Leading a learning function, regardless of organization size or industry, presents unique challenges. For instance, measuring business impact, getting a seat at the table and selecting and managing learning technologies are common challenges associated with learning and development (L&D) job roles. However, leading a learning function in a startup environment presents unique challenges and opportunities worth considering.

“I love the startup space in L&D,” says Cheryl Haga, CPTM, senior director of talent development at Aurora. “It’s not for the faint of heart, but I find it absolutely fascinating. It’s wildly different and fun.”

Whether you’re working in a true startup or are building or rebuilding a learning function from scratch, the experience is similar: You’re creating the function rather than improving an established system. Let’s consider what this requires in practice.

Common Challenges of Leading Learning in a Startup

According to a Forbes article, a startup is a business designed for rapid growth. “Unlike traditional companies built for predictable operations, startups focus on scalable models that can expand quickly without a proportional increase in costs. Startups prioritize innovation, speed and market disruption over long-term operations,” the article shares.

So, it’s not surprising that change is a defining characteristic of startup environments. For L&D leaders, this means the ability to quickly adapt learning strategies and respond to evolving business needs is critical. A program that’s nearly complete may need to be redesigned as the company’s goals shift, or a sales team may suddenly need a job aid or resource to help reps quickly get up to speed on a new product launch.

Rather than following a fixed learning strategy, L&D leaders in startups often serve as agile partners who help the organization build capabilities in real time. In startup environments, “It’s really important that you try to pay attention and be agile and flexible,” says Brent Daviau, CPTM, talent development coordinator at Home Care Delivered. “And don’t try to over-engineer solutions that you [already] have.”

Another common challenge is that many startups don’t have an established L&D function, meaning you may be responsible for building one from the ground up.

Mary Sajfar, CPTM, an experienced L&D professional and owner of Transform44, cautions against overbuilding the L&D function too early. “The goal shouldn’t be to create a large catalog of courses or a sophisticated learning ecosystem. The focus should be to identify the handful of things the business absolutely has to get right to operate successfully: understanding the product and services, learning the core workflows, meeting compliance or regulatory requirements and creating a repeatable onboarding experience.”

3 Tips for Leading Learning in a Startup

1. Plan for the Near-Term Over the Distant Future

Strategic planning is still essential in a startup environment, but L&D leaders may need to reevaluate what an effective strategy looks like. A detailed, 12-month plan with every initiative mapped out will, very likely, become outdated as priorities change.

This is something Haga learned earlier in her career, when she created 12-month roadmaps that outlined learning initiatives far in advance. “Now I look back at them, and they’re beautiful posters that serve absolutely no purpose,” she says. “12 months is just incredibly long.”

Haga recommends creating a general roadmap that identifies foundational needs, while focusing detailed planning efforts on the near-term. L&D leaders may know the organization will need manager training, compliance training or other essential programs, but the timing and priorities may evolve. She describes this approach as “rolling portfolio management.”

Sajfar echoes this idea, sharing, “In a startup, business needs, technology and organizational structures can change quickly, making lightweight, adaptable learning solutions more valuable than highly polished programs that may no longer align with the business.”

2. Prioritize Impact Over Perfection

One major adjustment for some L&D leaders moving into a startup environment is learning to let go of perfectionism. Daviau experienced this firsthand after moving from working for training supply companies with dedicated instructional designers and eLearning developers to a smaller team where he was responsible for wearing multiple hats.

“I had to read the room,” Daviau says. Instead of relying on the same processes and standards he used in more established organizations, he adjusted his approach and focused on what the business needed in the moment. Sometimes, that meant putting out a quick job aid or resource rather than spending time creating a perfectly tailored solution.

Haga experienced a similar adjustment when she moved from an established organization into a startup. She found that many processes and procedures were still being built, which meant there wasn’t always time to follow traditional workflows or wait for the perfect solution. Instead, she focused on removing unnecessary steps and identifying what was essential to move the business forward.

“The need for speed is so very real, and sometimes good is good enough,” Haga says. “Good beats perfection and good gets out the door.”

While L&D leaders should strive to deliver quality work, startup environments often require making necessary trade-offs. A solution that helps employees do their jobs today may deliver more value than a perfect solution that arrives too late.

3. Build for Scale by Creating Repeatable Systems

In startup environments, knowledge often lives with individuals rather than within established processes or systems. While it may be easy for employees to ask a colleague for guidance when a company is small, it becomes difficult to sustain as teams grow. L&D can help address this challenge by identifying critical knowledge and processes that need to be documented and shared across the organization.

“Capturing those critical processes early, even in simple playbooks or quick reference guides, helps preserve knowledge and makes growth much easier,” Sajfar says.

Final Thoughts

Leading an L&D function in a startup space isn’t without its challenges. But it also presents ways for L&D leaders to have a meaningful impact from the beginning.

Without years of established — and sometimes, ineffective — processes and systems in place, learning leaders have greater freedom to experiment with new ideas and create scalable processes from the ground up. Startup environments also provide the chance to work more closely with business leaders and stakeholders, increasing L&D’s visibility and allowing learning leaders to position themselves as trusted partners who drive organizational growth.