I have the opportunity to maybe get a job as a software developer at a small software company that employs 14 people. But my gut is telling me that getting a job at a small company like that might he terrible. Do you guys have any experiences working at companies that small?

In my mind, I imagine the CEO would have a very large presence at the company and everyone would feel a lot of pressure to appease him. I imagine that the whole company would just be a boys’ club. But I guess any company can be like that, so maybe I’m jumping to conclusions, and the size of the company isn’t actually related to company culture?

Please let me know if you have any thoughts.

EDIT: The company has been around for two decades

  • macrocarpa
    9•7 months ago

    Very small is 3 people. It’s a small company.

    My experience working in a dev company exactly that size -

    Pros

    Less dead wood (people not carrying their own weight).

    Everyone knows everyone well, it’s a tight team

    Think it, do it - quick to develop and respond

    Less pressure

    Feels a bit like a family

    More chilled than corporate esp. working from home

    More support of networking and linking up with industry peers

    Higher degree of trust and support

    Way more latitude to do what you want to do

    Easy to influence senior leadership

    Can offer things like equity etc

    If you’re a high performer you will be noticed

    Way less red tape

    A lot more trust

    Company can prosper if everyone works hard

    Cons

    Company favourites

    Can be quite political, although far less so than some large organisations I’ve worked for

    Less cover if you’re on leave or similar

    Harder to get some things done if money is needed (lower budgets and thinner reserves)

    Lower remuneration, fewer levers to pull to get a salary increase

    More drama with paychecks etc

    Fewer higher skilled people to learn from

    Culture can go sideways quickly

    Nowhere near the same level of support and benefits provided by the big companies

    Tend not to attract the best and brightest talent

    Comoany more impacted by economic conditions

    It also greatly depends on you and your preferred style. Some people just outright don’t like working for big businesses and prefer smaller gigs.