What it’s like to work at a startup

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘startup’? 🤔

Perhaps you have a preconceived notion of a small team in fast-paced environment rushing from one task to the next. Or you might imagine a handful of visionaries in a small room concocting the next tech giant and bringing it to reality (after all, every successful company was once technically a startup - some even with garages as their first HQs 🍏). 

With the fast-paced environment of a startup comes a load of perks, like steeper learning curves, more freedom, growth, and the opportunity to help build an organization from the ground-up. Working at a startup can be very attractive for those looking to make a meaningful impact, feel a sense of ownership, and see the fruits of their labor in real-time.

But there’s a little more to it than that. While startups can be extremely fun, they’re also less structured and rely more on agility and less on routine. So if you’re not willing to roll up your sleeves, be proactive, and step outside your comfort zone - a startup is probably not the place for you. And although you’ll have core responsibilities, you’ll also likely take on a bundle of tasks outside your job description - some challenging, others exciting, and a few more mundane, but each different from the next.  

Being a Dubai-grown startup ourselves, we can safely say we have a pretty good idea of what it’s like on the ground 😌. So we asked a few of our Beemies to give us their own takes, and give those of you who are curious a sneak peek into what it’s really like to work at a startup: 

"Coming from a corporate background, working at a startup felt like being thrown into another world altogether. We work at 3x the speed but grow and learn at 3x the pace. There’s also no strict hierarchy, if you want to speak to the CEO, you can call him no matter what time of the day it is. Beema’s work environment is similar to an adrenaline rush - the kind of work done here gives you a sense of achievement everyday. Most important of all I can walk in wearing a comfortable tee and jeans and expect no corporate formalities."

- Sharely Jean, Operations Executive

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"Working at a startup and being part of a more intimate team allows you to not only make more meaningful connections with your colleagues but also gain valuable & direct mentorship from those with more experience. There’s no place for phrases like “this isn’t part of my job-description” in a startup - you might be brainstorming strategies for a product launch in the morning and shopping for team goodies in the afternoon. But that’s the beauty of it - you’ll never be bored! The mundane routine of a 9-5 isn’t there and every day is different."

- Jasmine AlDameary, Marketing & Comms Executive

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"I’ve discovered that working in a startup is a voyage of self-discovery. By wearing many hats, I quickly gained insight into where my real talents lie. Nothing makes me happier than mastering new responsibilities and meeting unforeseen challenges, in other words, getting out of my defined comfort zone. The most important takeaway from my experience working in Beema is that my work actually impacts the company performance and I don't feel like just another cog in a machine."

- Krish Das, Product Manager

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"When you take the bold move of joining a startup, you always aspire to get a chance to learn the ropes not just in your current domain but others too which always intrigued you. At Beema, the flexibility provided to all of us and through mentorship and buddy programs one feels less shy and more confident in asking details, learning on the job, be part of the success story as it happens and try new things without the fear of making mistakes."

- Indraneel Jain, Chief Business Officer

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"Working at a start-up has a lot of benefits, you’ll have a lot of ‘learning while doing’. No day is the same. Yesterday could be a very normal day, tomorrow we might be coordinating an ad-hoc radio broadcast or a display on Burj Khalifa. Since we’re also a small team, we’re trusted with new challenges and are encouraged to take on tasks that are outside of our comfort zones. Whoever knows (or somewhat knows) how to do something, gets the job done."

- Marijke Beijer, Head of Marketing & Growth

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"Working at Beema is my first experience in a startup, and it taught me a lot so far. Coming from a consultancy background, I was never able to follow the evolution of a product after its launch. Seeing Beema growing in the past two years and understanding how our decisions, strategies, and designs affected the product evolution was a great experience. Being in small multidisciplinary team is also a great plus: working closely with all the stakeholders, the product owner, and the developers makes me feel part of something bigger, where everyone is pushing towards the same goal."

- Matteo Botto, Design lead

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"Moving from an agency background to a start-up was an exciting but scary move. Fast forward 2 years and It’s the best decision I’ve made – the learning curves are much steeper, and you may find yourself handling tasks that you wouldn’t have imagined would fall within your scope. Working at Beema has really been an eye opener as I’ve been fully immersed across all the functions and understand the intricacies of how to successfully scale and run a start-up. It’s been nothing short of amazing, and I can only call it the ‘Beema Experience’, something only a select few have the opportunity of trying."

- Brian Zhanda, Growth Marketing Manager