Why do startups expect contributions from team members from day 1?

Startups are inherently hard and complicated – everyone who joins a start-up is expected to perform from Day 1 since there’s no time to create an onboarding plan. Most times, a startup believes in figuring out things as it go – there’s little opportunity for structure and finite areas of work. Most times, we are expected to start delivering from Day 1 because there’s such a dependence on getting things done.

Why do startups expect contributions from team members from day 1?

However, we need to quantify what this contribution is right? It can vary depending on the type of start-up and your role. Start-ups are generally stretched for resources – hence when they hire, they must justify these roles more than a corporate would. This naturally adds pressure for this role to perform quickly.

In a normal business or corporate setup, we expect a handholding, handover plan etc. However, start-ups are different, you might not get any handover. You are expected to figure out your way and start performing. This is the only way hiring managers can justify a new salary in the team.

A startup works in a highly uncertain environment. No one knows if the idea will kick off or start working. With so many unknowns, naturally the investors, founders etc are cautious about spending money that they don’t have. Hence, any new hire in a startup needs to be justified very hard. Although people agree that these roles are required, they don’t always agree on time because they don’t have the corresponding runway or financial strength to manage.  Hence, hiring is startups is always complicated.

So you see, there’s a consistent demand from everyone here because the pressure to perform is so high. It is not personal, it is just the way this culture works and startups tend to operate in such intense environments where you have no choice but to start performing from day 1.