Re: TW jobs-how to choose

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>]

"Le Vie, DonaldX S" wrote:
 
> Startups are rife with no money for tools (I had to wait 9 months for my doc
> teams to get Frame and RoboHelp), travel, training, etc. Your frustration
> tolerance level can drop to new levels very quickly in a startup
> environment.

My experience has been very different. The startup companies I've
been involved with have been eager to do things right, and often
need to do things quickly. They haven't used thousand dollar bills
to light cigars, but they have been more than willing to listen to
carefully formed arguments about tools and infrastructure. 

Offhand, I would have said that the attitude depends on the amount
of financing, but a couple of these start-ups haven't been
especiallly lavish, so there's more to it than that. Probably, the
attitude depends on whether the company is driving straight towards
an IPO to the exclusion of everything else or is trying to lay the
foundations for long term success.
 
> For anyone else considering working for a startup, one of the most important
> questions to ask during interviews is how well funded the startup is. Get a
> number and find out what's expected for any second round financing. If the
> company is looking for third-round financing, forget it...that's the next
> step prior to locking the doors. Find out as much up front as possible
> (especially about $$ for tools, training, plans for additional tech writing
> reqs, etc.).

In general, this is good advice, but I have a few additions and
quibbles:

- besides the funding itself, find out when each round has been
obtained. If the rounds are less than eight or ten months apart,
then the company may not be spending its money well.

- compare the funding with the number of employees, both existing
and anticipated. One of the most common mistakes I've seen in
startups is overstaffing. It's another sign of lack of planning.
Often, it's also a sign that the company is driven by the CEO's ego
than by necessity -the higher the number of employees, the more
important the CEO feels. Do a rough estimate based on the salary
offer to you, the number of employees, and the amount that the
company can spend in a year. If the annual payroll is more than
about half the total budget, the company may not succeed.

- nothing is wrong with third-round financing if there's a reason
for it, such as an acquisition opportunity. It's also all right if
the company just needs a little more to get it over the top, or if
the first two rounds were very small. But, all too often,
third-round is bad news.

- the important financing is often the second round. Often, that's
where the real money is raised. In many cases, the first round
simply tests the company's ability to get underway.

- if you can, you should also find out about what business the
company is doing. On the one hand, a company in its first round that
already has business should probably succeed - enough, at least, to
keep going.  On the other hand, a company with its second round well
behind it that is not generating income is in trouble.

- never go into a startup expecting to retire wealthy in a few
years. The chances are that you won't. The IPO may never happen, the
stock may not take off, or your ownership will mean that your wealth
is all on paper anyway. Choose a startup for the work environment,

the experience, or your interest in the technology it's using, and
consider the stock options a windfall.


-- 
Bruce Byfield, Outlaw Communications
Contributing Editor, Maximum Linux
604.421.7189 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com

"Willie was the golden boy, possessed of style and grace,
Where another man might fold his hand, he found the extra ace,
Willie he turned rotten in some secret, ugly way,
Now I look in children's faces, I see Willie."
- Garnet Rogers

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