Why "Operating Like a Startup" is a Lie

You know what I think? Probably not. And you probably don’t care. That’s fine by me — I just need an outlet for my thoughts.

I think large enterprises and organizations should stop saying they need to “operate like startups.” I know it’s a controversial take.

The reason is simple: you have zero stake in the outcome.

Sure, you might get some equity and pay bumps, but your impact is infinitely limited. A startup values dedication and passion because the stakes are real. If it goes bust — and it often does — you lose everything. At a startup, you can directly see your impact. You see the bug fix that closed a deal, the feature that made a user smile, or the feature you built that was so personal it never would have survived enterprise bureaucracy.

That’s why the “startup culture” in a big company will always fail. You can’t incentivize me to care like it’s a startup because I know my impact is tied to something I’m usually not passionate about.

But here’s the twist: that constraint is actually useful. The monotonous nature of large enterprises has pushed me to think outside the box just to keep myself happy. I’ve learned to use the boredom as a sandbox. My best ideas don’t come from the hustle — they come from the gaps in the process.

And that’s a rant for another day.