Working for a startup means that you’re betting your time and investing in the very person who’s founded and is running the operation. As a recent college grad who is looking to join a 0-to-1 startup, you’re not just investing in the company as a whole, but the person who is leading it. A founder is the backbone of a startup. They have the control over funding, hiring, and the way that the entire company is run. If these aren’t being done in a way that aligns with the team, then these could be some telling truths about the potential success of the business. And as someone who has virtually no experience, your time is the most precious resource. Working for a startup is already a very different environment from a 9 - 5, so making sure you get on board with the one that fits you is super important. You don’t want to waste your time building a career learning bad habits, especially from a founder who isn’t equipped to succeed. On the other hand, some of these warning signs can be very clear from the start, if you know exactly what to look for.
- Letting The Competition Get To Them
Every founder, when building a startup, faces competition. Every business has competitors, but what matters most is how they handle it. If a founder isn’t fighting hard enough to stand out amongst their competitors, a difficult question can be asked: Are they really cut out for this? Is this someone that you’d like to be working for? Or, would you rather take your time elsewhere and learn from someone who is better equipped to handle these challenges? If a founder collapses under pressure the minute a competitor enters the picture, then you may want to rethink a few things. Acknowledging the competition and choosing to continue from there is a good sign that you’ve actually found a founder who can turn their startup into a success.
- Lack of Accountability
In early startups, the culture is always formed around the personality of the founder. If you’re not a fan of the startup’s values, chances are, it’ll only get worse. 0-to-1 startups are small, and their success depends primarily on the team dynamic. The work that each employee does will matter on a much larger scale, which is why taking accountability needs to be prioritized. If the founder avoids hard conversations and seems to avoid any accountability whatsoever, then this is a huge red flag.
If you’re looking for easy work, a startup is not for you. Startups are naturally chaotic, and navigating through it comfortably is super important in order to stay aligned. If the founder doesn’t navigate through that chaos and manage their stress properly, they could take the rest of the team down with them. Everyone will follow that bad example, and again, if you’re looking to really learn and be a part of a successful team, steer clear from any founder who runs their company like there are no consequences to terrible leadership.
- Lack of Passion and Inspiration
If boredom is the first thing that you feel when listening to a founder talk about their startup, then quite honestly, their chances at success are very slim. If they can’t even convince you why their idea is so great, how are they going to sell it to anyone else?
Founders need to be CEOs as well: they have to know and understand how to manage a business as well as their finances, but are also tasked with the responsibility of making their mission, vision, and culture appealing and inspiring. If they’re only good at half of these, then there’s really no way that the startup can succeed. Would you even be interested in what is being created? If not, then it’s time to ask yourself some hard questions.
- Lack of Delusion
You need to get the impression that the founder will do anything and everything to get the startup off the ground. If your founder isn’t at least a little delusional, well, it’s harder to tell if it really will succeed or not. There aren’t really any successful pragmatic founders: the ability to will things into existence plays a huge role in the development of a startup as well. Overpromising and under delivering is an extremely common trait to find in a founder, but having that confidence can be enough to propel the startup into successful territory.
Overall, as a new grad, joining a startup can be a huge gamble. Your time and energy is channeled into trusting one person, at the end of the day, to steer the ship in the right direction. You want to work for a founder who is both confident and passionate, but who also creates a culture that is setting you up to succeed. Would you be comfortable holding them accountable, and vice versa?
If you pick the right leader, joining a startup can be one of the biggest learning lessons, which is a huge benefit. Picking the wrong one can cost you tons of time and energy you can’t get back, so choose wisely. With this being said, paying attention to some of these little clues can greatly affect your first experience at a startup.
