(中文翻译: http://zhi.hu/nJdV. Thank you @李理 for an awesome translation!)
The choice you have is between
1) definitely getting paid
2) definitely getting paid less and maybe getting paid a ton more sometime far in the future.
In short, it's a bet on the future of the company. If you're not someone who enjoys investing in stocks or betting in general, then you want to carefully consider whether a startup is right for you.
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Questions I would ask a startup before I join,
1. Who are your current investors?
This is how I take advantage of other people's expertise. I'm betting that a VC firm is more knowledgeable than I am (or has done more research than I have) in understanding the business model of the company. If a famous VC firm is willing to invest, then that's a great sign.
2. How much has the company raised and how much runway (unused cash) is left?
This is critical in understanding how secure your job is. First, in most cases, the more money they've raised, the better. Second, you want more than a year of runway. This gives the company time to raise more money or find a buyer. And it gives you time to settle in or find another job if things go south.
3. Is your plan to sell or to IPO?
The reasonable answer is that they're aiming to sell. It's so hard to and takes so many years to IPO that if that's Plan A, then the CEO is probably a little delusional.
4. What will the company's valuation be next year?
Hopefully this is at least 10x what they last raised. That means that the valuation of the company probably grew by 3x to 5x since they last raised, which is a healthy growth rate for a startup.
5. What are the vesting terms? Is there a cliff?
Vesting is a process where you gain ownership of the options offered in your contract over a period of time. A cliff is the period of time where beforehand, you've be granted none of your options, and then suddenly a lump sum. This is to keep employees at the company longer. The usual terms in Silicon Valley is 4 years vesting with a 1 year cliff. That means you earn 25% of your options every year; at your first year anniversary, you gain a lump sum of 25% of your options, and then 2.083% of your options every month from then on until you're fully vested at the end of 4 years. The shorter the vesting period, the better.
6. If you sell, is there accelerated vesting?
If the company exits, a lot of things can happen to the shares that you've vested. You might get to keep them, you might get issued stock of the parent company or you might get bought out in cash. But what happens to the equity you haven't vested? Anything; because it's not yours yet. Ideally, you get accelerated vesting so that it becomes all yours before the sale.
7. What restrictions are there on selling the options or shares?
As an employee, you'll probably have a lot of restrictions on your options and shares. In all likelihood, you're not allowed to sell your options. If you are allowed, then there's probably a right of first refusal restriction (ROFR), which means, if you sell your equity, the company is allowed to buy it before anyone else.
8. Will I have the opportunity to earn more equity?
If the company is willing to give you more equity, then it's a good sign that they care about your progress.
9. At the company, who has worked for a startup that's successfully exited (sold or IPO'd) before?
First, you want to know that there are startup veterans who also think this company is a good bet. Second, they bring with them, not only their skillset in their roles, but also the experience of having gone through the stress of working at a startup. It's stressful if you have trouble raising money. It's stressful if all your performance metrics are down. It's stressful to think of all the money you're burning. It's stressful to work for 12+ hours a day with in a small office with the same 10 people. But veterans know when things are going ok, and have better ideas when things aren't. They help reassure everyone that it's good to focus on product-market fit, then user growth and finally revenue. They help explain the confusing financial changes going on with each round of investments. They help out in more ways than can be described.
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Those questions help expose the red flags in a startup, but ultimately can't completely decide things for you. I still think the most important factor is the people on the team, and not just that they're crazy smart and hard-working, but that you can enjoy working with them. Working at a startup is like riding in a racecar on a cliffside highway at night: if you don't trust the drivers (the CEO, CFO, Heads of departments, etc), it's going to be a gut-wrenching nightmare; but if you do, then you're in for a helluva ride.
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(中文翻译: http://zhi.hu/nJdV) |