Rising Star
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Yes and no- a startup typically leans heavy on culture and fit, they may assume you have what it takes based on places you’ve worked/titles held etc. and are more focused on determining if you are a right fit for their workplace- hence the chit chat over tech questions. I’ve worked in 3 startups, 2 were phenomenal and 1 was downright awful and unethical. I’ve seen highly qualified candidates get turned down due to lack of cultural fit, as well as the opposite when they were desperate to find a new hire due to high turnover. If you have the chance I’d ask if you could speak to other employees before taking the offer, startups are small and like families, if you can connect with 2-3 people on LinkedIn or via a formal discussion route you’ll quickly find out if the place is toxic vs not.
Yes! Interestingly a candidate reached out to me on LinkedIn inquiring about a former workplace- I thought that was a smart move and have since done the same.
Startups are such random tbh. I interviewed at startups where we didn't talk about anything but football
Other ones I got destroyed by the tech lead
Pro
I once had interview with startup in bar and we talked about drinks, life in general etc and they offered me job
Be more concerned about the CEOs direction and if there's money to keep hiring. Small companies don't have much in the way of process, a quality tech team can be grown by you with relative ease even if it isn't there already. Early employees have to be entrepreneurs in spirit.
Pro
I guess they really need you there because no one was technical enough to do a real interview.
‘Senior Technical Role’ in a 50 person company probable equals the Senior Technical Person.
It’s a 50 employee company. That’s smaller than a restaurant. I don’t think they care much except if you can get along with people at Friday bbq
Won’t go that far- with that little employee count OP is going to be on the spot, there’s nowhere to hide and no incoming staffs they can trade you out for.
Pro
When you get to the CEO level interview, they’re usually accessing culture and fit. Technical competency is of course needed to do your job, but I’d assume the previous interview rounds qualified you for that. The final interview is more about if you have the personality and work ethic to survive at a startup – where grit and the ability to adapt are more important. All CEOs know who you hire at the early stages of a startup are critical.
Did the CEO ask you any questions?
If you’re still uneasy about it, you can always ask for a final call to answer any remaining questions to dig into any other red flags you’ve seen. I’ve done this several times and it was never a problem.
Source: worked at startups and interviewed at many before