Hi everyone. This is my first post. A quick introduction about myself. I am Vivek and currently located in Chennai. Aspiring to be an entrepreneur in the days/months/Years to come 🙂 This article is an attempt to understand the process of hiring at a startup. Your comments would help me understand what went on.
To understand the situation, you need to know that I have been trying to work for a startup because I thought it would give me the flexibility to learn how to run one down the line. Having said this, I always knew the kind of challenges and sacrifices that I would have to make if at all I joined a startup. But I am also of the opinion that the passion to work in a startup varies with your association with the group. For instance, if you are the founder, you would be practically working 24×7 and also in your sleep you would probably be working out strategies. The level of commitment would slightly reduce say for a co-founder who came on board a little later and keep going down with a new hire. This is true even more for a company which is performing regular hires (post funding).
Now, having said this (and I am sure many of you would agree/disagree), I was called by one of the founders of a company to work with them. We had various rounds of interviews, tests and lengthy discussions. Coming from a product management/marketing background, I was offered a marketing role in the organization. The company itself was funded by an entity and were in a position to offer stable income to the new recruits.
At the end of these interviews, I was selected and offered the job. However the pay was significantly lower than what I was drawing at my current job. The reasons stated included that I come from a different background and the nature of the job would be entirely different from what I have been doing all these years, that a disparity might be created if they even matched my current pay; let alone exceed it.
My expectations were not high at all. To begin with since I knew the pulse of startups, I was ready to accept an offer which would be below my current CTC and also fore-go other benefits which are offered in a corporate world. I was also prepared to work long hours (startups don’t have any working hours, isn’t it?) including weekends if the situation demanded. But the company simply couldn’t meet my threshold of acceptance and the offer was cancelled as a result.
My questions to fellow entrepreneurs here are:
- How do you balance the pay packet for a potential employee? Please give two scenarios – (a) You are self funded. (b) You are financially backed by an angel or a VC.
- Would you consider the prior experience of a candidate from a different domain, or would you simply consider him/her to be a fresher from your company’s perspective?
- What kind of commitment would you expect from the new hire? What kind of notice periods/bonds would you look at?
- What are the legal aspects which you would look into before hiring someone? Would you do extensive background check on the candidate or rely on references or just hire him/her for what value they can bring in?
- Would you have an age criteria to hire? In other words would you believe that a 21 year old could be as valuable as a 40 year old?
Your comments would help me ascertain where I should have my expectations as a potential hire/employer.
- An Attempt to work at a startup - June 24, 2008
Vivek:
What you are saying sounds dichtomous/contradictory to me. If you are looking for an early stage gig* at a startup, the things you want to negotiate or ask to the founder/CEO are:
+ Would I have a free rein to run the business/department the way I want to run?
+ Would you take me to your investor/customer meetings?
+ Do you see me in sitting on your board in the next 1-2 years?
+ …Many other questions like that, but get the idea. Money is important for the new hire but it’s a high risk/reward game the founders are playing. So, either you are with the founding team playing the same game (while sharing their vision) or not.
t:1ndus
*as an entr’pnr, I hate to use the word “job”!
Look in the mirror and what do you see? Image of someone that detests the command-control style of large enterprise, desires the relative freedom and flexibility associated with a startup. The risk reward also includes an opportunity to get away from the dull tasks that you’ve grown used to and wanting to get rid off. You want to shift to a domain that you imagine suits your inherent yet untested talents better; something that in your opinion would be significantly more interesting. In essence, you want take control of your career and by extension – life, by joining a startup.
Now think what you bring to a startup – Loads of untested talent, no capital, no domain expertise and only related overheads (marginal unit of power, water, refreshments, real estate that you consume). You are a cost center.
Net, net you are the gainer till you prove yourself to be a profit center. Now is that not a fair bargain for what you forego in terms of compensation? (unfairly benchmarked against a previous job which had none of the above upsides)
Be a fast learner and deliver enterprise growth. Stop drooling over startup ESOPs that carry no value unless the team is bent upon creating some. Only then you’ll get far more than your worth without ever having to ask for it. That’s the startup promise as well.
First and foremost, as someone else pointed out, if you feel working in a startup is all about sacrifice etc, then you should really reconsider your decision.
Also remember that people running startups are extremely hungry and greedy for success (yes, it also means financial success, they are not charities), so DONT compromise on what you are looking for. Rather, find out startups that are looking for you. A lot of startups have decent work schedules (which also mean relaxed compensation and stock 🙂 ) On the other hand, if you want a 5 year slugfest, there are such startups too. If its your first startup stint, you are better off with a good VC funded startup.
The ONLY criteria for hiring in a startup is attitude. If can convince your interviewer that you are willing to learn ‘without the halo around you’ and put in your best, you really stand a chance.
Be patient, have a look around and you’ll find the dream startup job sooner than what you thought.
Good luck!
Please drop me an email when you have a chance with your contact info. I can be reached at agupta @ 11 rupees dot com
In addition, I am looking with folks with following skills:
– Developers with Java skills
– Web marketing
– Web analytics and statistics
Best,
Anuj
Vivek,
It sounds to me that you are just (or mainly) disappointed that you were not hired, or given the pay package you wanted, or both. In any case it sounds like a lot of “why did this happen to me”. If you are really interested in working for a startup, your questions, in my opinion, should be different such as:
– What do employers (startups) look for?
– Where do I find a startup to join?
– What assets/skills do I have that can be of use to a startup?
You should also find out, with yourself, what level of “pain” and sacrifice you are willing to endure in quest of joining a startup (which as you say is you short term goal).
Also, it would be best to focus on what value you believe you can bring to the table. I love to quote the CEO of Seibel which I heard once back in the MBA days, he said “Just find a company you want to work for, and **get hired**”. What he meant was, find a company you want to work for, and convince them that you can create value for them. The rest will follow.
Good luck!