

Ask HN: Questions to ask a Hiring Startup - thinkbohemian

I'm going to interview for a startup next week for the first time. I'm currently employed by a Fortune 500 company and i've never worked for a startup before.<p>I've been told that it's acceptable to ask about their burn rate (assuming they get no more $ how long will they stay in buisness if they don't turn a profit), is this an acceptable question? Are there any other questions you would ask?
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hga
Yes, it's acceptable to ask questions about their finances, although the term
"burn rate" is usually associated with a period of time, e.g. $x per month, we
have y dollars in the bank (and maybe) z dollars pledged if we reach the next
milestone by such and so date.

If they consider it to be unreasonable to tell you how long they're going to
be able to keep you employed go elsewhere. I've can't remember _ever_ having a
problem asking this question (e.g. not joining a startup that I in retrospect
wished I had) or ever being lied to, although we can be sure others have had
the latter problem.

Other important things:

Try to make sure they can fire people. The only thing worse than a bad hire at
a startup is when the leaders don't have what it takes to remedy it. It's
hard, it requires the ability to be at least a little bit cruel, but it often
is utterly fatal if they can't do it.

Assuming you're a programmer, make sure they give you a test to see if your
peers who have also been or will be hired though this process can code their
way out of a paper bag. See above, plus you just don't want to be working in a
shop with too wide a variation in programming ability or at least too many
lows. I suspect I don't have to tell you the latter given your current
background but I note it's much less affordable in a startup. So are lies. The
one time I knew ahead of time that my boss was a liar and I went to work for
them anyway (was very desperate due to a cold cubicle that was making me sick)
I _really_ regretted it.

Do the Joel Test: <http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000043.html>

Nowadays, I'd make sure they have a grasp of Customer Development (search this
site for that) and otherwise look like they have a clue WRT to business. That
tells you unambiguously why stealth startups are generally to be avoided.
Looking back on most of my career I sure wish I'd known of its concepts and it
certainly explains the failures of many of the failed startups I've worked
for.

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robdimarco
Here were some of my thoughts on it from a couple years ago...

[http://www.innovationontherun.com/considering-working-
for-a-...](http://www.innovationontherun.com/considering-working-for-a-
startup-34-questions-to-ask-before-signing-up/)

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jaddison
Ask to view their business plan (and then learn how to interpret them if you
need to). If they don't have one, they probably don't have a set path for
making money in a set amount of time. They might just be hoping for a buyout.

