3 Things You’ll NEVER Hear at a Seed-Stage Startup
Startups win because their customer-centric culture avoids these 3 ridiculous phrases commonly heard in large company hallways.
Startups are dynamic, fast-moving entities, laser-focused on finding product-market fit. As Steve Blank famously put it, “A startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model,” not just a smaller version of a large company.
Similar to steering a speedboat versus a massive cargo tanker, the way startups and big businesses operate is fundamentally different. This becomes especially clear when you compare what’s said in the hallways of larger companies (500 to 50,000+ employees) to what’s never said in the crowded office of a seed-stage startup of just 5-10 people.
Here are three things you’ll never hear at a seed-stage startup:
1) “My Boss’s Boss Said…”
At a seed-stage startup, there are no “boss’s bosses” to consider. The small team size means there’s no hierarchy to navigate and no layers of management to filter decisions. Everyone sits in the same room—just as my 4-person team did when working on our startup Triangulate in 2009—and decisions are made quickly and collaboratively.
Within larger companies, there is much more distance between those doing the work and those calling the shots. Communication can feel like a game of telephone, with messages getting diluted or misinterpreted along the way. At a startup, there’s no time for positioning; it’s about getting to the right answer, not pleasing distant higher-ups.
2) “We Just Did a Re-org”
The concept of a reorganization is practically unheard of at a seed-stage startup. At large companies, reorgs happen regularly, with teams getting shuffled around to optimize efficiency or align with shifting strategies. More often than not, these reorgs become an exercise in rearranging desks without any real progress being made.
At a startup, there’s no time for navel-gazing; everyone wears multiple hats, and roles evolve organically as needed. There are no committees planning these shifts—just a group of people working together to move the needle. The alignment between startup employees and customers is naturally higher because everyone is focused on solving the same problem, rather than worrying about who reports to whom.
3) “This Market Isn’t Worth Our Time”
At big companies, it’s common to hear, “This market isn’t big enough for us to pursue,” especially if it doesn’t represent billions of dollars in potential revenue. Startups, on the other hand, thrive on exploring tiny, emerging markets that larger companies often overlook.
For a startup, the excitement doesn’t emerge from reading a Gartner report or some industry analyses. Instead an entrepreneur comes to life when they see a customer’s eyes light up as they realize how your product could solve their problem. While large corporations may look to teams of analysts and researchers to identify market opportunities, startups rely on customer conversations and real-world feedback. What big companies dismiss as too small or risky, startups see as untapped potential.
The differences between seed-stage startups and larger companies are striking, especially when it comes to mindset and decision-making. Startups excel by operating with agility, communicating quickly and effectively, and focusing on discovery. With no unnecessary hierarchies, no time for internal reorganizations, and no market too small, startups create an environment where innovation can thrive.
Ubiquity Ventures — led by Sunil Nagaraj — is a seed-stage venture capital firm focused on startups solving real-world physical problems with "software beyond the screen", often using smart hardware or machine learning.
If your startup fits this description, fill out the 60-second Ubiquity pitch form and you’ll hear back shortly.