Are they asking too much of me?

Question

Or am I just whining?

Background: I work for a "startup," which I put in air quotes because the company has been around for 4 years. We have about 40 employees in three offices, 9 here plus some part time. We have a good amount of investment and bring in about 75% of what we spend (so not profitable just yet.) Standard work week is supposed to be about 60 hours, but they justify that as we have to be online when our international (Taiwan and Vietnam) offices are awake.

When I started the job 6 months ago, I spent about a month prototyping an iphone app and did really well on my own. They also found out about my facebook applications and how many users they got. Putting 2 and 2 together (and winding up at -7) they realized 1. I'm independent and innovative (because I was able to use stackoverflow to answer my iOS questions instead of bugging my superiors) and 2. I must have an eye for marketing (since my fb apps grew totally organically without me doing any advertising), and assigned me to a project optimizing adwords campaigns. Today I got reviewed, and then chewed out, by our CEO for not totally rocking this project.

Now I thought I was doing ok, but the CEO said the project is stagnant and they're expecting more from me. But since it's a startup, they play loose with job roles and I've had plenty of other things to do in the past three months. Every time I ask what's most important, I get conflicting responses depending who I ask, and the end result is that almost everything has equal priority - high.

I could go on about how I don't think adwords is worthwhile for us since our profit margin is so slim, and how we should be trying to improve our website first, but that's not the point. I also have explained to the office director (who originally assigned me the project, not the CEO) that I don't actually know anything about marketing, I'm just a decent programmer, but they think my general smarts will prove capable of tackling this challenge. The CEO also clarified that he wants a more technical and algorithmic approach to the problem.

So is there something I can do to address this? Combined with my existing and confusing workload, should I be raising an issue? Or should I do the grown up thing and give it my all, asking for help when I need it and hoping for the best?

Sorry if this is very rant-ish.

Answer 1

Find some place better

I've worked for a place similar to what you describe. I had a dozen projects at any given time; when I asked what was most important, the answer was, "they're all important". The boss criticized me during my first review and even said, "multitasking may be inefficient, but that's what we do here". Most of the tasks I got assigned would have generated no revenue nor would have lowered our costs.

It never got better under that leadership. I should have left much earlier. And you should leave. Because your superiors don't seem to understand what they're doing, especially if they're still very unprofitable after four years of 60 hours a week.

If you really are good at Facebook and iPhone apps, then you'll have no difficultly finding employment. Find some place better.

Oh, and as for what happened to the place I worked at: I got a raise when the boss found-out I wanted to leave. Then all the morons were fired by the parent company and the boss resigned under pressure. Then it was a fun place to work for a few months until the parent company shut us down, laid off just about everyone else, and gave me a consulting position for another department at an even higher rate. Karma's a bitch like that.

Answer 2

You had me at 60hrs/wk. That's simply unacceptable, assuming you are 'salaried'. That's basically just a not-so-sneaky way for them to pay you 33% less. Everyone understands that occasionally you put more hours in... but a standard work week of 60hrs is ridiculous. How are YOU supposed to have a life? Which ultimately is whats important.

If you want to do development, flat out tell them. Or if what you want is just a better defined role or less conflicting directions, tell them. And while you're at it, tell them enough of the 60hr nonsense. If they don't like it, adios. It sounds to me from what you describe that their direction isn't very clear, and that the CEO may not be keeping up on things or is over their head. It also sounds like you got a lot going for you, and can do better elsewhere.

And a word of warning - a startup losing money for 4 years straight... there's a good chance if you have investors they will at some point decide they'd get a better return buying lottery tickets (at a 75% return, that might be true), and pull their money out or stop feeding money into it. And then guess what happens.

Answer 3

Every time I ask what's most important, I get conflicting responses depending who I ask, and the end result is that almost everything has equal priority - high.

Therein lies the problem. Some amount of hero programming has gotten you (maybe the whole company) to where you are, but at some point that breaks down and the infinite amount of "free time" your bosses imagine you have is depleted to nothing. That's not to mention how burnt out you must feel. IMO the only sustainable path is for you to do one thing at a time. If they can't schedule you correctly, and cannot communicate amongst themselves effectively, then they have a problem.

This is an important time to remember that you have power in this relationship. They seem to need you and you can always quit. Sure they can always find another sucker for the job, but it will cost them a lot in lost expertise. Don't be afraid to get a little angry and speak your mind-- the worst that can happen is you have to find another job. The good news is this should be easy for you based on all the accomplishments you have.

Answer 4

Its the conflicting responses that worry me. In a startup if they can't figure out where they are going they are going to go no where and FAST. Startups need very clear goals for where they are going and how they are going to get there.

Answer 5

If there is no effective management, manage yourself.

Make index cards describing what you do, for whom and how long it's going to take you. Put them on the wall. If someone says "this is more important than this", than tell them to negotitate priorities with the other stakeholders.

Answer 6

Speaking as a veteran of several startups - 60 hours a week is crazy for someone coming into a company 3.5 years in. Initial founders can definitely can work those kinds of hours, and some executives may be expected to (VP and CxO level mostly) but unless you have a giant (like 15% +) equity stake in the company, or maybe expect it to be the next Facebook or something (which it won't) that's a totally unfair expectation.

As for conflicting priorities - it happens all the time at startups. You're seeing things at a certain level, it doesn't necessarily mean that the company as a whole lacks direction. CEOs get distracted, have a lot of things to think about, and (if they're good) are blunt about what they like and don't like. That said, if you have issues, raise them. You're being unfair to yourself, and to the company, if you don't. If something isn't working and that affects your productivity or motivation, by staying quiet you're depriving the executives and managers of information they need to make decisions, and that helps no-one.

Answer 7

It seems like you have a good eye for making apps that sell themselves. Your management need to realize that that doesn't necessarily make you a natural at marketing in general. You probably had fun creating those apps, while I would assume you find the adword-related tasks a drudge.

Quit, start your own company and make apps on your own. More freedom, more time and probably more money as well.

If a startup still has red numbers after four years, it's a good sign of a bad idea or bad management.