This article is part of the series “When Dreams Need Builders” – exploring how visionaries and builders must work together to transform ideas into lasting impact.
The biggest shock for corporate professionals joining startups isn’t the long hours or uncertainty—it’s discovering their job description was fiction.
I’ll never forget the conversation. A talented operations manager I’d hired from a large corporation sat in my office at Yati Group, frustrated and confused. “Mfundo,” he said, “I was hired to run operations, but you’re asking me to help with client presentations, fix our invoicing system, and even weigh in on our marketing strategy. What exactly is my job?”
That’s when I realized the fundamental disconnect that kills most visionary-builder partnerships in startups. He thought he was an employee with a defined role. I needed him to be a builder responsible for whatever it takes to make the vision work.
The Great Job Description Lie
Here’s the uncomfortable truth I’ve learned while building Yati Group: every job description in a startup is a lie. Not intentionally, but practically.
When I write “Operations Manager” on a job posting, what I really mean is: “Someone who will build operational systems that don’t exist yet, while also jumping in wherever gaps threaten the vision.” When I hire a “Finance Head,” I’m actually looking for someone who will create financial processes from scratch, negotiate with suppliers, and probably help close client deals when needed.
But most people joining startups come with a corporate mindset. They expect defined roles, clear hierarchies, and the luxury of saying “that’s not my department.” They think they’re joining a smaller version of their last company, not a daily battle to build something from nothing.
Why “That’s Not My Job” Kills Startups
In my experience, the phrase “that’s not my job” is the fastest way to identify someone who doesn’t understand startup building. I’ve heard it countless times:
“I’m in finance, I don’t handle client complaints.” “I run operations, I don’t do business development.” “I manage HR, I don’t deal with supplier issues.”
Each time I hear it, I know we have a problem. Because in a startup, especially in the early days, your job isn’t your title—it’s whatever the vision needs most urgently.
I remember a crisis where our biggest client was threatening to leave because of a service delivery issue. My “HR Manager” stepped up, spent the weekend understanding the client’s business, and personally managed the recovery. She didn’t say “that’s operations’ problem.” She said “that’s our problem, and I’m going to help solve it.”
That’s when I knew she was a builder, not just an employee.
The Startup Builder’s True Hierarchy
Unlike corporate environments where hierarchy is based on titles and departments, startups have a different hierarchy: problems first, ego second.
The most urgent threat to the vision gets attention from whoever can solve it best, regardless of their official role. I’ve seen my finance head jump into client presentations because he understood the numbers better than anyone. I’ve watched my operations manager redesign our marketing approach because she had insights about client experience that our marketing efforts were missing.
This isn’t chaos—it’s survival. When you’re building something from zero, every challenge requires builders who will step up and hold their line, even if that line isn’t on their official job description.
What Startup Building Actually Requires
Based on my experience building Yati Group and watching other African startups succeed or fail, here’s what startup builders actually need to understand:
You’re Not Maintaining—You’re Creating
In a corporate job, you maintain existing systems. In a startup, you’re creating systems that have never existed. Every process, every relationship, every solution is being built from scratch. Your job is to be a creator, not a maintainer.
Every Gap Is Your Responsibility
If there’s a gap that threatens the vision and you can fill it, it becomes your responsibility. The client needs a proposal but business development is swamped? You help write it. The supplier relationship is breaking down but it’s not your department? You help fix it.
Your Success Is Measured by Vision Progress, Not Task Completion
In corporate roles, you’re measured by how well you complete your assigned tasks. In startups, you’re measured by how much you contribute to moving the overall vision forward. Sometimes that means abandoning your to-do list to handle whatever crisis threatens the dream.
You Must Build Systems While Fighting Fires
Perhaps the hardest part of startup building is that you have to create sustainable processes while simultaneously handling immediate crises. You can’t say “let me focus on building systems once things calm down” because in startups, things never calm down until you’ve built the systems that create calm.
The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything
I’ve watched builders succeed and fail at Yati Group, and the difference always comes down to mindset. The ones who thrive make this shift:
From: “I’m here to do my job as defined.” To: “I’m here to build whatever the vision needs.”
From: “That’s not my department.” To: “How can I help solve this?”
From: “I need clear instructions.” To: “I see a problem, let me create a solution.”
From: “I maintain existing processes.” To: “I create new processes that can scale.”
This mindset shift is what separates corporate employees from startup builders. It’s why some people thrive in startups while others feel lost and frustrated.
When Builders Don’t Understand Their Role
I’ve seen what happens when builders don’t understand their true role in a startup. They wait for detailed job descriptions that will never come. They escalate every decision to the visionary instead of taking ownership. They focus on their narrow responsibilities while the vision drowns in the gaps they refuse to fill.
The result is always the same: the visionary becomes trapped in operational quicksand, handling every crisis personally because the builders are standing on the sidelines waiting for permission to help.
The Freedom of True Building
But when builders understand their real role, something magical happens. They stop asking “Is this my job?” and start asking “How can we solve this?” They stop waiting for the perfect role definition and start creating the role the vision needs.
I’ve watched my best builders transform challenges that could have killed Yati Group into systems that made us stronger. Not because it was officially their job, but because they understood that building the vision was everyone’s job.
Sometimes this means pushing through resistance when the vision feels unclear, taking ownership even when the path forward isn’t perfectly defined. The best builders understand that in startups, clarity comes through building, not before it.
The Reality Check for Potential Builders
If you’re considering joining a startup, or if you’re already in one but struggling with the ambiguity, ask yourself these questions:
Are you comfortable with undefined boundaries? If you need clear job descriptions and defined responsibilities to feel secure, startup building might not be for you.
Can you see problems as opportunities? Every gap, every crisis, every “that’s not supposed to be my job” moment is actually an opportunity to become indispensable to the vision.
Do you get energy from creating or from maintaining? If you prefer optimizing existing systems over building new ones, a mature company might be a better fit than a startup.
Can you measure success by collective progress rather than individual recognition? In startups, the vision’s success is everyone’s success, even if your specific contribution doesn’t get highlighted.
The Builder’s Choice in Startups
Here’s what I’ve learned through building Yati Group: startups don’t need employees. They need builders. People who see the vision and say “I’ll help make this real, whatever it takes.”
The most successful builders I’ve worked with understood from day one that their job description was really a starting point, not a boundary. They saw gaps and filled them. They spotted opportunities and seized them. They understood that in a startup, there’s no such thing as “not my job”—there’s only “how can I help build this vision?”
When builders understand this reality, startups become unstoppable. When they don’t, even the most brilliant visions end up in the graveyard of great ideas that never found the builders they needed to survive.
Your Startup Building Reality
If you’re in a startup right now, take a hard look around. What gaps do you see? What problems are threatening the vision that you could help solve? What systems need to be built that you could create?
Your job isn’t what’s written in your offer letter. Your job is whatever the vision needs to move from dream to reality. The question isn’t whether that’s fair or whether it matches your career plans.
The question is: Are you ready to be a builder?
This article is part of a series exploring the critical relationship between visionaries and builders:
- When Dreams Need Builders – The foundational piece on why every vision needs dedicated builders
- The Graveyard of Great Ideas: Why Africa’s Visionaries Need More Than Applause – Why visionaries get trapped in operations without proper builders
- Holding the Line in Business: Guarding Your Space Like It’s the Last Defence – How builders must own their domains completely
- When the Heart Stops Beating: How Two Builders Saved Google – The story of builders who stepped up in crisis
- The Danger of Visionary-Led Breakthroughs: When Success Becomes a Trap – Why builders must create innovations in their own domains
- When Vision Feels Insensitive: Why Builders Must Push Through the Resistance – Understanding the tension between vision protection and team input