Benefits of working in a startup in Europe
Benefits of working in a startup in Europe
Startup culture in Europe
The startup culture in Europe has been growing for a while now. The European Union and its member states have invested heavily into supporting startups, with many of them having dedicated funding programs or initiatives to support entrepreneurs.
In addition, several organisations provide advice on how to start up your business, such as Startupbootcamp, which offers free mentorship and training sessions for founders from all over Europe. There's also the StartUp-Grants initiative, where you can apply for grants ranging between €10k – €100k if you want to develop your idea further.
Successful Startup companies in Europe
The top startup companies in Europe will manage to create new products and services that impact people's lives. They'll need to offer something unique and innovative with their business model. Still, they must also be able to scale quickly to increase their customer base and generate revenue. Here are some of the best startup companies in Europe:
1) Zalando SE - Germany
Zalando is a German online fashion retailer headquartered in Berlin. Founded by two former colleagues at Rocket Internet, it was launched in 2011. Today, Zalando operates in 16 countries across Europe and North America. It offers clothing, shoes, accessories, beauty items, home goods, electronics, toys, sporting equipment, health & wellness products, food, baby care, pet supplies, furniture, jewellery, watches, eyewear, fragrance, stationery, sports nutrition, and other categories.
Zalando Group operates retail websites across five continents. The group's portfolio has around 20 different brands, including Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Herve Leger, Ganni, Falke, Carhartt WIP, etc. generates sales of €15 billion annually. As of 2019, Zalando had around 4 million active buyers worldwide.
2) Spotify Technology SA - Sweden
Spotify is a Swedish music streaming service founded by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. Launched in 2006, it went public in 2014. By 2016, it became the first company ever to achieve 1 billion monthly users. In 2018, Spotify reached 2 billion paid subscribers globally. According to Forbes magazine, Spotify generated $8.5Billion in annual revenues in 2017.
3) Deliveroo - UK
Deliveroo is a UK multinational takeaway delivery app based in London. The company was founded in 2013 by Alexandre de Juniac and Thierry Breton. Since then, it has expanded rapidly throughout Western Europe. In 2015, it raised US$250M in Series E financing led by Goldman Sachs. In November 2018, it announced plans to expand another round of investment worth approximately US$500M.
4) TransferWise - United Kingdom
Transferwise was cofounded by Alistair McConnachie and David Marcus back in 2012. Based out of London, it allows individuals and businesses to transfer money internationally using only one account. Its clients include celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Jamie Oliver, and Richard Branson. In January 2020, it closed a Series C funding round of £50m. This brings its total amount raised since inception to nearly £200m.
5) Booking.com - Netherlands
It is an Amsterdam-headquartered travel metasearch engine that specialises in hotel bookings. Founded by Simon Knoop, Marijn Luijten, Jan Hommen, Jeroen van den Hoven, Willem Doosje, Henk Ovink, and Bart Schuurman, the site started operations in 1996 as Hotelscholen.co.uk. Over time, the website became one of the largest online hotels sites for finding accommodations from more than 6,000 properties in 190+ destinations worldwide.
6) Foodpanda - Germany
FoodPanda is a Hamburg headquartered F&B discovery platform connecting diners with local restaurants with real-time traffic data through its mobile apps and web portal. It enables consumers to discover new places to eat at nearby restaurants without having to leave home. The startup offers both restaurant owners and customers various monetisation models such as pay per order, PPA, CPC & CPI etc., depending upon the type of business they are running.
7) Blablacar - France
BlaBlaCar is a peer-to-peer car rental marketplace similar to Airbnb but on a larger scale. Co-founders Benoît Collin and Thibaud Simphal launched BlaBlaCar after noticing a gap between those who wanted to rent their cars locally and needed someone to do so. They began operating in Paris in February 2011. As of August 2019, there were over 3 million listings available in 35 countries.
8) Tictail - Sweden
TicTail is a Swedish eCommerce solution provider; focused on fashion products. The company helps retailers sell directly to end consumers via social media platforms. It provides inventory management tools, customer service solutions, marketing services, analytics, and distribution channels.
14 Key Benefits of Working For a Startup
The startup world is full of opportunities. It's also filled with risks, and the most significant risk you can take in your career is not taking advantage of them. If you want to work for a startup, here are 14 benefits with startups that come along:
1) You get to learn from people who have been there before.
Startups aren't just about making money; they're about learning how to make money. The founders of startups know what works and what doesn't because they've tried everything themselves. They understand their customers better than anyone else on earth. And if they don't like something or think an idea isn't working out, they will tell you straight up. That kind of honesty is invaluable when building a business.
2) Your job description changes as soon as you start working at a startup.
You usually sign a contract stating precisely what you'll be doing every day when joining a company. At a startup, however, things change quickly. A founder may decide he wants to hire someone new to do X instead of Y., Or maybe his team needs more help, so he hires another person altogether. Whatever the case, you need to adapt fast. This means being flexible enough to jump into whatever role comes next without having any valuable experience in it.
3) There's no such thing as "too early" to apply for jobs at a startup.
If you see a position posted online, the chances are good that the company has already started interviewing candidates. So even though you might feel nervous applying now, you won't be wasting time by waiting until later. Many companies prefer hiring employees right away rather than letting potential applicants remain while interviewing other candidates first.
4) Startups often pay well above the market rate.
It sounds crazy, but some startups offer higher salaries than big corporations. Why? Because these businesses tend to grow very rapidly and therefore require additional funding. When this happens, investors typically give the startup cash back through dividends. As long as the startup continues growing, its owners keep getting paid. But once growth slows down, the dividend stops coming in. Which makes sense — why would an investor continue delivering a high salary to someone whose company hasn't made much progress lately?
5) Most startups are small-scale operations.
This means that most startups only employ between 5–50 people. While larger organisations sometimes use the term 'startup' to describe themselves, those large companies rarely follow all the same rules as actual startups. For example, they probably have offices full of cubicles where everyone sits behind computers all day. Not so at a real startup! These places are known as open-plan offices, which allow workers to move freely throughout the space.
6) Startup culture is different from corporate culture.
You'd never guess it was looking at Facebook, Apple or Google. But there's one significant difference between how startups operate and traditional workplaces: Everyone gets along well here. It seems almost impossible not to get along with your coworkers. After all, you spend nearly half of each workday together. If you can't stand them, then you must suck at your job. Right?! Wrong.
The company culture encourages collaboration among coworkers. People who aren't friends outside of work become close over time. They start hanging out after hours, going on trips together and generally just becoming better friends. And since they don't know anyone else, they end up spending lots of quality time with their colleagues.
7) You will learn something new every day.
At a startup, everything changes constantly. New ideas come about daily. The way customers interact with products evolves regularly. Even the office layout shifts frequently. All of this requires constant learning. That's what keeps things interesting for both founders and employees alike.
8) There's no dress code.
Most startups don't care if you show up wearing jeans and sneakers. Heck, they may encourage casual attire because they want to make sure everyone feels comfortable working hard. This doesn't mean you should wear pyjamas every night either. A lot of startups expect their staff members to look professional when they clock in. So go ahead and put on a pair of khakis and a nice buttoned shirt.
9) Your title won't matter too much.
When you first join a startup, you might be given titles like an engineer, designer, product manager etc. However, as the business grows, you'll likely find yourself being promoted into more senior roles such as CEO or CTO. In these positions, you're expected to take charge of specific areas within the organisation.
10) You'll need thick skin.
When you work at a startup, you're bound to run into some rough patches. Things often don't turn out exactly as planned. Sometimes, you'll feel frustrated by the slow pace of change. Other times, you'll encounter problems with clients or partners. Fortunately, most people rise above these challenges thanks to a fantastic sense of humour.
11) Expectations around pay are very low.
If you think that starting salary at a big company was high, wait until you see what young entrepreneurs earn per year. Most startups offer salaries anywhere from $30k- to $100k depending on experience. Of course, many startups only offer entry-level jobs, but even higher-paying opportunities exist once you prove yourself.
12) Hours tend to belong.
Working at a startup is different from working at a large corporation. At a startup, there's always someone willing to help you finish tasks faster. Plus, it's common practice to stay late and work through the weekend. These habits allow companies to multiply while keeping costs down.
13) You'll have fun!
You've heard me say before that I love my job. Well, why wouldn't I? It allows me to do so many cool projects and meet great people along the way. If you enjoy your work, then you'll never get bored. On top of all that, startups give you plenty of chances to travel and explore exciting places. Who knows where life could lead you next?!
14) You can build genuine relationships.
Startups aren't afraid to let their workers socialise outside of work. They understand how meaningful friendships are to success. As a result, they provide flexible schedules and open offices. The best part about this arrangement is that you'll start building meaningful connections instead of just making acquaintances.
5 Valuable skills you gain working in a Startup company
1) Communication Skills – When you work for a startup, communication becomes extremely valuable. There will be lots of meetings and presentations which require clear and concise explanations. Also, if you ever have to explain something to another person, you'll learn how to communicate effectively.
2) Problem-Solving Skills – Working at a startup means solving problems constantly. This isn't necessarily bad since it helps you develop problem-solving abilities. But when you solve problems for other people, you'll also become better equipped to handle similar situations later in life.
3) Leadership Skills - Startups usually operate under tight deadlines. So, you'll need to manage multiple priorities simultaneously. Additionally, you may be required to make decisions without much guidance. All of these things teach you leadership skills.
4) Time Management Skills – Since startups often run lean operations, time management becomes essential. To succeed, you must know precisely what needs to happen now versus what can wait. And because everything happens fast, you'll want to keep track of every minute spent doing anything.
5) Entrepreneurial Spirit – Taking risks is one of the key traits needed by successful business owners. However, not everyone dares to try new ideas out. That's okay, though, as startups offer an environment where risk-taking is encouraged. Not only does this promote innovation, but it also gives employees more freedom to experiment with new products or services.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article about why you work for a startup company. Feel free to leave any comments below. Thanks for reading!