Experiencing a lay off - one of the many experiences at QSquare (a software startup)

I joined QSquare Technologies Pvt Ltd, a delhi based software testing startup company in August 2007, thinking that I'll get to learn about how startups work, get a more holistic picture of the software lifecycle and also be close to the management of the company. I was working at a client end as a Design Analyst and Systems Architect. Unfortunately, the whole idea back fired on my face and I was laid off! Even before I could see myself growing and learning with the company, I was asked to leave and find something else for myself... Now that certainly didnt sound all that great.

Here's what happened and what I learnt from it (both good and bad experiences):

1. There was no clarity of projects and work at the client end. And to top it up, everyone was busy enough with existing projects and nothing new actually got incepted. So, at the end of the day, I was left with almost no work for most of my time. And that was quite bugging! In due course of time, I also slacked and stopped demanding and expecting work.
Learning- Dont care about whats happening in the company and what others are upto! Make sure you dont sit idle and dont stop growing. You got to take responsibility of your own involvement in the company!

2. The internal teams at the client resisted my involvement in their projects much more than I had ever anticipated. This didnt make my work easier at all. But instead I struggled more in dealing with this rather than getting or doing work.
Learning- When working at a client end, make sure that the teams there are aligned to your involvement in the project. And if there are any issues coming up during the work, get the senior management involved immediately. Dont wait for things to blow up more than what can be handled.

3. When there was no work, I did not spend the whole day at work. Reached at 11 am and left at 6 pm. Instead, I involved myself with other activities and started learning and doing stuff beyond my job. This didnt go down well with the people at the client end.
Learning- It doesnt matter whether you have work or not. Unless the team and the management is in loop of what you are doing, you are bound to be held to account for the erratic timings.
Infact, the day I was laid off, I entered office at 12:30 pm. There was no work at office, so I spent the morning getting some of my own pending work sorted out. This didnt go down well with the client at all!

Lastly, working at a client end is a risky affair. You got to be very careful about what gets displayed to the teams involved in the project!

I am taking whatever learnings I can from this experience and will incorporate them into my career. This was probably just a glimpse of what I'll be facing when I start my own company! Its probably a small little trailer of entrepreneurship...!

Failure is success if we learn from it - Malcolm Forbes