Today, virtually no body I know will work for 20 years for anyone company. That is over. However, I think there are some companies, where 4-5 years stint can be extremely helpful because you pick up discipline, networking skills, navigational skills, cost disciplines, audit disciplines. All of which are invaluable.
I think people who, immediately after graduation, start their own companies tend to be naïve about cash, bank loans, negotiations, about network. Unless you have a truly fantastic product idea I would advice you to take the lunge at age 24.
And in you sales pitch, the first point should be about your weakness, not your strengths. You should tell people what you are not – you are not large, you are not this, you are not that. Okay, people think – there I is some honesty, these people are speaking the truth.
And then you try and showcase stuff you have done, customer references are very important. Sometimes people are unwilling to give written references, persuade them to give telephonic references for a small company. Nobody trusts what you say in your PowerPoint.
Many companies over invest. Especially these days they get plenty of private equity money so they get fantastic offices, this and that and that’s a big mistake. You have to invest in pace with your revenues. But you must be aware of your inflection points.
You must not lose focus on cash… If you don’t have cash, you are up against a wall. You end up raising money at the wrong time or walking away from the business.
Plans all are okay, but if you don’t have the courage to make mid-course corrections and changing environments like the technology space, you will get into trouble.
You are a vendor sitting somewhere. You call a secretary, she says, ‘who are you, which company, why should my boss see you?!’ as a big corporate guy you got so much red carpet treatment.
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