How to choose a great startup to join? Part I

A startup is different from a small business. An early-stage startup is very different from growth or late stage startup. A high-quality startup is very different from a low-quality startup (even if both fail).

Good questions to ask would be: Should I join a startup? Which startup? How do I know which one is good?

Not every new or small business is a startup. A startup usually means that a company:

A small business does not mean there is something wrong with it, it is just different from startup. Many successful investment and hedge funds, professional services, boutique service providers are small businesses. Working for a small business could also be a very good career choice, it’s just not something I’ll be covering here. Let’s talk about startups.

Most startups with external financing go through financing stages: pre-seed, seed, series A, series B, series C, series D, etc.

Startups from seed to Series A are often referred to as “Early stage”. As an employee, the earlier you get on board, the higher the risk, and the higher the chances to make an impact.

The stage to join will depend on your career goals, but also on your working preferences, skills, risk attitude. Some people say that it is hard for one person to excel at different stages. In Silicon Valley, where startup job market is developed, there are people who specialize in stages. For example, a VP of Sales specialized in going from $1 to $10M revenue, or a VP of sales specializing in going from $10 to $100M revenue. These people would be brought in (often with a help of VC) at a specific stage and move on to the next startup once they complete their “mission”. I have not seen much of it in Europe yet, primarily becuase there are fewer career-startup people.

Let’s look at some common reasons to join startups at different stages:

Reasons to join early stage (Pre-seed, seed, series A) startup:

Reasons to join growth stage (Series B) startup:

Reasons to join later stage (Series C and beyond) startup:

Let’s look at some examples. These are stereotypical and just used for illustration:

[Without having more details, I would advise joining a good early stage startup. She can learn the skills for starting her own company, she can grow into a senior position much faster than in a larger company. If things don’t work out, she can always go back to her $150–180K job — not the worst plan B.]

[Without further details, I would recommend joining a later stage startup, where he can bring more processes and efficiencies without compromising much on his salary and stability]

[Without knowing more details, I would recommend John to join either late seed startup as CMO or Series A as a senior marketeer with a clear path to CMO. He can then learn all necessary aspects of the adjacent marketing fields and grow with the company into a larger CMO role]

If you have questions about the stage that fits you or “ask for a friend”, feel free to add it in the comments below or DM me, I will be happy to reply.

In part II of this post, I will talk about point 3. Diligently assess the startup you consider joining. What research you should do and what questions to ask to test if the startup is likely to succeed or at least satisfy your career objectives.

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