How to Assess Whether a Startup Is a Good Fit For You
Think you want to abandon your traditional 9–5 to gamble on a startup? Though it may seem like a dream job, working for this trendy buzzword may not be right for you. Find out if you’d love or hate working at a startup today:
Are you thinking of leaving your job to join a startup?
Startups may be the coolest gig in town and give employees the chance to literally grow a company from nothing to a potential billion dollar enterprise.
But is the unstructured environment the best place for your skills to shine?
And how will you know which startup to choose? What factors should you consider before letting a startup know you’re interested in joining the team?
That’s exactly what you’ll learn in today’s guide.
How to Tell If A Startup Is Right For You
Why do you want to work for a startup anyway?
Is the potential to hold tons of lucrative stock options your goal? Or the chance to really change the world with a product or service you truly believe in?
Maybe you just want to see what working at one is like. Or have startup experience on your resume before you venture off and found your own company.
Find out why you want to be part of a startup and then determine what unique skills, abilities, or experiences you can bring to the table to add value. Then you’ll know where you fit best.
If you’re going to work at a startup, you need to be comfortable:
- Wearing multiple hats several times a day. Roles and responsibilities aren’t set in stone at a startup where everyone is generally trying to pitch in wherever help’s needed most. Don’t be surprised if you start out in marketing, move into design, and then jump into customer service all in the same day.
- Following an unconventional hierarchy. Since job roles are so fluid, there’s no clear career ladder or path to advancement at most startups. Promotions usually happen based on how much effort employees put in and how long they’ve been grinding away.
- Rolling with the punches. Startups don’t have everything figured out yet so you’ll need to be open to experiments that work and those that fail. You can’t get stuck or too comfortable.
- Solving problems to constantly improve. Work at a startup and you should always be striving towards improvement and greater efficiency. You should also be eager to think outside the box to solve issues.
Sound like your cup of tea?
If your personality jives with startup life, here’s a few tips for finding the right one for you.
8 Things to Check Before Working At a Startup
Sometimes when you’re so excited about the thought of working for a company you really like, you tend to underestimate the downsides and highlight all the positives.
So make sure you know what you’re potentially getting into by looking at every startup’s:
#1. Current Domain or Niche
Every company serves a specific target audience. Even if you don’t have prior experience working for a startup, you may have work history overlapping their key demographics.
Understanding who the company serves will help you determine if you can help them.
So before you apply, you’ll want to know:
- Whether the startup targets businesses or consumers
- Their specific target audience
- The problem they solve for their customer
- If they’re a disruptor in a particular industry or have competitors
You’ll also want to see if a relocation is in the cards if you land the position you’re after.
#2. Location
There are a few startup hubs in the US you may want to consider moving to if working for one is on your bucket list. These include but aren’t limited to[*]:
- Boston
- Columbus
- Nashville
- Minneapolis
- Austin
- Denver
- Portland
- Seattle
- Los Angeles
- Silicon Valley
- Houston
- Atlanta
If you’re talking worldwide startup cities, you’ll want to check out[*]:
- London! (But you knew that already)
- Berlin
- Tel Aviv
- Melbourne
- Stockholm
- Toronto
- Istanbul
- Vancouver
You could find the very rare unicorn of working remotely for a startup, but if you can relocate, you’ll only add that much more to the team with your awesome personality.
#3. Funding Stage
You can use the level of funding a startup has received to help you gauge what working for the company will be like.
Startups in different stages present different challenges and certain ones will be a better fit for your skills than others.
Pre-Series-A is the earliest stage and represents companies with just enough funding to call themselves a startup.
Series A-funded startups have raised anywhere from $2 to $15 million and have taken steps to scale their initially successful launch.
If you’re a problem solver and love taking risks, these early startup stages will make you feel alive. High risks equal high rewards, after all.
Late-Stage startups, organized by Series B through C, D, E, etc. operate more like companies than fledgling businesses out of a garage[*]. The further down the alphabet you go, the more you’ll find formal corporate-like structures, fewer risks, and higher compensation.
You’ll also want to take note of this next point, which funding can’t always buy.
#4. Company Culture
Company culture refers to the beliefs, values, mission, and ethics of a brand. It’s kind of like a startup’s soul.
Frances Frei and Anne Morriss at Harvard Business Review say[*]:
“Culture tells us what to do when the CEO isn’t in the room, which is of course most of the time.”
Whether that’s an axe to grind against injustice or an overwhelming sense of humanitarianism, company culture dictates the work environment and the expectations founders have for their employees.
Check the company’s “About Us” page to find out intel like:
- The company code of ethics and their core values
- Whether workers are referred to as part of the team or simply employees
- What the work environment is described as
Don’t underestimate this step. If you don’t believe in a company, you won’t dedicate yourself to their cause.
It’s one thing to know what your potential startup stands for, it’s another to respect the founding members and everyone else on the team.
#5. The Founding Team, Members, and Other Employees
Do you believe in what the founders of the startup set out to accomplish? Does their vision not only make sense, but actually inspire you to work your butt off to see it brought to the masses?
And what about everyone else on the team?
Are they successful in their own, unrelated endeavors or do they seem to dedicate their lives to the startup? How long does the average employee stay? What do they seem to value about the company most?
If you can’t wait to work with the people you see, or even feel a bit intimidated by their greatness, take it as a good sign.
#6. The Financials
Besides learning how much has been invested, another way to gauge the health of a startup is to see how you estimate their:
- Target market. Do they work in a smaller marker or one generating over a billion dollars in revenue each year? Is the market currently too saturated? Does a market for the product/service even exist? What are their unique selling points that beat the competition?
- Business model. How is the product or service sold and marketed? Are the profit margins high enough for sustainability and growth? What’s the acquisition cost of each customer? The lifetime value? Does value grow as the network of customers grows? Are customers loyal or flaky?
Then you’ll need to see if taking on all this risk is worth making a lot less.
#7. The Average Salary
Many startup employees jump at the chance to earn a huge payout at the end of their hard work in lieu of a high salary while laying the groundwork.
But if you have a family, crazy student loan debt, or expensive tastes, you may need to consider the short-term salary implications before making a career move to gamble on the long-run.
Then again, you may not care what you earn if you truly feel your skills are being used for the greater good.
#8. Whether It Combines Your Interests and Strengths
People who are most satisfied with their jobs (and experience greater life enjoyment) have been lucky enough to combine their interests and their strengths to contribute in a meaningful way to a new company.
If your interests in helping kids code align with a startup that could use your strength as a developer, you’ll feel as if you’re making a difference at your job instead of simply working for a paycheck.
Ready to Find Your Dream Startup?
You’re not going to find open positions for startups on sites like LinkedIn, Monster, Indeed, or CareerBuilder. And unless you have a database of potential startups just waiting to break digital ground, you may not know where they’re hiding.
That’s why Unicorn Hunt, the fun startup job board, is here to make all your dreams come true.
Sign up for the Unicorn Hunt weekly digest and you’ll have all the best startup jobs sent straight to your inbox — that means you’ll never miss an opportunity to work with the startup you’ve been searching for.
So are you ready to help change the world?
