What Unique Benefits Do Start-Ups Offer Their New Employees?
Startups are known for offering unique benefits to attract and keep top talent. We’ve gathered insights from 12 startup leaders, including CEOs, founders, and VPs, to share the most compelling benefits they offer. From celebrating employees with birthday PTO to having a fun, game-filled work environment, discover the diverse perks that make startups an attractive choice for new employees.
- Birthday PTO to Celebrate Employees
- Child Care Benefits to Attract Talent
- Opportunities for Greater Autonomy
- Milestone Celebrations and Dual Monitors
- Equity Ownership Drives Engagement
- Prioritizing Wellness and Well-Being
- Rapid Career Growth and Advancement
- Professional Headshots for New Hires
- Broader Experience and Responsibilities
- Flexible Work Schedules Offered
- Unmatched Learning Opportunities
- Fun, Game-Filled Work Environment
Birthday PTO to Celebrate Employees
One unique benefit our startup offers new employees is birthday PTO. This perk allows employees to take off one day, fully paid, during the week of their birthday. This program shows our fun company culture and also expresses to employees that they matter beyond their work contributions and that we celebrate and value them as human beings and employees.
Carly Hill, Operations Manager, Virtual Holiday Party
Child Care Benefits to Attract Talent
For startups, attracting talent without having to pay top wages is key to their success. One creative way to do that is by offering Child Care Benefits.
New Child Care technology platforms, like TOOTRiS, allow even the smallest startups to provide a comprehensive Child Care Benefit that requires zero HR administration. With 88% of parents saying they would be more likely to choose an employer that offers Child Care support, it provides a highly attractive competitive advantage at a minimal cost.
Kevin Ehlinger, VP of Product Marketing, TOOTRiS Child Care On-Demand
Opportunities for Greater Autonomy
One unique benefit that startups often offer their new employees is the opportunity for greater autonomy and decision-making authority. In a startup environment, employees are typically given more responsibility and autonomy to make decisions that directly affect the company’s growth and success.
This level of empowerment can be highly appealing to individuals who enjoy taking ownership of their work and contributing their ideas to drive innovation. By granting employees the freedom to make decisions and have a real impact, startups foster a sense of ownership, creativity, and motivation among their workforce.
This unique benefit allows employees to develop a wide range of skills and experience early in their careers, setting them up for future success and growth.
Josh Amishav, Founder and CEO, Breachsense
Milestone Celebrations and Dual Monitors
Startups often emphasize team building and celebrating achievements together, with milestone-based celebrations being a unique benefit. This means when the company hits certain goals or achievements, the entire team comes together to celebrate. This creates a fun and positive work environment and helps in fostering a sense of community and collaboration among employees.
Another unique perk that startups like ours offer is giving every employee, not just developers, two monitors. This increases productivity, as employees can multitask more effectively. It also shows that the company values all its employees’ efficiency and time, which is a testament to the inclusive and supportive culture we strive for in our startup.
Martin Potocki, CEO, Jobera
Equity Ownership Drives Engagement
Startups offer a distinctive benefit that sets them apart from traditional companies: equity ownership. By granting employees equity in the company, startups provide a unique opportunity to become stakeholders in their own success. This incentive aligns their interests with the company’s growth, fostering a sense of ownership and dedication.
According to research, startups that offer equity ownership experience higher levels of employee engagement, loyalty, and motivation. In fact, 78% of startup employees consider equity ownership a significant factor in their job satisfaction.
Himanshu Sharma, CEO and Founder, Academy of Digital Marketing
Prioritizing Wellness and Well-Being
Startups often offer their employees wellness benefits, such as gym memberships, yoga classes, or meditation apps. These benefits can help employees stay healthy and reduce stress, which can lead to increased productivity and job satisfaction.
Some startups go the extra mile by offering healthy meal kits, supplements, and dietary products subscription reimbursement. They want you to have access to nutritious food that supports your well-being and thus be more productive in the office.
As an example, Sakara Life is a company that provides high-end, plant-based meal kit subscriptions containing non-GMO products. Another example is Athletic Greens, which provides subscriptions to their supplement that claims to offer a wide range of health benefits, from increased energy levels, immunity, digestion, and gut health.
Fanny Surjana, CEO, Quench List
Rapid Career Growth and Advancement
Startups offer the unique benefit of rapid career growth and advancement. As a new employee, you’ll join a dynamic work culture that values innovation and creativity. With a lean structure and meritocracy, you’ll have significant responsibilities from day one.
The company’s exponential growth leads to frequent new projects, allowing you to expand your skills quickly. Exceptional performance is recognized, creating exciting opportunities for advancement. Unlike traditional corporate environments, promotions come swiftly.
The freedom and autonomy you’ll experience foster personal growth and professional development. Joining a startup opens doors to unparalleled chances for realizing your full potential in a rapidly developing industry.
Curtis Anderson, Co-founder and CEO, Nursa
Professional Headshots for New Hires
This is one of those things that is pretty small in the grand scheme of things you can offer your new employees as a startup, but one that is massively useful and appreciated.
Getting professional headshots can be awkward, expensive, and downright stressful for many just getting into the job market, so setting up an induction day with your new hires and getting a professional photographer for an hour can pay massive dividends for your new employees and help them get set up for success.
Dragos Badea, CEO, Yarooms
Broader Experience and Responsibilities
One unique benefit startups offer is experience in areas you might not otherwise get exposed to. Typically, in a startup, teams are small, so you get a broad scope of responsibility. For example, the marketer may also have some accounting duties. There’s generally more exposure to the entire business lifestyle, which is exciting all in itself.
John Mooney, President, IML
Flexible Work Schedules Offered
Startups offer employees the flexibility to create schedules, ensuring a harmonious work-life balance. This arrangement allows individuals to tailor their working hours according to their needs, fostering autonomy and control over their time.
By embracing flexible hours, employees can better manage personal commitments, pursue hobbies, or accommodate unforeseen circumstances. This benefit allows individuals to optimize their productivity and achieve a healthier integration of work and personal life. It also encourages a healthier work-life balance and improves job satisfaction.
A flexible work schedule can increase employee engagement and reduce absenteeism. It reduces the stress of juggling a job and other commitments, leading to improved health and well-being. Flexible hours can also increase employee retention since workers are more likely to stay in a job if offered flexibility.
Hilary Kozak, VP of Marketing, LivSmooth
Unmatched Learning Opportunities
Start-ups offer unmatched learning opportunities to their new employees. Unlike larger corporations, start-ups have a smaller team, which means all employees have a wider scope of responsibilities and get to work on multiple aspects of the business.
This gives new employees an opportunity to learn and contribute to the company in a more meaningful way. Startups also encourage their employees to take initiative and come up with innovative solutions to problems.
Being a part of a start-up fosters an environment of learning, exploration, and innovation, which enables new employees to hone their skills faster and grow professionally.
Anirban Saha, Founder, MrPlanter
Fun, Game-Filled Work Environment
One unique benefit that startups often provide to their new employees is a relaxed, game-filled environment—like having ping pong, foosball, even a PS5 in the break room. This might seem frivolous to some, but I’ve witnessed its impact on team morale and productivity.
Once, during a stressful period at my outdoor gym equipment startup, our new foosball table turned out to be a tremendous help. Teams that competed at foosball started collaborating better at work, increasing efficiency.
It was amazing to see how shared downtime could create such a strong bond and drive improvement. The value of a vibrant work culture shouldn’t be underestimated.
Lucas Riphagen, Co-owner, TriActiveUSA