sounds like your colleagues are not fully invested in having your project be a success. Is your project something that everyone agrees the company needs? If not you may have to fall back on your manager to explain why it is needed, or re-evaluate whether you should be doing this.

If the project is something that everyone agrees the company needs, and colleagues are still giving you the cold shoulder, something is dysfunctional here. Maybe they have a low impression of your competence -- why is that? Was there a group decision to hire you, or were you parachuted in?

Whatever you do, do NOT stop asking questions. Don't even DELAY asking them, if you really can't get what you need from the code. You stop asking questions when they threaten you with broken bottles.

3) A mistake that people fresh out of college often make: stopping dead when they don't get the resources or attention they need. In the workplace, if the problem is elsewhere and "not your fault" you still have to take steps to fix it.

nanijoe• 18 years ago

1) Almost no startups have great code.

.....True or not, I find that strangely reassuring

darjen• 18 years ago

This is similar to my first Java position. It wasn't a start-up, but it was a small downtown consulting company. It took me a while to do anything simple and my boss seemed to recoil in horror whenever I asked a dumb question. I ended up lasting 6 months there. This was after moving to a new town to take the position and signing a year long lease.

It turned out to be a good thing, though. Two weeks later, I ended up getting a job paying $5k more. It motivated me to get better, and now I am fairly competent at back end development. Don't sweat it, things will work out for the best. Sure it sucks to go through. I was afraid of getting fired, and I did. But for me, it was something akin to a refiner's fire. Either way, you'll become better because of it, as long as you don't take anything personally.

Ask YC: Hard time at a startup

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