Morning Brew - 🏚️ Starter upper

🪑The Pipersong meditation chair is the solution for any WFHer who just can’t get comfy. You can sit tons of different ways throughout the day for maximum comfort (and fun!). It’s honestly a chair to end all (office) chairs.

Need to get hyper focused? Hop in on a Spacetime Monotasking session, where you zero in on a single task over Zoom with fellow “monotaskers” who hold you accountable for your productivity. (Note: The first session is free!)

🪜Career progression is about peer-to-peer relationship-building as much as it’s about seeking out mentorships from higher-ups. This HBR article has useful tips for navigating and cultivating relationships with your colleagues in the trenches.

What’s top of mind at the watercooler.

Once upon a time, the perception of startup culture was all ping-pong tables and kombucha on tap. But as tiny startups grew into hugely profitable companies like Uber and Netflix, more people are clamoring to get in on some of those sweet stock options. Still, for every Airbnb, there’s a WeWork or a Jawbone. So, while working at an early-stage startup can be exciting and rewarding, it could also quickly become insolvent. To learn more about what to consider before joining a startup, Sidekick spoke with Joe Karasin, head of growth marketing at startup CircleIt, and Ethan Charlip from HeadStart, a PR agency for startups.

“The risk-reward [aspect of startup culture] is really personal,” said Karasin. So we implore you to ask yourself: Does this mission align with my values? Are the sacrifices worth being a part of this work? What’s the potential payoff?

For Karasin, who personally aligns himself with CircleIt’s mission to help users send letters and gifts to loved ones in the future, moving to a startup he believed in was the right move. Likewise, Charlip made a conscious decision to move to his fledgling company because he saw great potential in the opportunity.

So if you’re considering a startup position, consider these factors:

• You might work long hours. “If you want a steady 9 to 5, don’t take a job at a startup,” said Karasin. Even if on paper you have fixed office hours, setting the company up for success will sometimes require late nights, early mornings, and weekends. You may also need to relocate.
• You’ll have responsibilities outside of your role. Now that Charlip is at a 15-person company, he handles a lot more than he did before. Still, he says going to a startup is a good way to gain skills and climb the career ladder faster.
• You may have less job security. Those early days of funding are critical, and the company could fail. “When you’re at an already established company, you know that tomorrow—or a week from now, or a year from now—not much is going to change.” Charlip said. “[But at a startup] sometimes funding changes, or you realize that the market penetration isn’t where you thought it was.”
• You may not get the same benefits. A startup likely won’t have the funds to give you a 401(k), health insurance, commuter benefits, education discounts, or other competitive benefits larger companies can afford. However, startups might offer newer, more progressive benefits like unlimited PTO, four-day workweeks, and mental health days.
• Teams are tight-knit, and there’s more visibility. In the early days, you and your coworkers will be in the trenches together, which may forge stronger bonds. “Because you’re a much smaller group, the work culture is going to be much more in your face. You can hide from it a little bit at a larger company. You can’t do that when there are only 15 of you,” said Charlip. “At my last job, I knew I was just a cog in the wheel. At this job, I feel much more appreciated.”
• The work might be rewarding. There’s nothing better than feeling passionate about your job. For Karasin, it’s the shared drive and mission—and the memory of his mom—that makes it all worth it. “I believe so firmly in what we’re doing for people and what this technology is going to do for everybody eventually. I don’t really look at it like a job. It’s just part of who I am.”—SS

Your punch list for when you punch out.

Listen: Nineteen-year-old Alfie Jukes has a sweet face, a quirky style, and pipes, honey! Check out his incredible covers on TikTok and show him some love for his original song, “kinda wish.”

Read: Everybody wants to take a little bite of the fame machine, but not everyone gets the bag that comes with being famous. On TikTok, anyone can go viral, but few get the cash.

Eat: Remember when you used to hide in the closet and sneak sweets before dinner? Well you’re an adult now, so you can whip up some of these super chocolatey, super sweet vegan Hostess-inspired cupcakes and eat them all.

Feel good: Get your daily dose of positivity with The Daily Good, a 30-second newsletter delivered to your inbox with soothing playlists, sustainable recipes, inspiring articles, and more.

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Pearls of career wisdom.

“I come from a long lineage of entrepreneurs who have shaped my understanding of what it means to lead a business with intention. One [lesson I’ve learned] is that it’s my job to efficiently solve problems and to expect that there will be challenges every single day.

[When facing those challenges,] know what tools ground you and keep you looking forward. For some, that’s goal-setting and checking in on those goals. For others, it’s getting outside and into nature. The key is to know what works for you and to do that so you continue to push on despite the roadblocks.”—Roxana Saidi, founder and CEO of Táche