The 5 inevitable stages of working at a hyper-growth startup
Normalizing the ups and downs of startup life
As an early startup employee, I worked at companies on both sides of the spectrum: one that failed and another in hyper-growth.
Both experiences were extremely valuable as I got a taste of two very different fates of early-stage tech companies.
The latter is Notion, where I saw it scale from around 20 to over 500 employees within four years.
As rare as hyper-growth is, there are a number of shared experiences from working at early-stage startups that I wish were more talked about.
For those wondering what it’s like working at startups and whether you’d even enjoy it, here’s my take on the hyper-growth experience—with survival tips I wish someone had told me earlier on in my journey.
Stage 1: The steep honeymoon phase
You can always tell who’s a new hire by the twinkle in their eye. It’s a mix of anticipation, excitement, and a dash of nervous energy. But sooner than later, the thought arises:
Wait, is this what I signed up for?
The reality is, you’re getting your first taste of startup life. You realize it matters less what your initial job description is, and more about your adaptability to the evolving needs of the business.
People often talk about “wearing many hats”, but far less about how they got those hats in the first place. Many are thrown around like a game of ultimate frisbee, but sometimes the most interesting hats are hidden under a pile of rubble or collecting dust on a shelf.
My hidden hat under the rubble was the Notion for Startups program. I was itching to tackle a new problem so I asked my then-manager:
What's something you would be working on right now if you had the bandwidth?
What started as a side project to improve the company’s discount process, eventually evolved into a global program that helps startups build their companies on Notion.
I quickly learned that a valid strategy in navigating the ambiguity of startups was to find and solve problems that are important to the business. Trying to optimize for what my role was or wasn’t turned out to be a waste of time.
In other words, simply doing good work can get you far. Rather than lobbying for this role or that project, define your efforts and priorities through the sieve of this question:
What’s important for the business right now?
Your repeated efforts to answer this question will be like stacking one Lego brick after another—eventually taking shape into the trust and recognition required to take on meatier, complex projects later on.
🔑 Startup survival tip: When joining a startup, lead with curiosity instead of ego. Recognize that your role isn’t limited to the bullet points in your job description. Own and deliver on your core responsibilities, but be flexible as business needs change. Leadership is always looking for people to step up without necessarily being asked to.
Stage 2: The acclimation period
A common trope at startups is that you’re a big fish in a small pond.
You have the ownership and opportunity to create more impact as an individual—far more than you might at a larger company.
However, as an early employee, I’d argue that working at a hyper-growth startup is like wading in a puddle that expands into an ocean overnight. You simultaneously feel like a big fish making moves and a small fish struggling to acclimate.
You also start settling into one of the key advantages that startups have over big companies: a sense of urgency.
Working late nights. Some weekends. As you get used to the pace at which startups operate, you’ll feel a deepening camaraderie with your teammates.
During this period of acclimation, you might also start to feel a bit lost—especially if you’re early or mid-career.
A cauldron of thoughts can start to brew:
Am I doing this right? Am I even doing a good job?! What’s the growth trajectory of my role…
Unlike big companies, early-stage startups lack the structure and guidelines for career progression.
The reality is, the only thing that really matters for early startups is survival and traction. So until a proper HR team is built, programs around people development can fall by the wayside.
But this isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, ambiguity can present a land of opportunity. It forces you to be curious and go outside of your comfort zone in search of clarity.
That could mean exposure to business areas you didn’t know existed, raising your hand for something you may not be qualified for, and more room for trial and error—all things that are harder to access when there are set processes that place guardrails on career progression.
In the meantime, know that things like leveling and formal promotion cycles will come—quickly, too—as the company matures.
🔑 Startup survival tip: A form of mentorship can be found by simply working alongside talented colleagues. While you’re with colleagues you admire, observe their strengths, career trajectories, and how they work. Instead of just relying on your manager for career development, learning by close observation can sometimes be more effective.
Stage 3: The incredible yet fleeting highs
A successful launch. Delighted customers. Lifelong friends. And if you’re lucky, tender offers.
These are some of the highs that remind you why you took the risk to join an early-stage startup.
The level of ownership you have and the impact you’re able to create can be incredibly rewarding. Hyper-growth startups are teeming with interesting problems in the 0 to 1 stage and personally, this was my favorite part.
That being said, the hedonic treadmill in all of us runs constantly. What once were highly regarded milestones become distant blurs in the peripheral. To combat this, a previous manager once told me to start a “work diary” to not only document wins and learnings but to also keep a pulse on how I’m feeling.
Looking back, I wish I had taken more diligent notes because I way underestimated the emotional journey of working at startups.
Every strength has a shadow side and for early employees, the opposing face of a strong ownership mentality—a critical mindset at startups—is burnout.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the best at proactively managing burnout. Looking back, I realize that my own fears of “falling behind” perpetuated this, even though this fear didn’t necessarily reflect reality. Now I know that learning how to pace yourself and setting healthy boundaries is a valued skill.
So before every future milestone takes center stage, pause and ask yourself:
What did I learn?
Do I like what I’m doing?
How’s my energy level?
Contrary to the valley’s mantra of “Move fast and break things”, I’d argue that knowing when to pause is just as powerful. Otherwise, you might end up breaking yourself, and that’s much harder to fix than some code.
🔑 Startup survival tip: You don’t need to sprint as fast as the company all the time. Create a systematic way to document the tangible (e.g. impact, wins) and intangible (e.g. energy, mood) so you have the data points to forecast whether you’re heading for burnout and pace yourself accordingly. Here’s a Notion template you can use: Work Diary Template. Oh, and take that damn PTO!
Stage 4: The art of giving away your Legos
Molly Graham popularized the concept of giving away your legs—the belief that if you want to scale as fast as your company, you have to give away your job every few months.
Remember that cool hat you found recently? Yeah, time to find a new owner for it.
Sometimes it’s inevitable and even advantageous to put business needs before your own wants. Sometimes opting for a disheveled pile of legos can give you the learning opportunities you otherwise wouldn’t have.
My first rodeo at giving away my legos was actually with the Notion for Startups program. Years ago, I temporarily shifted ownership to a trusted colleague to work on unexplored areas of the business like our API beta community.
Once I handed the program off, I felt immediate regret. Though I fully trusted my colleague’s ability to scale the program, my emotional response reflected my discomfort with the process and my attachment to the program itself—and was not any sort of predictor of failure on this person’s part. I’m glad I didn’t listen to those fears and chose to hand it off anyway.
Since then, I’ve given away my legos countless times over. And trust me, it gets easier.
Here are three mindsets that helped me navigate the thrash of hyper-growth—things I learned over time but wish I had known earlier:
1. Be like water
Find the balance of being a true owner while remaining detached from the outcome.
As teams grow and new departments spin up, it’s easy to feel lost in the shuffle. What helps during this process is to be like water. Fluid and enduring. The amount of context you hold as an early employee becomes invaluable so trust in your ability to fill the gaps in a meaningful way.
2. Gain 4D perspective
Zoom out and think through the perspectives of the people around you—adjacent teams, your boss, your boss’s boss, etc. Assess their priorities, motivations, and the nuances of a given situation.
These are valuable data points to better understand why a decision was made and recognize short-term trade-offs for long-term gains.
That way, even though you’re not particularly happy about how a certain change affects you, you gain a multi-layer understanding of why it’s happening. Once you understand the big picture, you can be more strategic on how to position yourself with every shift so it’s more of a win-win for both you and the company.
With every company change, you can never make everyone happy. Change is constant so nothing is permanent.
3. Regulate your emotions
Getting good at regulating your emotions is a hugely underrated advantage. By processing (note: not dismissing) your emotions quickly, you can act with a clear head and maintain a keen sense of self-awareness to notice any blind spots. A level of maturity is required to think through multiple perspectives and not take things personally. And most importantly, recognize that strong emotions are normal! Sometimes it’s easy to forget that we’re just human.
🔑 Startup survival tip: Find genuine friends at work. Having a healthy, uplifting support system can sometimes be the only thing holding you over during a difficult time. If you’re feeling or experiencing something, chances are, your colleagues are too.
Phase 5: The pains and privilege of scaling
There’s a certain inflection point during the hyper-growth phase when the company’s trajectory takes a life of its own.
A manic rate of change unfolds during a condensed period of time: seasoned executives flood in; reorgs happen left and right; the entire company no longer fits on a single zoom screen; and so much more.
It can be a painful experience. It’s also an incredible privilege.
On one hand, you see the company “grow up” and if you’re super early, it can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
On the other hand, it’s easy for early employees to get left behind, either because they can’t adapt as quickly as the company is scaling, or they no longer enjoy the company it has evolved to become.
A question to ask yourself during this stage:
Is this still the right company for me?
Every couple of months, the company will be different, look different, and act different. Same mission and soul (hopefully), but everything else will evolve because it must.
As you ponder this question, just remember that working at a hyper-growth company involves inevitable growing pains—experiences that I believe to be more shared than not. And it’s during these painful transitions that you can grow far beyond what you thought you were capable of.
Fail to recognize the question, however, and you risk feeling like a rag doll tied to a race car.
🔑 Startup survival tip: Be open-minded during this period. You might discover solutions and new problems to tackle that you didn’t realize existed at the onset. Also, consider inviting a trusted colleague or mentor into your thought process—that way, you can ensure any big decision you make is not an emotional one but aligned with your needs and values.
The moments in between
The faster a company scales, the quicker you’ll move through these stages. Over time, the delta between the highs and lows feels smaller; each twist and turn less jarring.
The constant change and ambiguity at early startups—however difficult and sometimes painful—is a big part of what keeps me going.
But regardless of which stage you find yourself in, I’d argue that the most important moments are the ones in between.
These are the moments of pause to reorient yourself and check your inner compass.
Note to readers
Thank you for reading! I hope this essay helps demystify what it’s like to work at fast-growing companies.
Did something resonate?
Did I miss a stage?
Let me know in the comments.
Awesome reflection :)
This is really a good read. As someone who just transitioned from big tech to a hyper-growth startup, I look forward in applying your survival tips! P.S. I want to surpass this steep honeymoon phase so bad.