Back to Corporate

 Great to be back after a vacation that always feels short and hectic :) 

Anyway, here is the update that I had promised after I get back and here it is - I have decided to move back to the corporate world after a brief stint at the start up world.. which btw if fascinating..

So why don't we come up with a list of how both these environments score against certain parameters... as I have been asked upteen number of times, how it is working for a startup and what is different, etc.

Category	Startup Environment	Corporate world
Customer Interaction	I loved that I got to talk to customers ALL the time. Got constant feedback and really understood customer problems	It was not easy to reach the customers admist multiple layers, and mostly problems were assumptions, and feedback non-existent
Team work	Everyone is vested, and being small team really helps bond	Existed in pockets and I have some great teams in most companies
Product	Being close to customer, we delivered exactly what they wanted… which gives tremendous satisfaction as a PM	Again worked on great products in various places, and some products could have possibly not solved the customer problem, not at first
WLB	Contrary to popular opinion, I did have a good WLF. Some weekends were not mine I would admit	I had a lot more US working time than Indian as I worked for MNCs. I was not a big fan of this aspect
Stability	There were times I could not build as there was no money/ bandwidth with juggling priorities	Never had to cut a sorry figure as we did soo much planning! And of course resources were plentiful
Comfort	From parking to food, everything was not easily available	Well free everything, including access to best facilities/ perks

The last point might seem a bit unimportant but trust me these things add up... when you are used to a certain way of professional life.

I will end it here saying I am joining a company which the India head, described as Corporate still functioning as a Startup so I hope I get the best of both worlds!