Psychology and startups

Psychology has a lot to contribute to startups.

Traditionally, psychology has been developed from the clinical field and has gained relevance in the educational and organizational areas.. There are other branches, but the most chosen ones are these three.

If the study and work of psychologists focuses on these three paths, it is understandable that many colleagues do non-psychological work.

Psychology is one of the most recent sciences, compared to its sisters, daughters of philosophy; but its behavior is, as the first word of this article indicates, traditional.

The traditional is not bad in itself, but it contains behaviors that do not correspond to the current satisfaction of the permanent needs of the people.It is accompanied by prejudices and stereotypes that harm, discriminate and reinforce unhealthy behavior on a personal and social level.

Our current situation places the world in a digital stage in a more globalized way, not only because of the advance of ICTs and technology, but also because of the basic need to keep in touch with others.

Psychology's involvement in startups.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought to the forefront the need to take care of people's mental health and, in order to remain protected, telepsychology represents the best solution for not neglecting our well-being..

However, it is important to clarify that remote care has been solving, for years, many difficulties for those who cannot access a specialist either because of geographical location problems, disability, specific mental health problem (e.g. agoraphobia), among other indicators that reinforce the idea that telepsychology should remain in force after this world crisis has been overcome.

Considering this panorama, startups that have linked up with psychology in recent years have done so to enhance the development of telepsychology.The main objectives of telepsychology are: remote connection security, data protection, suitable and specific specialists for each need, 24x7x365 access, etc.

But this is not the only relationship that should prevail between psychology and startups, because psychology itself has much to contribute to improve the development of these non-traditional companies..

Managing talent

For example, in the business field, to hire the most suitable talent for your startup, the psychologist should look at more than just the resume and degrees obtained because, as we know, there is a considerable percentage of founders who did not study a university degree. Likewise, more complicated than finding the most suitable human talent for your startup is to ensure their permanence.To do so, incentives must be innovative, especially if it is a startup that has just started and has not yet had investment rounds.

Likewise, innovation and creativity is more than welcome, being a non-traditional company, a non-traditional incentive program is expected (for example: having one day a week during working hours for recreational activities can motivate more and increase the permanence of your employees).

Dynamics of identification with promising start-ups

Likewise, being part of a startup, whether you are a founder or not, the work rhythm, business model and non-traditional business practices will lead you to become an organic part of the startup, as its business culture is based on principles that seek to benefit both the client and its employees.Its corporate culture is based on principles that seek to benefit both the client and its employees in a more direct and prioritized way.

And, just as when selecting the best talent, the psychologist considers the identification with the company's values, the same expectations are also placed on this professional.

It is not surprising, therefore, It is not surprising, therefore, that the employees of a startup are also the company's biggest fans, something that is very difficult to see in a startup.This is something that is very difficult to see with traditional companies, regardless of the industry. And, if you analyze it carefully, identifying for the first time with the company you work for will cease to be a utopia and become one more reason to stay and motivate yourself to grow and iterate as many times as necessary.

• Related article, "What is Social Psychology?"

In startups there is still the human component.

Last but not least, psychology can contribute to the growth of startups, psychology can contribute to the growth and human development of the members of any startup..

This work may sound routine compared to the work that psychologists currently perform within organizations, but since it is a different type of company, they will have to iterate and even pivot the topics, strategies and work methods to meet the demands required by a fast-growing company with a strong technological base.

For this, it is necessary for the psychology professional to know about startups, their business models, their differences with traditional companies and their psychological needs. their business models, their differences with traditional companies and their psychological needs linked to their functions and work projections. and their psychological needs linked to their functions and work projections.

In addition, living in technological environments, it becomes imperative that psychologists learn to move easily and safely in virtual spaces, which, unfortunately which, unfortunately, are not included in the academic training of universities.

To conclude...

In sum, if psychologists wish to enter the fascinating, extensive and promising world of startups, they must let go of much of the traditionalism that accompanies their training and praxis that accompanies their training and praxis and inhibits their transformative and creative potential.

In the end, a startup is a non-traditional company, therefore, it needs non-traditional psychologists, who are open to new ways of working, who dare to go down paths that have not been explored by psychology.

If you want to learn more about startups and how psychology contributes to their development, visit prenlu.com.