What a Startup Founder at ThoughtfulGPT Wishes They Had Known Before AI Careers
Nikolas, a ThoughtfulGPT employee, learned that internal roles at a seed-stage startup offer less project and industry diversity than external roles like consulting; the lack of exposure made solidifying career decisions more challenging, and they wish they had considered "those opportunities more than just saying, no," to external options before committing.
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Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Nikolas Win
ThoughtfulGPT, LLC
Seed-Stage AIaaS Startup
San Jose State University
UCLA Anderson FTMBA (Class of 2025)
Business Management & Admin, Finance
Consulting & Related Professional Services, Technology
Business Strategy
Video Highlights
1. Limited exposure to diverse projects and industries in internal roles compared to consulting.
2. The importance of considering a wider range of opportunities before specializing in a niche area.
3. Internal roles may offer less variety than generalist positions in consulting.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone would have told you before you entered this industry?
One of the downsides about working internally, rather than working for a firm, for example, is that you don't have the same level of exposure to different types of projects, companies, or industries.
I don't think I would necessarily change anything if I were to go back. However, I would have considered those opportunities more instead of just saying, "No, I don't want to do accounting" or "I don't want to work for this specific company."
Having that exposure to opportunities would have made me feel more comfortable solidifying my decision to pursue a more specific position within a more confined space. This is because we are only developing one product, so most of our work is focused centrally on that.
For example, if you're a generalist in consulting, you get to work on basically everything. I think that's worth considering if you want to have those options and opportunities, because working internally won't provide that.
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