Main image of article Your 'Should I Join This Startup?' Checklist
Over at TechCrunch, investor and author James Altucher has posted an interesting questionnaire for anyone considering whether to join a startup. While many of his questions are straightforward—“Has the CEO built a business before?” for example—others are a bit more nuanced. If you make it to an actual job interview, Altucher advises, evaluate how the partners get along: “If the partners who started the business don’t have their emotional act together, the company itself won’t be emotionally sound.” You should also evaluate the startup’s potential to actually disrupt a given market. “I’d rather work for Uber than a company that lends money against taxi medallions,” Altucher wrote. “I’d rather work for Airbnb than Marriott. I’d rather work for Tesla than GM.” The rest of the questionnaire is well worth checking out. With the unemployment rate for tech workers declining, many startups are paying more than ever to attract top talent; but money (and the promise of equity) shouldn’t be the only guide when choosing a place to work.