7 - Deciding to be a Founder vs Joiner (by Donna Levin)

So you're trying to decide if you want to be a founder or a joiner. Let's start with the founder. A founder, you're ready to steer the ship. There's an idea that you're excited about, it's a compelling problem you want to solve, or there's an opportunity that you see and you want to seize it. There's a market you believe it's large, it's growing, or there's a wave that you want to ride. Maybe there's an underserved niche market that you realize there's room for expansion. You have a co founder or a team and you guys have a good mix of complementary skill sets. The timing is right in your life where there's complete alignment and you are determined. You know that overnight success can take anywhere from 5 to 10 years and you are all in. Now let's talk about a joiner. You're looking for an adventure. It's a lifestyle, not a job. Because you realize there's an opportunity for you to learn an industry or a sector, there's a chance to rapidly grow your career. By wearing a lot of different hats, you can expand your network. Especially if you think you're going to need to build out a team in the future or potentially start your own company and you want to participate in the upside of successful startup. You're just going to make sure that you believe in this team and the mission and the market opportunity and you're going to select a company that's at the right stage for you. Good luck.