What working for a start up actually means?

Working in a corporate, teaches you to be competitive, teaches you to be a team worker and all those things that help you make a fancy CV. But what working in a start-up teaches you is to go out of your way and surprise yourself. 

So now almost two years later, having worked in both, I can firmly say that these are the 6 things that you will only and only know if you ever happen to work for a crazy entrepreneur or do something of your own. 

#1- You look for freebies everywhere. Whether it is a free tool used for monitoring online or a free venue for your event; it goes unsaid free things are the way to go. If it isn't free, it isn't worth it! 

#2- Work hours mean nothing to you.

You forget the two B's essential for any workforce- balance and boundaries. You spend hours at what you call your office and include anyone and everyone who knows you in what you are doing. Even if people are not interested or tired, you make sure the conversation somehow leads to what you are currently doing. 

#3- You look at fancy offices and say - SOMEDAY! 

Since, work for you means the nearest coffee shop or the study at your place, meeting people in their lush offices does not stop you from instantly picturing yourself sitting on their comfy chair. 

#4- You wonder - why doesn't everyone feel about their work the way you do? 

The answer to that is that they aren't maniacs like you are and they actually have a LIFE! So yeah, when you meet one of those normal workers, don't be surprised to know about the exciting things in their life when all you want to talk about is your idea! 

#5- You become shameless. 

Yes, shameless is the word. You are not hassled to talk to anyone whether it is at a bar or a shopping mall and ask them for their numbers. If someone you think can help you in someway, there is nothing that comes in your way to approach them. 

#6- Your gf/bf (if in a normal job) hate you and your family thinks that you aren't really going for "work".

I have witnessed this first hand- getting out of the car outside a coffee shop all the way in Gurgaon or my boss's house always made my driver wonder what I was doing there for hours! He would tell my mother - "I don't know where she goes and what she does so you speak to her!" And my mother would have a stereotypical response-"abhi enjoy kar rahi hain, karne do". To such conversations, you just want to say - "enjoy?!, seriously?". 

Whatever said and done, the accomplishment you feel by being a part of something that gives you the feeling of owning even the tiniest of things that you do without support from others is priceless.