theproductassociate
theproductassociate
Stealth

How do I evaluate a start up before applying there?

Making the switch from Business Analyst to APM. I don't mind the lack of WLB (60-70 hours a week) since I'm very early in my career- all I'm looking for is:

  1. Learning
  2. Above average but not ridiculously high pay (I'll be more than happy with 80k-1LPM in hand)

Problem is most companies that are more likely to provide me with these are start ups since I'm not from a Tier-1 college and have a B.Sc.

So how do I evaluate a start up's financials before applying there? Most people give vague answers like "check their financials", "figure out how much runway they have left" etc. without going into detail or mentioning any concrete steps.

23mo ago
randomjocke
randomjocke
Porter23mo

Assuming you’ve got the call for interview 1/ Clearly ask the hiring manager or the founder about business model 2/ If the startup is pre revenue, then ask about the funding they’ve received and the burn rate. This should give you a rough idea on how much runway they’ve. 3/ you can check company financials if they’ve existed from 2/3 years on ministry of corporate affairs website. You might need to pay a small sum. 4/ I would not believe founders who say that money is about to get wired, and we will increase your salary in 3 mos (if the og deal they gave you is bad)

Hope this help. Good luck.

theproductassociate
theproductassociate
Stealth23mo

Thank you very much. I appreciate this.

Is it okay with you if I DM you on Discord?

randomjocke
randomjocke
Porter23mo

Yep. Anytime.

notyouravgcorporat
notyouravgcorporat
Razorpay23mo

Good that you’re doing this exercise in the first place. I went into a v early stage startup without asking any such questions, purely because I liked their problem statement. Obviously regret it in hindsight. Best of luck!

Also wrt your question - randomjocke’s answer was super comprehensive so I don’t have much to add.

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