Hello! I am currently interviewing with a recently funded series A startup. They currently have 50 employees.

The pay for the position I'm interviewing for is considerably on the higher side, which is great. Or should I be worried I will be asked to wear too many hats, work excessive hours ect..?

I've always worked at larger more stable companies.

What resources, methods can I use to make sure I do my research to ensure this is a good company to work for and it will be around for a while?

Yeah don't expect stability, normal working hours, or clearly defined roles in an early stage startup -signed a guy who sold two startups.

Don’t be worried! Just enjoy the ride. The most important factor to consider when joining a small startup is the leadership. Ask to meet the C-Suite. Look at their history. Research where the funding is coming from. Do you believe the company will succeed? Are you willing to stake the next 1-4 years of your career on their business idea/model? Even if it fails, startups are great resume builders because of all the hats you get to wear and ownership.

I recently joined a series A startup coming from working in larger companies… you definitely do wear multiple hats and I actually enjoy that as it keeps the work interesting and you get to partake in working with other departments than you normally wouldn’t have. In terms of the hours you’d work it really just depends on the startup itself and that’s something you won’t know till you start

If you’re going to dive into the startup life: redefine your idea of agile, ambiguity, and change management. Know that there may be so many holes in process, or complete lack thereof, that it can get SUPER overwhelming- if you let it. If you can adapt, and learn quickly to set your own course while help driving the ship, you’ll do well. I almost think coming in at this stage (that you mention) is the super exciting stage. I’m in the late stage-stage (🤨) and it’s like a game of tectonic plates everyday between the market, the growing pains in our dept, and the growing pains of other depts, all whilst they continue to build out our c-suite. Perhaps you’ll hit a sweet spot? I can’t say. This is my first startup and it’s interesting to say the least. Good luck!

Making your eyes go wide due to a crazy salary offer is *NOT* the same thing as going into a Startup with your eyes *wide open*.

50 people is still a moderately small startup. The higher your salary the more hats you will not only need to wear... you will need to MAKE. You will be making hats and then wearing them.

Unless they are hiring you for your top-shelf coding talent (only), you should expect and embrace hats... the more money and equity... the more hats.

If you are "just" a badass coder and they want the job done right then you can, at a minimum, expect long and off "schedule" hours as needed to get all that technical debt retired.

If you are only looking for more money but not more responsibility... stick to the corporate world.

"Do you want to live forever?" :-D
-Valeria (warrior-thief, Conan's fellow brigand)

Set your work/life boundaries early and fast. If they don’t respect that you choose to not work weekends for examples that’s a big red flag.

Simply asking what does your work schedule look like? How do you incorporate rest time in your calendar? Are very telling of how they work and the company culture in my opinion

How do you find these startups?

A startup is NOT a company
Repeat that to yourself.

You get no guarantee that tomorrow you will have the same job. You get no guarantee that tomorrow you will have a job.

That's not unethical. It is not inconsiderate of human resources. It is what a startup is.

If you want predictability and a normal job, work for a company. If you're expecting that, definitely do NOT take this job as it's unfair to the founders and team.

Be prepared and happy to do different things than you expect, or you shouldn't be doing startup work.

There is absolutely nothing about Series A funding that means they will survive. Series A is still early stage and likely to fail.

Working startups, we don't have hours or solid job descriptions and expectations. We have culture and what needs to get done. You work for a startup because you WANT to do startup work. Notably, it's Sunday and I'm here answering this, working; why, because I love working for startups and wouldn't work for a company and managers.

As soon as you start the job, start looking for other opportunities. Trust me.

Your risk in leaving your job and going to a startup is not the risk the startup will fail. Your risk is actually generally much lower than that.

How easy would it be to go back to your current job, or a very similar job, if the startup fails. If the answer is "pretty easy" which for a large number of people it would actually be the case, there's not that much risk in going to a startup.

For me personally, I do a good job, and am only a manager, so I wouldn't think twice about the "risk" of going to a startup in terms of losing my job there or the company going under. Because I know that I could have a job again probably about a week after I called the partner I currently work with. Of course, if you're at a pretty high level role at your current employer or your current employer isn't that large, the same may not be the case for you.

There are a lot of other reasons not to go to a startup, I just think people generally overemphasize the risk to the individual employee of the company failing.

Certainly not to say there's no risk, just that it's not always that big of a deal.

But you will absolutely have to wear many hats and it's very possible that you'll end up spending 80% of your time doing something that you weren't actually originally brought in for. Or the company pivots and your position becomes useless, but you're good, so they put you in a new role (or more likely, you just create your own role).

One other important point: Having received their A round of funding does *not* mean they will receive a B round, nor does it guarantee your survival if that B round does arrive.

The more willing and useful you are (as it relates to the high price tag they paid for you to climb aboard) the more likely they will keep you.

Even then, if the B round is a down-round or revenues don't accelerate through that A round.. you may be asked to take a pay cut (though this seems to be less likely than just *being* cut).

Regarding equity: try to find out what **percent** of the currently Issued Shares and what total of Authorized Shares your offer represents. The HR folks will likely not want to share this info.. but press the issue; numerical share count means *nothing* without a reference point (fractions are your friends).
*Do not expect it to be in the single digits for a company that already has an A round under it's belt.

Thanks for your insights everyone.

I'm open to working hard, wearing many hats and developing new skills!

My main question is there a way to research the stability of the company and talk to others if there is a market fit long term for this business?

Happy to chat - DM me. Look at the runway of the company, their client base and their investors. If it’s enterprise clients and tier 1 investors it should give you comfort.

OP, deviation from the original question but can I ask what's your motivation to interview at a startup? Why are you moving from large company to this?
(I work in and hire for startups and want to understand the thought process).

You will, undoubtedly be wearing multiple hats on occasions. As for the excess hours etc, it will depend on the company's culture, founder's ideology. But being in a higher up position, you will be able to influence this for the better if it doesn't exist.

The pay being on higher side is a good sign, which means they do have money (for now) and want to ensure the right person is brought onboard, while being as competitive as possible with bigger companies for talent.

Depends on the position and how of you all there are. If you’re their first AE hire there is likelihood that you could be tasked with building out the whole sales dept. and eventually hiring more AEs under you. If the startup grows fast, you could also end up hiring the BD manager, AM manager, Partnerships manager, and eventually a marketing team as you morph into a head of revenue role.

You'll most likely be expected to work at a level or speed equal to the pay. However, I see a lot of people working for non-start ups covering additional responsibilities beyond their role due to understaffing.... for "normal" pay

Pick your poison 🙂 and do as much research as you can before accepting any role

I currently work at a company just like this. I would be happy to share my experiences with you. Please message me.

In my experience with start ups it’s important to look at the company more than the role. If you can’t connect with the company then the chaos that comes with early stage companies won’t be sigh it.

I’d also try to ask as many questions about the c suite team as possible. They are the ones who set the tone early and they can make or break the experience and success.