Career Growth Strategies in Startups and MNCs

We obsess over growing companies but rarely give our careers the same care. Most people chase bigger titles, often by job-hopping, skipping the growth stages needed to build real skills. This rush for title inflation can lead to burnout or worse - being fired. Funny enough, startups face similar challenges. Fundraising too early creates unsustainable pressure. So here is a fun analogy for you - just like startups, careers should grow through stages: Series A = Individual Contributor: Find your niche and prove your value. Series B = Principal: Hone expertise and scale impact. Series C = Manager: Lead others while expanding influence. IPO = Executive: Balance strategy, scrutiny, and sustainable growth. And we can learn something from startups... such as: 1.  You need to know your "Product-Market Fit" - align your strengths with market needs, avoiding areas you dislike or lack skill in. 2. Know thy customer by focusing on industries or roles that suit your strengths. 3. Choose managers and companies (investors!) that will support your growth. 4. Seek mentors (angels!) for guidance. 5. You'll have to expand and evolve your PMF, but do so strategically by continuously building on your core strengths. 6. Fight against being a generalist (aka, general marketer or pm)- specialization creates differentiation. 7. Not every career is meant to reach executive stage (aka going IPO). Some are perfectly content with Series C or below. Many more deets on my blog: https://lnkd.in/g_YAtpUY #career

I worked in both India and US. In Fortune 500s (3L+ employees) and startups (4-8 people) handling both tech and business roles. If you’re at the crossroads of corporate vs startup, tech vs business, India vs US, this might save you a few hard lessons: 1️⃣ Big companies teach you process. Startups teach you hustle. MNCs are machines. Everything’s structured. Startups are chaos. You figure it out as you go. You need both muscles. 2️⃣ Tech people who get business win. Business people who get tech win. If you can code but don’t get why the product exists = stuck. If you can pitch but don’t get how it’s built = replaceable. Bridge both. 3️⃣ Meetings suck. But alignment sucks more. Hated meetings at MNCs. Avoided them at startups. But the truth: A 15-min sharp meeting beats weeks of people pulling in opposite directions. Learn to run one well. 4️⃣ The US teaches ownership. India teaches resilience. In the US, you’re expected to take charge. In India, you’re expected to figure things out with jugaad. Mix both = lethal combo. 5️⃣ Comfort is dangerous. MNC stability feels great until your skills starts rusting up. Startup grind feels exhilarating until you realize you are going in circles. Make sure you are learning new skills or domain knowledge or insider tricks of the trade every single day. 6️⃣ Your network will open more doors than your resume. The guy you helped at a failing startup? Might call you 5 years later with an offer. Play long-term games with good people. 7️⃣ Communication beats credentials. I’ve seen Ivy grads who couldn’t explain simple ideas. And college dropouts who could rally teams. Learn to talk. Write. Sell. Doesn’t matter where you work. 8️⃣ Burnout sneaks up differently everywhere. MNC: Drowning in processes & politics. Startup: Drowning in work & uncertainty. Either way, protect your mental bandwidth early. 9️⃣ Careers aren’t ladders. They’re zigzags. I’ve switched countries, industries, functions. Failed projects. Wrong turns. It all stacks up. No one has it figured out. Keep moving. That’s it. No magic hacks. Just things I wish I’d internalized earlier. #careerlongcuts

“You need 5+ years of experience for a leadership role in India.” If you still believe that in 2025, you are missing your shot at the role you deserve. The biggest myth in Indian hiring? Leadership is about tenure. The truth? It’s about proof. Here’s what most candidates do: → Wait for years, collecting experience like badges. → Assume “senior” means “ready.” → Overlook the skills they’re already using every day. Here’s what happened with one of my candidates — a coder with just 2 years of experience. She wanted to lead, but every job post screamed, “5+ years required.” Instead of giving up, she used a strategy that most overlook: ✔️ She showcased leadership, not just code. Instead of listing projects, she highlighted moments where she mentored interns, led sprints, and solved team bottlenecks. ✔️ She quantified her results. Recruiters at companies like TCS and Wipro don’t care about buzzwords. They care about numbers. “Optimized code, cutting server costs by 20%,” stands out more than “Wrote efficient code.” ✔️ She built visibility inside and outside her company. She shared learnings on LinkedIn, contributed to open-source, and participated in hackathons, making her a known problem-solver, not just another coder. ✔️ She asked for feedback and used it. Every review, every suggestion, became a stepping stone to growth. She didn’t wait for the annual appraisal to level up. ✔️ She applied for roles that “felt out of reach.” She didn’t filter herself out. She let the results speak for themselves. ✔️ She told her story with confidence. In interviews, she didn’t apologize for her age or experience. She owned her achievements and showed how her skills matched the company’s needs. The result? She landed a team lead role at a top MNC, beating out candidates with twice her experience. If you wait for permission to lead, you’ll be waiting forever. Leadership is proven, not granted. My top tips for you: 1/ Audit your projects: Where did you take initiative, solve problems, or help others grow? 2/ Quantify your impact, numbers speak louder than titles. 3/ Build your brand: share your journey, mentor others, and let your influence grow beyond your job description. 4/ Never let a number on a job post define your potential. Because while everyone else is counting years, you’ll be the one making years count. #leadership #skills #careergrowth #linkedinforcreators #dreamjob

Startup or MNC? Consulting or Industry? Your Data career path can be drastically different depending on the environment you grow I've had the wish + luck + opportunity to work in various ones which can be grouped in 4 categories Then reached out to some friends for additional feedback Then consolidated pros & cons and voilà 🔶 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲/𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 You'll face a (very) fast pace with tons of responsibilities & many opportunities to learn. But you'll have few resources & a blurry career path ✔️ -Impactful work, your contributions are highly visible and influential -Closer relationships, you know people by name -Greater autonomy & faster growth ❌ -AI/Data/BI engineer/analyst/scientist can be 1 person -Training is often "buy a Udemy course" -Best practices & networks are pretty limited 🔶 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 You get to see diverse projects & challenges in different industries using various tools. That comes with STEEP learning curve and high workload ✔️ -Skill development is superb incl. technical, soft, communication & PM skills -Networking opportunities are unbeatable as clients, managers, peers and alumni can greatly boost your future career growth -Career progress feels like a step ladder but can be climbed fast ❌ -Tight deadlines. EOD means literally end-of-day -Frequent travels may be required -Rotating projects & teams (not always a con) 🔶 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 You'll have more stability, benefits & a well-defined org structure. But, that comes with higher bureaucracy and slower pace ✔️ -Specialized roles and high expertise since you aren't the sole engineer/analyst -Internal mobility to other depts -Established processes, great range of projects, access to many resources & tools ❌ -ok-ish career progress & growth opportunities  -Visibility & impact on data projects is harder -Problem is mainly processes rather than Tech 🔶 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 (𝐌𝐍𝐂) You get global exposure & extensive resources. But in the grand scheme of things you're just an ID, you won't be able to move the needle for a loong time ✔️ -Global reach & option to work on cross-border projects with diverse teams -Robust training programs, tools & brand recognition -Higher internal career mobility since you can move across depts, functions or countries ❌ -Limited autonomy as decisions are often centralized and/or rigid -Strict policies for everything -Long chains of command 💡 Long story short, fast pace, high visibility, huge impact go small. Specialized roles, structured environment, huge cross-functional teams, go big #data #analytics #career PS ofc exceptions do exist You may work on a single legacy system for 1 customer for 2+ years in a consultancy or you may have the opportunity to work with world-class talents globally in a startup with <10 people Also, there are large companies built on Excels and small companies built on top-tier tools DYOR (do-your-own-research)