I had lunch with a friend this past week.  He recently joined a start-up, after having achieved at an early age what most would deem great success in large, established companies (think GE). Yet despite a very healthy salary, P+L responsibility with a workforce that numbered over a thousand, and access to C-levels, he left to join a firm of 10 people, at a fraction of his old compensation.

Guess what? He’s thrilled, ecstatic, practically gloating when he talks with colleagues from his old company. What he has discovered is the freedom that comes with charting your own destiny, being able to experiment with the marketplace in real time, and working in a company that doesn’t encourage big egos and rewards getting things done. He’s unleashing the entrepreneur in him that was so frustrated by big company behavior.

Discussion at a 9am meeting on changing price structure means that a customer calling at 9:20am is given the new rate. (Note that the 9am meeting doesn’t last more than 15 minutes.) My friend feels alot more secure in this fledgling start-up than he ever did as a VP in high-tech. And he has learned alot from his boss, the CEO of the company–a man who understands how bad moods can affect the rest of the team and told a staffer the other day, "Take a long lunch until you can get over your funk and if you can’t pull it together, go ahead and take the rest of the day off."  This man understands that he’ll be paid back in loyalty many times over.

I met my friend at his office in the LoDo area of Denver, a hip section filled with cafes, new condos, and renovated office space. The founder of the company greeted me as I walked up the flight of stairs to their loft offices. The vibe was fun, vibrant, and casual. The conference room reminded me of an adult version of a play pen–whiteboards wrapping the room, walls painted a deep shade of red, and low, modular couches inviting me to stay awhile.

I can imagine that the picture I’ve painted is not always a bed of roses. Start-ups worry about making payroll and where to put new people as the company grows. Cubicle land can look pretty good by comparison. 

And what I have seen with my friend is that there are things that money can’t buy. He’s practically giddy with an energy and zest that I haven’t seen in awhile. His email to me when we were settling on a date to meet said it all: "Can’t wait to see you."  This, from an operations guy who gets a kick from analyzing company balance sheets.

Start-ups are not for everyone. But if you are an entrepreneur in hiding, biding your time in what seems like a secure position, at a company that has a parking garage and town halls and cushy benefits, think again.  Get out and experience what the rest of the world knows.  It’s okay to venture out.