Moving to a startup? Fasten your seatbelt

Remember the late '90s, when tech managers left corporate IT in droves join Internet start-ups? Some people got rich, and others got burned, but everyone agreed -- working for a start-up is a unique experience.

Flash forward a decade: In today's economic climate, few start-ups are actually starting up. But companies that did manage to launch in the past couple of years still need IT managers. And tech professionals -- particularly those who've already been laid off or are in shaky positions -- still need jobs.

Thus, a whole new class of technology leaders might find themselves for the first time seriously contemplating employment at a start-up.

If you're in that group, get ready for an exhilarating -- if bumpy -- ride, say four IT managers who have made the jump from corporate IT to a start-up.

The managers we interviewed warn that you'll have to leave behind some benefits of the corporate world you may not have fully appreciated: predictability, proven procedures, vendors willing and waiting to talk with you, and the knowledge that the company you're working for will still be there when you wake up in the morning.

Even so, for every start-up negative, these veterans say, there's a matching benefit: You'll be working more, but you'll be more invested in your company's success . Procedures may be haphazard or nonexistent, but decisions will be made quickly. Top management may be inexperienced but more likely to give you free rein over IT. That free rein, however, will nearly always be held in check by money concerns.

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