My Journey from the Corporate World to Building a Startup
By Susan So, Founder of FirstScreen
Pre-pandemic, I spent 20+ years in corporate with an enviable LinkedIn network, a fancy job title, and enough office experience to relaunch “The Office” for another 5 seasons.
I specialized in business operations for advertising media companies. I loved it there. Like Stockholm syndrome, I thrived with stress. I oversaw multiple shifts, multiple cities, multiple time zones. I embraced the “open all days but Christmas” mentality. My wise GenZ kids (rightfully so) would never submit to this kind of work arrangement. But hey, we didn’t have a pandemic for reflection.
My teams spanned North America and overseas. I managed unionized and non-unionized workers, contractors, full-timers, and vendors. I had a variety pack of direct managers. Most were incredible leaders who were generous with their time and knowledge. They trusted and motivated me. They taught me lessons, which I didn’t realize were lessons until long after I left. I also had horrible bosses, who were actually horrible people, but provided valuable learnings nonetheless.
The companies I worked for were the opposite of start-ups. They were mighty within their market sectors, had strong brand recognition, and a ton of clout. Inevitably, there would be an acquisition, a merger, Sr. leadership re-org. There was constant change within the upper ranks. Nothing stood still.
There are a lot of lessons that I took from my time in corporate and apply to the startup world, here are a few of them:
Love what you do.
Regardless of where you are, you need to enjoy what you do. You don’t need to enjoy all parts of the job, but find something about the job that satisfies you. I love the constant collaboration and camaraderie from matrix organizations. There was usually somebody smarter in the room than you. In startup – you initially don’t have a team. You start out as your own self-contained amoeba and spend most of your time building your team. Your “team” are not only employees, but they can be your business advisors, co-founders, early clients, industry influencers, and believers in your product. It's so satisfying to convert betas to paying, from the “I am not sure” to “You have a great product”. The ability to prove the value and expand your network is what keeps you going.
Work Hard.
I don’t regret working the hours I did in corporate. It was training for the start up life. In a start-up, weekends and evenings are the accepted second shift. Time spent bringing to life, a product of passion-doesn't feel like work. But I don't impose my typical work schedule on my employees. There are boundaries, and a fast way to kill team morale is to set unrealistic expectations.
Test and Pivot.
For corporate, it's hard to pivot. 1 or 2-year plans have been submitted to a board, or investors, or already inked in an annual report. Succeed or fail, you need to stay the course. For early-stage companies, validation and testing are constant. Test everything- the product, the market, the pricing. Make assumptions, test, pivot. It's ok to fail, it will help point you in the right direction.
They call this era, the great resignation. It's not. It was the great PIVOT. The lockdown(s) was a FORCED PAUSE to take stock of what they had. Lots of people were grateful to work in companies that protected them and had their backs. Others moved to roles that made them happier. Startups don’t need a pandemic to make them change course. It’s inherent to change course when things don’t work.
Be Kind.
Simply put - don’t be a rat-fink and be kind, because nobody wants to help a jerk. When I left corporate and engaged my talented network, so many were beyond gracious with their time. There have been many conversations ending with “How can I help?”. I like to think that I've secured this genuine support because I am well-liked. I led corporate teams because I was taught by some of my best managers to lead with kindness, empathy, and credibility. Regardless of whether you're in corporate or a startup - be kind and authentic, and expect nothing back. The universe is fair, quiet generosity is always repaid.
Be that swiss army knife.
In corporate, I was responsible for 2-3 disciplines. In startup, I am responsible for everything. Out of necessity, I’ve become that all-in-one, human swiss army knife. Certainly, working corporate offered a solid foundation of the core competencies needed to run a business. Whether tech stacks, investor decks, sales decks, customer guides, financial forecasts, Instagram, or CRMs – as a founder, you need to know it all. But knowing it isn’t the same as doing it. Build that team, and trust them to do their jobs. Hoarding tasks is a recipe for disaster. It is completely fine to struggle in the beginning. Recover and keep going.
In conclusion
My intentions for starting my company were simple. I wanted to create something that would benefit society. I had the institutional experience and confidence to do this. I will leverage 20 years of corporate experience for a shot to lead something great.
I am often asked, do I prefer corporate or startUp? To answer honestly – I like both equally. Both have brought me invaluable moments of joy, and both have been challenging. Corporate battle scars make me a confident founder. I know how to build teams, win, fail, execute and motivate. And most importantly, I trust the free fall spirit of startups. I can’t say for sure where I’d end up, but I trust that my corporate experience will get me to a soft landing.