Working at a tech startup has been my first real job & building something out of nothing has taught me a lot.

If there’s any piece of advice I’d give, it would be to act like an owner.

Think: “if this was my company/team/business unit, what would I do to ensure that is succeeds?” It’s a sure-fire way to become instantly more valuable to your team, and perform at the level of excellence that will ultimately advance your professional goals.

Here are a few ways to “act like an owner”:

1. Own Your Domain
   Be indispensable in a vitally important part of your business or team. If you have been tasked with a particular task, OWN that space. Be an expert. If you handle your company’s web presence, then do what it takes to become a social media guru, and the go-to person for your team.
   
   NOTE: this doesn’t mean you are limited to only your expertise, and can’t contribute in other areas where your team needs help. In fact, you should be a pioneer and expand your domain.
   
   Which leads me to my next point…
   
2. Find Voids, and Fill Them
   When you are working in situations with high uncertainty and little structure, there are bound to be gaping holes in your team’s approach or product. Discover where your team is deficient, and propose solutions to your problems - and be prepared to lead the implementation yourself.
   
   Be proactive: consider how you can best help your team, and then execute it.
   
3. Work Sustainably
   Create an infrastructure which helps your team/product/company to continue on sustainably. An owner doesn’t build a company just so that it can come crashing down. Entrepreneurs, while perhaps motivated by the reward of an exit, build a company because they want to see it continue on to create value. The same concept can be applied to your work, (since you are acting like an owner) but on a smaller, more manageable scale.
   
   For example, if you have a task that you do repeatedly, find a way to automate it and do more with less work. Not only does this make you more efficient, and will free you up to fill voids and expand your territory, but it will also ensure that others can also build upon your work.

When you begin to think of yourself as an “owner,” your approach and work product begins to change drastically, making you much more productive & helpful to your team.

Hope this helps!