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Vladyslav Khambir Unveils the Cultural Difference Between Small Startups and Big Tech

Small Startups and Big Tech

Vlad Khambir is a professional iOS engineer with over nine years of experience. He is AWS-certified and has released tens of projects in the App Store. Most projects became so successful they got awards and high rankings from their users.

One such success case is an online course, “SwiftUI For Everyone,” which has received a course rating 4.8 across more than 80 students.

Another one is the MedKrok app. Inspired to help students in medical school. He launched a 4.8-star pet project to prepare medical students for their KROK exams. It also won the 1st position in the Highload pet-projects competition in 2021.

Vlad, how did your career in iOS develop, and what inspired you to continue pursuing your career?

As a child, I enjoyed playing video games, which led me to launch a server for a popular game. Seeing that it quickly earned a high reputation across CIS countries, I delved into programming and created some mini-programs for my server to optimize it and make it more robust. After selling the server, I bought a MacBook and regularly published Apple news on my Twitter blog.

Following a lifelong journey of active studying, attending meetups, and joining professional organizations, I pursued a master’s degree in Computer Science from the National Aviation University. I got inspired by the ongoing development of technologies, my capability to apply them to create innovative projects that bring value to people, and an opportunity to join and share the co-thinkers. I stay inspired by these things, so they are critical drivers of my growth.

As a Principal iOS engineer, what is it like to work in a Big Tech company?

Big Tech has layers upon layers of departments, and I get to work with thousands of other developers. While it may seem confusing, we can seamlessly collaborate using company-specific methodologies, like Agile, to determine our project specifications, design prototypes, and release a finished project.

Methodologies help streamline the workflow and make it clear which departments are working on which project features. I shared my experience by writing the “Analyzing Project Management Methods in Software Development” article.

Big Tech companies typically have teams designated for specific functions in a project. The tasks are segmented between teams, with each having its assigned duties. This allows every team to work independently, having some kind of freedom in decision-making. My team frequently collaborated with the product, analytics, and design teams. This collaboration helps pursue projects’ goals, execute tasks properly, and monitor the outcomes while considering feedback.

As a Principal iOS engineer, I oversaw the latest technological advances and executed coding reviews, team collaboration, risk assessment, and technical expertise for product and design teams to ensure smooth and proper functioning implementation.

What is it like to work in a small startup?

With a limited number of people and an extremely high level of responsibility, multitasking and zero bureaucracy are critical for a startup to achieve its ultimate goal – create MVP. This means every team member has much freedom and independence in making decisions and finding solutions.

Diverse tasks help the team develop flexibility, be responsive to feedback and proceed to the next step, which is product commercialization.

Strong communication skills are critical for a successful small startup. Communication helps foster creativity and productivity and can build a support system between team members and stakeholders.

Based on your experiences, what would you say are the key differences between small startups and Big Tech?

I would identify 6 key differences. First, it’s multitasking of a startup team. There is no such segmentation in each member’s role as in Big Tech companies.

Second, the decision-making process may take a few hours only in a startup, whereas big companies could demand month-long processes.

Third, startups have very limited resources, be it HR, finance, time, or technologies.

Fourth, risks in case of failed decisions are much more harmful for Big Techs, their teams, and customers. Fifth, the startup is an excellent opportunity for rapid career growth. In some cases, a junior engineer can grow to a senior and a CTO shortly. Sixth, startups are much more flexible in applying the latest technologies. Bit Techs need a lot of effort and time to bring changes in their coding data and mitigate possible risks.

So, startups offer bigger opportunities for growth and more challenges at the same time. Among the most significant challenges is the risk of failing with a new idea or product. Instead, a corporate career offers stability and scheduled development. So, everyone should consider the pros and cons before siding a startup or Big Tech career.

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