5 things I’ve loved about being a startup newbie


One of my favourite moments from the past months is getting on stage with Phil Pallen at Arctic15.

After having the most fun (and 1,5 hours long) job interview four months ago, I ended up joining the Arctic Startup team. I gotta admit that getting into the startup scene was pretty exciting after working in corporations and media organizations – and I didn’t know what expect.

Here’s five things that I’ve loved about being a startup newbie:

1. You’ll get responsibility from day one

That’s what I actually learned on my first working day, when I was suggested to travel to a conference in Norway after I had been at the office less than two hours.

Well of course I said yes immediately, though I barely even knew at that point what all we actually do as a company – And on my fourth working day I took a plane to Trondheim.

2. You never know who you’ll meet

I used to hate the word networking at the university, because it sounded to me like exploiting people. But at this scene, I feel like I’ve found people sharing the same definition of ‘networking’ with me:

It’s connecting with people in a more genuine manner not because you need to do it – but because you want to do it.

When you meet people, they’re actually interested in what do you do – And you’ll never know who they’ll introduce you to. I even got into a mastermind group for supporting my personal development through a contact I met shortly at Arctic15.

3. You can be yourself – And you’ll be liked just the way you are

My colleagues can take it even though I look like a parody figure of 90’s teen show at times at work.

In this scene where having a bit dark and twisted mind is rather appreciated – And I believe that the more myself I can be at the workplace, the more creative and productive I am.

4. Startup people are positive and fun

Some people diss the startup scene because “the people seem fake as they’re way too positive and too enthusiastic about their businesses.”

The annoying fact for those people is that we’re actually like that: We love what we do, we believe in what we do and we don’t want to hide it. I guess part of this mindset is that our everyday working life is certainly not glamorous so we need to keep up the good spirit and humor.

5. Opportunity to make a change

I love the feeling that when I go to work, I can influence in my own work and in our team’s direction everyday. Our work is all about committing to our common goals, and that’s why I would more rather call my team my work family.

I know – sounds a bit cheesy – but that’s exactly how I feel.

And this is where I found my startup job: jobs.arcticstartup.com