

Ask HN: Startup wants me to join in 3 months? - kami8845

I'm interviewing at a startup in SF. They say they really like me but they want to bring me to start at the beginning of April. Their reasoning is that they "don't want to grow the team yet".<p>Is that really what it sounds like or are there other things I should be aware of? They haven't launched yet but I think they will in a couple months time. The option % they've offered me would only rise in value until then so I don't think that that's the reason. I'm still quite inexperienced so maybe they want me to do some unpaid preparation beforehand (they actually recommended I do Rails freelancing in the meantime).<p>What should I be aware of?
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pg
It's quite likely they're telling the truth. Hiring people is a distraction,
and that is the last thing a startup can afford early on.

The only shady explanation I can imagine is that they don't have the money to
pay you, but they hope to raise it between now and April.

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tomasien
Try to understand their funding situation first and foremost, but if that's in
line then I'm sure they're telling the truth.

Startup founders are optimistic creatures, and 3 months seems to many like
plenty of time to launch, get traction, and finish a raise. All 3 startups
that have tried to hire me have wanted to do in two-three months, and upon
prodding, had to admit that was because they were still in the middle of a
raise that wasn't going as well as expected.

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tptacek
They've given you a free put option, haven't they? You can sell to them in
April, or to anyone else in the intervening months. After all, even if you
"accepted" for real and started tomorrow, a compelling offer in March could
still move you. I'm having trouble identifying the downside here.

~~~
patio11
Ooh, a rare disagreement: your "put option" scenario makes sense if there is
an enforceable contract which obligates them to actually hire him in April.
Would you be blocking off April for a consulting engagement in these
circumstances?

This sounds a lot less like "contract signed and PO for pre-payment cut" and
more like "strong interest in resuming discussions with you several months
from now." That isn't a no-op in terms of negotiations, but you're well aware
(and I learned the hard way, multiple times) that there is a very-much-nonzero
probability that the discussion in April begins with "Well, startups move
fast. Conditions have changed and we can't bring you on. [Optional: But we're
really really interested in talking to you in July. (+)]"

\+ Newbie consultant mistake which I'll confess to: this basically happened
exactly when a potential client slow-rolled actually getting a contract signed
for three months -- I need CEO approval for this, your point-of-contact turns
out to be swamped in the engagement month so let's defer for a month and so
we'll defer signing for a month, hang on the contract will be signed any week
now but the CEO is busy, hang on we just hired someone and need to get him to
speed on this before bringing you on, etc etc -- and only then expressed
negative interest in an engagement, after the date had slipped multiple times.
This, naturally, has downsides for the business, both because it consumed a
lot of my time in stressful will-they-won't-they admin and because I blew
several weeks of availability on the "Sorry, can't work with you in
$YOUR_DESIRED_TIMEFRAME, it's already committed" basis.

Older-and-wiser me would have a) been more aggressive about getting them to
commit to a contract (rather than a weekly or semi-weekly ping which
practically oozed with "I don't _really_ need you to take immediate action on
this."), b) released the optimistic lock on the schedule the first time the
client had any issue, and c) if that particular client were to contact me
again, they'd get a two line email with a contract and wiring instructions for
their 100% deposit attached, to assist them in efficiently administering their
vendor relations.

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relaunched
I would be weary. Most startups don't wait on making the right hire. If you
fit the bill, and they know what they are doing, they wouldn't wait b/c of the
high cost of finding another you.

It sounds to me like they might be delaying based-on raising new funds, as
mentioned in other comments. However, I don't see why they wouldn't just say
so. Unless, they think you might go elsewhere. If that is the case, you should
know that there is a huge difference between raising a round and money in the
bank. Which means, that in 3 months, they may not have the money then either.

It sounds like they aren't being transparent. But, in all fairness, when
raising a round, they have a lot of vulnerability just by circulating that
they are looking for money. Be careful.

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davmar
why not just ask them? i think it's completely reasonable to do so. you may
say something like, "i'm really excited about working at your company. it
sounds like a great opportunity and the interviews have been promising. i'm
willing to wait until april for the right opportunity, but would you be
willing to share the reason you wish to delay? this would help me since
otherwise my imagination may run wild with explanations, and with any good
long term relationship openness and communication are valued. thanks!"

or whatever phrasing you like.

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bobrenjc93
Did they offer you equity or stock options? If it's options, then the value of
the stock options won't rise since the price of the options is priced at the
value of the stock the day you start.

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hollerith
What you say makes sense if the stock was publicly traded, but that does not
seem to obtain here.

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bobrenjc93
Please elaborate.

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hollerith
Sure. I think the information you have applies only to options on publicly-
traded stock because the value of stock that is not publicly traded is
sufficiently hard to determine to prevent it from becoming a routine or
traditional part of an employee's compensation package. One way to value a
non-traded stock is to use the valuation used in investments, but there are
not enough investment events for the phrase "the value of the stock the day
you start" to make sense -- especially when you take into account that the
terms of many investments are never published (with the result that the
employee would need to take the startup's word on the terms).

That's how I conclude that the information you give in great grandparent does
not apply in the current situation :)

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bobrenjc93
From my experience, stock options are priced based on start date(correct me if
this is not standard). While the price changes less frequently for private
stocks compared to public stocks, they still change (Typically through
investment events as you mentioned). Thus, if this particular startup raised a
seed round in the coming months, then the value of the stock options would not
rise as op mentioned - "The option % they've offered me would only rise in
value" - since the pricing of the stock options would be different.

~~~
hollerith
Oh, well, if you have direct knowledge of employers actually disbursing
private-stock options this way, then never mind what I wrote.

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codexnight
I think it's weird.If they "really" like you then they should hire you as soon
as possible.Or at least give you a temporary position.

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acremades
Might be a matter of funds... They might be closing their Seed funding round
and until they do so they might want to reduce risks.

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kami8845
They are 2 founders + 3 engineers.

