Why Your Career Needs to Be a Startup

The Startup of You

In 2012, long before "Generative AI" or "Big Data" were buzzwords, Reid Hoffman (co-founder of LinkedIn) and Ben Casnocha published The Startup of You. The book's main idea is that in an era where technology is constantly changing the job market, having just one stable job for life is no longer a given.

We used to think of a career as a lifelong commitment, with many people working for a single company their entire lives. That's rarely the case any more. Our professional lives are more dynamic than ever, and treating a career path as if it's set in stone is simply unrealistic.

Reid suggests we should adopt an entrepreneurial mindset. This doesn’t mean you have to quit your job and launch a company, but rather that you should treat your career as if it's in "permanent beta." Think of a beta prototype—a product that a company launches before it's completely finished.

It might have bugs, a clunky user interface, or features that aren't quite useful yet. But what do companies do? They fix it. They develop, launch, learn from feedback, and iterate. The product keeps evolving, and so should we.

Your career, like a product, should constantly be evolving as you grow—not just when you're unemployed or actively looking for a new job. You have to be prepared. But how?

First, you have to know your competitive advantage. Every good product leverages its strengths to compete in the market, and so should you. A simple way to identify your strengths is to consider three things:

• Your Assets: These are your skills (both technical and transferable) and your industry experience.
• Your Aspirations: This is your "why." Maybe you want to be a consultant for the steep learning curve. Money is a factor for everyone, but it's rarely enough on its own. If you only prioritise money, you risk burning out. There are many ways to make money—why this way?
• The Market: Your skills and ideas must meet a market need. A brilliant idea is useless if the market isn't ready—Uber couldn't have existed before smartphones. Similarly, your skills must be relevant. Even if you're the most skilled carpenter in the world, your earning potential is limited unless you can adapt those skills to what the market values, perhaps by positioning yourself as a bespoke artist or designer.

Combining these three gives you a clear picture of your competitive edge. But the hard truth is, we might not be the best in our field. So, how do we win? It depends. If becoming a CEO is too competitive, starting as a CEO's right-hand person isn't a bad idea. It's like loving football but not being a top-tier player. You can either quit or accept it and start in a smaller league. It might not be the dream, but it's a strategic trade-off.

Once you know your strengths, you need a plan. The Plan ABZ framework is a great tool for this.

Plan A is what you're doing right now—your current career path.

Plan B is what you want to pivot to or experiment with. If you're a project manager (Plan A) who's curious about product management (Plan B), knowing this gives you direction. You can start experimenting by taking on a side project, talking to people in that role, or doing an online course.

If you like it, great. You can make a move. Exploring a new role while you still have a full-time job saves you a lot of stress. If you don't like it, that's fine too. You can just look for a new experiment. When your Plan B succeeds, it becomes your new Plan A, creating room for a new Plan B.

Plan Z is your lifeboat. It's your worst-case-scenario plan for when everything goes wrong (e.g., moving back in with your parents for three months while you freelance and look for a job). It’s not ideal, but having a Plan Z frees you from the stress of uncertainty and makes you bolder with your other plans.

Why only A, B, and Z? Because the world changes too quickly to plan every step from A to Z. New jobs emerge and disappear every day. Focussing too far into the future can make you less adaptable to reality.

Now, it’s your turn. Adopt an entrepreneurial mindset and take control of your professional life. Like any great product, a great career takes time to polish, but it's always worth the investment.