One of the core principles of the economy is that risk and
reward must be in balance. Joining a new company usually means smaller salary
for the employer, but company shares in return and, therefore, higher
compensation in the long term.
Over the last decade, more and more IT firms have succeeded, because the
software development is easier, servers can be rented from clouds and more
capital and know-how is available. In Estonia, many start-ups have
managed to build companies worth hundreds of millions of Euros, whereby, many
talents see that the potential to earn more money in the future outweighs the
short-term drop in wages.
For instance, all employees in Taxify are eligible for company shares that,
with rapid growth, may be worth up to 30 annual salaries. The purpose of this
is to motivate employees to think like owners and focus on the longer
perspective instead of monthly targets like on “ordinary” positions.
Secondly, there are thousand of jobs in the market, which offer two or even
three times higher salaries than average. For people with that kind of income,
extra 300€ will not bring a remarkable improvement in the life quality,
therefore, the company’s mission becomes much more important.
After interviewing hundreds of candidates, I have noticed that people care
rather about how their work affects people’s lives and how they can make a
difference in the world. Typically, people set working in a casino, instant
loan firm or even bank as an example of an establishment they do not want to
work in, because these establishments are perceived as usury at the expense of
ordinary people. Instead, they prefer companies, whose values and vision they
can relate to.
Thirdly, it’s increasingly important for people to have a chance for personal
development. Bigger companies struggle to provide it as the structure is
already well-established and most of the positions already filled. In a start-up,
everyone has much greater responsibility and along with the growth, new
positions open up, where people can learn new things.
Based on my experience, I
can confidently say that it pays off to give a chance to young people. For
instance, people in Taxify have moved on from being a customer support
specialist to head accountant and expansion manager.
Another advantage start-ups have is a flexible structure
between employers and team leaders that promotes sharing ideas and opinions
inside the company. This way employees can contribute to topics not
specifically related to their tasks. Fresh ideas may come from anyone. Considering
employee’s suggestions and feedback promotes both the growth of the company, as
well as personal development for people.