

Ask HN:  Interviewing with a startup, what questions should I ask them? - francissson

Backgound... I have been employed for a large non technology corporation for nine years.  I realize I have been with them to long and for all the wrong reasons.  But I'm still a little nervous about working for such a small company.<p>I have an interview with a startup lined up and might apply to some more.  I'm sure at some point I will be given the opportunity to ask them questions about the job, etc...<p>So, what kind of questions should I ask about their company to feel out their stability, prospects and future?<p>Thanks
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hga
This "archive of quality Hacker News 'Ask YC' posts grouped by subject" looks
worth checking out:
<http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/startupswiki/Ask_YC_Archive>

(Thanks to jmonegro for posting it to
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1126993.>)

~~~
francissson
Wow awesome resources. Thanks again for the links!

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keefe
If your goal is to get equity of any significant amount, you should discuss
this up front - that's not to say ask for it right away, but talk about the
path for that job and whether if things go well in X months or years you will
get 1% or whatever it is you want. You could also ask how much runway they
have.

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hga
Besides the Joel Test for programming processes, I always try to ascertain:

Their finances, business model, etc.

Can they fire people who don't work out and how careful are they in hiring.

Plus there are many warning signs to watch out for, like unwarranted secrecy.

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ScottWhigham
Although the Joel Test is a good idea, I wouldn't pass up an opportunity just
because it didn't fit into Joel's box. YMMV but I find it better to apply
these to the situation rather than as a "by the book" technique of filtering
out job opportunities. There are tons of great small startups that have yet to
hit their stride yet. You could be the one to show them the folly of their
ways and help them hit that stride.

~~~
hga
If they don't have their SCM act together and won't let you fix that, I'd pass
up such an "opportunity", you're going to have a _lot_ of pain. That's items 1
and 2 and source code control is non-negotiable for me (unless that
alternative is starvation).

Daily builds are an it depends, bug database is something you can probably do
yourself at worst case, schedule and spec are also things that will make your
life miserable if they don't have anything there.

If you don't have quiet working conditions, they don't care about your
productivity or the quality of your work (so why should you???).

The rest except for the last are just damned good ideas: good tools shouldn't
be a problem today, but your superiors might have funny ideas about what's
good. EMACS is non-negotiable for me plus access to a Unix or cygwin on
Windows.

If you don't have dedicated testers, more misery, but in a startup that can be
finessed.

If they don't take care in hiring programmers (no writing code during
interview test), they're going to hire plenty of duds, and getting rid if them
is no fun ... assuming the company survives. A startup can't afford very many
if any dud hires.

Let me close with one of PG's observations about dot.bomb failures: a whole
lot of them were technical failures. Failing to do enough of the Joel Test
items makes technical failure more likely and requires heroics to advert it.

