I live for the startup. The fast-paced, focused environment. The long nights and breakless weeks. The excitement in the office, the feeling that the ideas discussed here are going to change the world.

I had an opportunity to experience a startup like this the summer before my sophomore year in high school. The company that I worked at is called Pixtory based in Bangalore, India. They have created an app based on the premise that there is a story behind every picture. Their app allows people to share their photos plus a short story with others. While I was there my job was to design their website, as well as an admin console for their contributors. During my time there I was able to experience the culture of a startup. While many different events occurred where I got to see the customs of a startup, one stood out to me the most.

It was my last day at work at 6 PM. The office was bustling with activity because we were about to launch the app for the first time later that week. I had not fully completed all of my work but thought that someone else would take over after I leave and get it ready for the launch, after all, I was just a high school intern. I was getting ready to go with my grandfather and was saying bye to everyone when my boss, the founder of the company, stopped me and told me that I could not leave until I finished all of my work. My grandfather was about to protest when my boss said, “Uncle, don’t worry, we will drop him off after he is done with all of his work.” I didn’t go home till four in the morning. By that time, I had not only finished my work but also worked on other stuff that needed to be done before launch.

It was at this point that I realized the true nature of a startup. Each person is putting in one-hundred percent of their effort and time towards achieving the next milestone goal. I later found out that many of the other people were sleeping at the office four only a few hours a night. Moreover, there is no set job for each person. People do whatever needs to be done to try to change and improve the world.