Ask HN: What questions should I ask a startup before joining?

6 points by stankal 17 years ago | 4 comments

I have an opportunity to join a startup as a software engineer. What questions should I ask them before making my decision?

A quick google search on the topic came up with the sites I listed below, all with some good questions to ask.

Are there any other questions you would ask? How would you feel about joining a startup in this economy? If you have worked for a startup before (or are currently working) what advise can you give me?

Thanks!

http://onstartups.com/home/tabid/3339/bid/122/Joining-A-Startup-Top-6-Questions-You-Should-Ask.aspx

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/03/nine_questions_.html

http://www.genuinevc.com/archives/2005/10/seven_questions.htm

trickjarrett 17 years ago |

Make sure you understand the business plan, as much as they're willing to explain to you. Don't get sold on the "in the future" make sure you're sold on the here and now because at a startup the future may not come.

tokenadult 17 years ago |

Extending this interesting question, what research process should a person engage in to independently check the answers that the start-up company gives to the questions?

aristus 17 years ago | |

Use Archivd. :)

It depends on the situation, how early the company is, how tight the sub-community, etc. But there are 5 major things to check.

a) Funding? See if they are listed on the angel/VC website. Check news reports, press releases, etc. See what other companies the investors have funded and their outcomes.

b) Personnel? See if there are any names in early reports that no longer appear. Make a note of the business / manager / technical mix. Also check to see if the people have worked together before.

c) Competitors? Do your own deepdive for plausible competitors and make a note of their funding, team, and possible business models. Take care to find dead competitors, ie foo.com is cool but Bar Corp already failed at a similar model. Why? How are you different?

d) Relays? You might know someone who knows someone who knows someone at the company. Get their opinions of the people and the business.

e) Demo? Ask for access to their prototype. If Arrington has an invite, then potential hires should too. They might get cagey, might not, either way it's a good data point.

hackworth 17 years ago |

how do they plan on growing your team? do they have a management strategy? may seem mundane, but it will end up affecting your job directly, and if they don't know what they are going to do, you may end up having to deal with a lot of the fallout of disorganization.