What, Truly, are the Perks of Working at a Startup?

Hiring and retaining skilled, passionate employees is a crucial aspect of building a successful startup business. The specialists you hire will help you scale what you’ve built, evangelize your products or services and will be invested in your business' success.

Hiring is a very costly and time-consuming process. This is where employee benefits can come into play. Benefits can help attract talent and retain your most vital employees when your capital is limited. Unfortunately, the majority of small companies don’t have the budget or resources to compete with large corporations or companies like Google, but there is still room to get creative and offer other benefits that employees will surely appreciate.

Here at doggyloot, we like to reward and motivate our small team when they meet sales quotas and hit company milestones. Past events have included a trip to the bowling alley and a WhirlyBall excursion. We celebrate our company’s successes with team lunches and bonuses. The lunches are great way to connect with employees outside of the office, and the bonuses are a serious motivating factor.

Startup life can be difficult, but it can also be just as fulfilling as it is challenging. For many startup employees, the typical 9-to-5 schedule is replaced by a more customized schedule that allows employees the flexibility to complete their work during hours that suit them best. It’s common to find an employee working in the office “after hours.” No two days of work are the same, and special projects and unexpected deadlines often pop up. That’s the beauty of working at a startup: it’s challenging, and each day is unique.

Although we want our employees to work hard, we also want them to find a healthy work-life balance. Because of this, our open office layout is flexible, comfortable, and allows for our furry four-legged friends to mingle. It’s been shown that employees are happier and more productive when dogs are welcome in the office, so it’s a win-win for employer and employee. And of course, our beloved pets!

We also made the decision to adopt a generous vacation policy. It’s something that we’re proud to offer and something we hope other businesses will consider offering their employees. We feel this particular perk is in-line with our culture and promotes employee responsibility and helps to prevent burnout.

Jeff Eckerling is an experienced e-commerce executive and entrepreneur. He joined doggyloot as the CEO in May 2012. Before joining doggyloot, Eckerling was the CEO and co-founder of BonVoyou, a flash-sale travel site acquired by HauteLook (acquired by Nordstrom). Prior to BonVoyou, Eckerling was part of the pre-launch team at Orbitz and spend nine years in a variety of managerial roles.

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