

Ask HN: What questions should I ask a founder before joining a 10 people startup - mind_heist

Hi All - I have been working for a large storage&#x2F;cloud company for around 4 years and currently looking for another job. I have been  interviewing for a while &amp; have been talking to a lot of small size startups too (less than 10 people).<p>What questions should one ask the founders before joining them ?
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MichaelCrawford
Can you show me where I'll be sitting? (I once thought I'd get a private
office, but was made to sit in - I swear I'm not making this up! - "The Boiler
Room".)

A company of just 10 people wouldn't have a lunchroom. Before you accept an
offer - preferably before you interview - explore the neighborhood around the
office, to determine whether there are good places for lunch, or for coffee or
beer, if that is to your taste.

I would not consider working for a big company unless they had a good
lunchroom. It's not that I can't go out to eat, or bring my own lunch, but
there's something about a lousy lunchroom in my workplace that I find quite
depressing.

If I drive, can you cover my parking, or alternatively will you cover public
transit?

Do you have an employee library? (Most companies don't. That is the essence of
stupidity. There should be at least a few technical books, for the languages,
tools, platforms and APIs you use.)

Have any of your products been reviewed in the trade press? (Better if you
find this out on your own, but you might not be able to find the reviews. The
products might have online reviews though.)

Don't ask in the interview, but search around for dirt on the company
principles. Like maybe they robbed a previous company blind, then invested
their ill-gotten gains in the firm you are interviewing with. I actually
worked for one such company.

Do you provide on-the-job training? (Even if you have the chops to fulfill
your job description, work will get uninteresting if you don't get to learn
anything new on the job.)

Do you pay for conference tickets or travel?

~~~
mind_heist
Thank you ! I suppose going on-site to the company sort of solves most of
these issues. But how would you go about finding the following ?

"Like maybe they robbed a previous company blind, then invested their ill-
gotten gains in the firm you are interviewing with. I actually worked for one
such company."

Is it just a background check on the founders ?

~~~
MichaelCrawford
While strictly speaking it's true that going on-site _can_ solve these issues,
being on-site won't actually solve anything unless you pay attention to your
surroundings.

In the "boiler room" case, I simply assumed I'd get a private office because
everyone in the same hall as my manager had a private office. I simply assumed
I'd be on that same hall.

Rather than explicitly asking about where you'd be sitting, what the lunch
room is like and so on, perhaps it would be more diplomatic to request a
guided tour around the facility.

It's quite common to be taken to lunch during job interviews. If that doesn't
happen, maybe it's because the lunchroom sucks.

~~~
MichaelCrawford
"pay attention to your surroundings"

For example, on your way to the room where you will be interviewed, have a
look at the expressions on the faces of the employees. Do they look happy? Or
do they look like "lifers" or "wage slaves"?

Do you see any technical books out in plain sight? You might not see the
actual library, if there is one, but you might see books on the desks of the
engineers.

------
mswen
Ask them about their journey from pain-point and idea to where they are today.
Listen carefully and somewhat skeptically to this story. Ask yourself, where
do you get the sense that they are exaggerating or glossing over something.
Ask about pivots in product and strategy. Ask about financial near-death
experiences. As you probe this story try to get a sense of how the founders
handle tough circumstances.

Ask about false starts with co-founders or employees that just didn't work
out. Try to get a sense of how the founder makes tough choices and deals with
interpersonal conflict.

Do I think the company will get traction and grow? If I am employee #7 and I
can credibly see how this becomes a company with 100 employees then there is
room for me to grow and succeed with the company.

When the pressure is on, how does the founder treat employees? Is he quick to
sacrifice their interests for his own? Does he take responsibility or is he
quick to shift blame?

Is there a good fit for my skills such that I can make a noticeable difference
in technology and business outcomes for the company over the next couple of
years?

------
aaronbrethorst
What percentage of the company does my offered equity stake represent?

~~~
dpeck
fully diluted percentage

~~~
mind_heist
Hmm .. I dont fully understand what diluted percentage is actually ? Looking
it up ...

~~~
saluki
The social network offers a good example . . .
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPlzlVegfbA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPlzlVegfbA)

I'd recommend having a lawyer review all your contracts, vesting documents,
etc initially and any future documents you are asked to sign.

Keep in mind not many startups are a home run or a rocket ship so usually it
won't matter but you don't want to be on the outside looking in if it does
take off.

Good luck in 2015.

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IpV8
What is their exit plan? Are they trying to sell the business soon or are they
in it for the long haul? Who are the potential buyers and how are they making
the company appealing to those buyers.

------
dpeck
Does stock come in the form of a restricted grant or options?

