Start-up, Year Two

As my tiny company hovers on the brink of non-existence, I recently passed my second-year employment anniversary. Here's how the numbers shake out for 2013:

(Year One Stats)

Time
"Standard" 40-hour work weeks: 2
45-60 hour weeks: 46
60+ hour weeks: 4
Total hours where I've been the only employee in the facility: >300
Weekends worked: 4
Holiday + vacation + sick days used: 29
Paycheck snafus: 3

Chemistry
Total Reactions Run (2011-2013): >850
Synthesized compounds evaluated in disease models: 10
Total NMR Experiments (2011-2013): >1,150
Total Papers Downloaded (2011-2013): >2,200
Total Inventory Chemicals: 380
Fume Hood Failures: 3
Total boxes of gloves used (2011-2013): 23

People
Turnover (2011-2013): 70%
Company Interviewees: 7
Happy Hours: 1

Biz Dev
Grants Submitted: 12
Teleconferences: 63
Conferences / Events: 14
Slide Decks constructed: 36
Presentations: 5
Total Business Cards Distributed (2011-2013): 400+ 
Total Reimbursed Mileage (2011-2013): 3,100+

Ephemera
Total Purchase Orders (2011-2013): 317
Continuing Ed / Training Classes: 20 hours
Holiday Parties: 0

Perks

There's a pithy NY Times round-up of the free food and services NYC tech start-ups lavish on their employees. (SPOILER - they sound awesome):

"Within my first week of working at a start-up, I acquired a gut. The reason was obvious: there was free food everywhere, it was delicious and I was nervous . . .on Monday, warm cookies from the Upper West Side bakery Levain appeared in the kitchen. Buttercream cupcakes followed; apparently it was somebody’s birthday. (It is always somebody’s birthday.) At noon, employees gathered for a catered lunch of barbecue. Two hours later, a Pinkberry station rolled into the office with the full battery of toppings."

The author raises the stakes in each paragraph, moving from free food to beer, coffee, yogurts, fancy juices, then up to concert tickets, in-office manicures, nap times, and - I am not making this up - a room full of puppies.

Wowzers.

Back in my day (in *cough* late '90s small biotech), I distinctly recall watching the first Keurigs pump out decadent self-serve coffee pods, and thinking how lucky we were to have such a great gizmo. Later, I toured a boom-times GSK, noting agog the subsidized food, dry cleaning, in-house gym, etc.

My favorite quote from the article comes courtesy of tech titan Nolan Bushnell, Atari founder (emphasis mine):

"Mr. Bushnell of Atari, a veteran of the start-up world, was asked where he draws the line between 'productive perk' and 'wanton decadence.' His answer: Well, he doesn’t.

'I’ve often felt that it is somehow wrong to have an engineer spend any time at all scrubbing his own toilet,' he said. 'It sounds elitist, but these people are highly important to the economy and to the company. Offering maid service to them as a perk makes total sense.'"

Amazing. Would that all start-ups felt the same way.*

*By my count, I've scrubbed my toilet at least 40 times since starting at my current job. Par for the course. I've heard of start-ups with trash and mop duty, too. 

Friday Fun - Startup: Year One

I mentioned before that I work for a tiny company; we're bigger than 'virtual,' but smaller than the Dirty Dozen. Recently, I passed my first anniversary at this gig, and, inspired by Alison Frontier's "Not Voodoo" site, I decided to recap our wild and woolly first year. All stats refer to myself only, unless otherwise specified.

"How about...Saturday?"
Credit: 20th Century Fox

Time
"40-hour" work weeks: 3
40-60 hour weeks: 43
60+ hour weeks: 6
Weekends worked: 5
Holiday + vacation + sick days used: 24

Supplies Used
9" pipettes, boxes: 12
Teflon tape rolls: 1
Dow Corning grease tubes: 1
Scin vial flats: 5
NMR tubed purchased: 10
NMR tubes "acquired": 23
Boxes of gloves: 14
Gloveboxes: 1
Syringe needles: 500+
Broken Erlenmeyers: 15

New vendor accounts: 17
Purchase Orders: 186

People
Turnover: 50%
Facility visitors: 130+
Business Cards Distributed: 150+
Group Lunches: 48

Milestones, 1958
Credit: Columbia

Happy Hours: 2

Milestones
Reactions Run: 455
Grants Submitted: 3
Papers Downloaded: 1,500+
Inventory Chemicals: 200+
Books purchased: 5
Multi-gram batches of API delivered: 2

Ephemera
Auctions: 25
Trips up to the roof for repairs: >10
Waste pickups: 5
(Small) Explosions: 2
Lost power: twice
Trucks rented: 11
Continuing Ed / Training Classes: 48 hours
Visits by elected officials: 1
Lab coats destroyed: 2
Hot plate malfunctions: 7
Facility alarm tripped: once
Reimbursed Mileage: 1,600+

Cups of coffee brewed, between everyone: 1,400+

Pharma's 'Four Horsemen' - Small Companies Benefit

As the economy struggles to escape recession, many incentives of the "stable corporate job" once taken for granted have disappeared. Eight-hour work day? Nope. Full benefits, perhaps with retirement? Nowhere I've worked. Flexible work hours, or the ability to vacation without checking email? Don't even think about turning off that cell phone!

Yeah, some days. Only, with a lab coat.
Source: SciAm Blogs / istockphoto

I'll admit, I had spent some time in pharma when it seemed to have no upper limit: company parties, annual bonuses, guest lecturers, the whole enchilada. But nowadays, with news of mass layoffs at every major chemistry firm, and certain sites closing altogether, I've had the discussion several times about whether we'll ever see salad days again.


One of my ex-'Big Pharma' contacts forwarded along a cheery little document from Cliff Ennico, a lawyer who appears to specialize in small business and entrepreneurship. He had visited their campus to suggest potential career routes for laid-off employees. The tract essentially advocates for self-reliance through small business ownership, skill development, and networking. But his ideology caught me off guard: he compares current corporate practice to the Apocalypse! 


Here's Ennico's "Four Horsemen of Corporate America:"


Computers - If your function can be automated, you might be next on the chopping block.


Overseas Competition - China and India are specifically mentioned, which segues to...


Outsourcing - Well, if you haven't sent med-chem work to CROs, or offshore, you're in the minority. For another example, consider the contract positions seen on ACS Careers (three months, really?)


Overwork - Quoth the paper: 

"Big corporations these days are obsessed with 'maximizing productivity,' which often translates [to] 'getting the maximum amount of work out of your employees for the minimum amount of compensation.'"

"Hang on . . .which one of us was Outsourcing, again?"
Source: photobucket.com, user: the_pug

So, all doom and gloom, right? Well, maybe so, maybe not. After mass 'Big Pharma' layoffs, small companies - like mine - tend to benefit from an influx of well-trained, poised people ready to try something new. And while the hours are still long, and the pace hectic, it's both humbling and exhilarating to watch something grow from the ground up. Best part? They'll need you to "pinch-hit" on a variety of projects, which imparts some job security.


New grads, post-docs: Make sure to think 'small' when filling out those job applications. It's stressful, sure, but well worth the effort.