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Ask HN: How should I evaluate a startup as I job hunt?

I've been a lurker at HN for a while and it has greatly motivated me to seriously consider joining a startup. I have been at one of the large software companies for almost a year now (first job after college, good CS school) and I've decided to change jobs before I get too comfortable here.

Given the large number of interesting startups, what kind of questions should I be asking, not only the engineers / founders of the startup, but also myself? What are the signs of a healthy startup (funding, background of the founders)? How do I gauge the core principles and culture of a startup?

I apologize in advance if some of these questions don't make sense or may even be irrelevant in the pursuit of finding a job at a startup. I also realize different people will have differing opinions about how to evaluate a startup. That would be particularly helpful.

Most of the links I came across while searching on google were about investors evaluating startups. I didn't find many opinions on how to evaluate a startup from a job-seeker's perspective.

Thanks in advance

102 points vowelless 14 years ago 56 comments

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