Untold Stories of Early-stage Employees (Part 1)
Being an early-stage employee in a startup that is doubling in size year over year, and sticking it out for over four years, is hard. You have to be a special person to endure the constant change, take on new responsibilities and give many away, learn to work with so many different team members, and in a way be part of a new company every year.
I have seen many scenarios play out for early-stage team members, some that left because the company outgrew them, some that left because they outgrew the company, some that had four different roles, and some that started as analysts and became VPs.
In this three-part series, I’m going to interview three early BenchSci team members to learn more about their journey in the company. My hope is that these stories will help early-stage team members in other startups navigate this complex stage.
To start, I interviewed BenchSci Enterprise Account Executive Mark Kostove, who began at BenchSci in October 2017 — shortly after our public launch, when we were a company of under 20 people.
Mark, you had one of the most interesting rides at BenchSci. Can you walk us through your journey from your first roll till the current one?
Thank you — it’s one that I’m very proud of. I joined the company in the fall of 2017 and grew the sales team by 100% (from one person to two) — BenchSci was about 15 people total at this time and we were still in the early stages of working with top pharma companies and understanding the value of our technology. About eight months later, shortly after our series-A round, we were making the shift to become a reagent marketplace business and I got the nod to become the Head of Marketplace. I ended up doing mostly business development, building a team, and working to establish the supply-side of our marketplace. Like most startups, a bit less than one year later, we pivoted; we learned that the marketplace was not the right model for us and we focused on expanding our technology beyond antibodies toward additional reagents. This dissolved the Marketplace team and had me rejoin the enterprise sales team, turning my attention toward getting more top pharma signed up as enterprise customers, where I have been since.
I am sure this journey was not easy. What were your most challenging moments and how did you overcome them?
Change is hard. Change is also the one constant at BenchSci over the last four years. Learning to adapt to new roles, fill gaps in my experience, and find ways to achieve objectives are all constant challenges working at BenchSci. For me, learning to level up faster, understand big complex organizations like our top pharma clients, leaning into difficult conversations, and having to give up responsibilities as the business pivots and priorities change have been some of the biggest challenges. Once upon a time I was “Head of the Marketplace” at BenchSci, running my own division. After some time on that path though, BenchSci learned that we need to focus elsewhere and the Marketplace was no more. I was brought back onto the enterprise sales team, with a whole new set of responsibilities. The key here was not dwelling on what happened but focusing on the value I could now contribute in this new role.
To that end, in my experience, embracing feedback, and actively seeking it out from my managers and colleagues, has been a key contributor to my growth and ability to address challenges. Startups are great learning environments — embracing the constant learning and seeking out personal and professional growth help make the challenges a fun part of the journey.
What would you have done differently if you did it all over again?
If I were to do it all over again, I honestly wouldn’t change much. It’s super cheesy but the mistakes I’ve made along the way have been important for my learning and development. Failing doesn’t make one a failure — not learning from it and repeating mistakes does.
With that said, if I were to change one thing, I would seek out more biotech and pharma connections earlier on, and focus on learning more about them and their business vs telling them about me and BenchSci. It takes time to build real relationships with people. I would put more emphasis on networking within big pharma and biotech, attending more conferences, and learning out of interest (versus just for business development).
What are the top three pieces of advice you can give early-stage employees in startups?
- Venture-backed startups are all about growth. The point of raising capital is to grow faster and take advantage of a unique opportunity facilitated by your technology and the timing of the business. If you don’t like a speedy pace, look to join a more established business.
- Understand that change is constant and being dynamic is required. Listening to and learning from your customers is everything. If you hold onto ideas or models too tightly, it won’t work. Don’t be stubborn. Be a sponge.
- Focus on finding ways to add value. People often talk about wearing multiple hats in a startup. It happens because the needs of the business outnumber the resources, including employees, especially in the early days. Don’t worry so much about titles in the early days. Focus on adding maximum value and helping the business accomplish the most important things. There will be plenty of time for formal role evolution and title adjustment down the road as the business grows and becomes more established.
What is the top advice you can give organizations as they scale from the lens of keeping their early-stage employees?
Ensure early employees are growing in lock-step with the business. The kind of people who are attracted to working at a startup love a challenge and are problem-solvers at their core. Give them stretch goals and help them develop, keeping aligned to what they want to achieve professionally. Working at a startup at any stage, but especially the early stages, is intense. Rapid personal and professional growth should be a byproduct of that environment.
What are some of the sacrifices of working at an early-stage company? Is there anything you feel you gave up versus working at a more established company? Why was it worth it?
Typically, the main differences between a startup and a more established business are resources and brand power. So, by choosing a startup, you inherently are fighting an uphill battle (unknown brand) and you tend not to get as high a salary. The trade-off though, is that you often get outsized responsibilities beyond what your resume might allow in another company as well as, in very early-stage startups, the opportunity to “wear many hats” and contribute to multiple parts of the business. Additionally, the earlier you join a startup and the more senior a role you can land, the more equity in the business you may be able to obtain. If you believe in the problem that startup is trying to solve in the world, it’s worth it no matter what happens. If it fails, it’s an amazing experience. If it succeeds, there’s an incredible upside. You just have to be honest with yourself about the trade-offs. What matters more to you right now, earning or learning? And at the best startups (the ones that pivot effectively and succeed) you end up getting both.
That’s a long-winded way of saying the following: In my opinion, there are few environments that are as powerful and effective for skill development as working in a startup. It’s intense and constantly evolving but you grow a lot from the experience.
You joined a startup, but it’s grown and is now becoming a larger enterprise. If what initially attracted you was the startup vibe, how do you maintain your engagement as the company grows and becomes more established?
I’ve always worked in startups, so I might not be the best example here. I’m just wired for the dynamic nature and fast pace. For BenchSci specifically, my initial attraction was the fit for me. I studied biochemistry for my undergrad, ran my own business for several years, and later went on to get my MBA. I loved (and still do) healthcare technology and BenchSci is right at the intersection of healthcare (biotech/pharma), tech (AI/Machine Learning), and entrepreneurship. Solving unsolved problems with new technology is extremely challenging and rewarding. My continued engagement stems from that core interest. BenchSci has grown and become more established but that just means the problems we get to try and tackle are even larger and more complex. Getting to be part of a company that is adding so much value to so many people and businesses is exciting to me.
If I can add one more key factor that keeps me around, it’s the people. I love and respect the people I get to work with and learn from at BenchSci. They are smart, fun, nerdy, hard-working, and kind. Doing the above alongside them, day-in and day-out, makes the work a whole lot less work-like.
You must have seen a lot of people come and go during your tenure. In your experience, what do you think makes someone likely to be successful in the long-term? What do you think makes someone unlikely to be successful long-term?
For me, success in a startup comes down to the intersection of one’s own expectations and values. People change, companies change, jobs change, markets change. What was a top priority for me before having a kid has fundamentally shifted post fatherhood. I think someone’s ability to be their true selves and be honest with their manager about what matters to them and what they want to try and achieve through work is the biggest factor. If you don’t feel you have the safety to be honest or the space to grow in the direction that interests you, then it makes sense to part ways. I think those that stick around startups for a longer haul tend to be good at adapting to change and constantly seeking new ways to grow and develop.
Be honest: What are some of the frustrations of working in an early-stage startup? How did you deal with these frustrations?
In case it’s not abundantly clear by now, I am a startup booster and huge fan of the model. It is not for everyone though and should not be fantasized as an opportunity to make it big or do something sexy. With that in mind, the main frustration is that it’s a lot of work and you’re always fighting an uphill battle. As I mentioned earlier, you have limited resources and practically no clout. You have to get things done faster, with less help and resources, and compete with dozens (sometimes hundreds) of other priorities that your customers care about. On top of all that, if it’s your first time working with your colleagues, you have to establish value and build trust with them too. Finding ways to stay positive, not let setbacks slow you down, and continue iterating constantly are a few of the requirements of early startup success for any individual and the startup itself. On top of this, early-stage startups usually fail. You have to be comfortable with the inherent risk involved, which many people find off-putting and uncomfortable.
Honestly, there are easier ways to make money. There are lots of ways to earn a living in this world and most of them aren’t as frustrating or exhausting as working in a startup. That said, most of them aren’t as rewarding or personally expanding either. Be honest with yourself about what you want in your life at this moment in time. If the answer is growth and you can genuinely take on the risk of failure (or even find it motivating), then I would recommend joining a startup, ideally, one that is solving a problem you care about with people you want to work with, ASAP!
