Chapter 3: Picking a good startup

There are a few key questions that you can ask to narrow down which startups are most exciting for you to join. While finding a “good startup” isn’t completely objective, as it will be dependent on your personal skills, goals, and constraints, these questions can be a helpful starting point:

What is the startup’s stage?

You can likely figure out the stage of a startup by looking at their latest news and funding announcements on the startup’s website or LinkedIn. Additionally,?Work at a Startup ?– YC’s jobs platform for portfolio companies – lists company stage under a given company (and allows candidates to view and filter by company stage when looking at open roles).

As you start talking to founders, you can also ask them directly! This will be important in figuring out the readiness of the product/technology and how your skill set might slot into the current development stage.

A word of caution: more money raised does not necessarily equal “better startup.” While it is critical that a startup has enough runway to hire you and continue operating, you should do your own research and ask questions about the business, product, and technology to understand the stage of a startup (vs. just looking at total money raised).

(More about startup stages & definitions here:?Stages of startups .)

What is the core technology?

As you browse jobs, do some soul searching to figure out what you actually find interesting. Ask yourself if this startup in particular has an interesting technology for you to work on – then make sure you channel that interest and excitement for the tech when you talk with the team.

There is likely little public information available about the startup’s core technology, especially if the company is seed or Series A stage. Thus, during your interviews, you should take the opportunity to ask good questions about their technology and what aspects of it you would be working on in this role. Picture yourself in that role, and see if you find it interesting.

Think about what aspects of your background, previous work experiences, and skill set would be a great fit for the startup and role. As much as you can, while still being authentic, tie your previous work experiences and skills into the startup’s job description. Look for fit between your technical skills and the technology the startup is building.

What can I learn from the founders?

When doing research about the founders, ask yourself if you’d be excited to work alongside and learn from them. Many YC founders actually have a lot of experience – from starting their own startups, to working at startups, to working at FAANG companies. You should find founders that you can learn from, whether it’s on the business side, technical side, or even to learn how to start your own company one day . (The YC admissions process encourages applicants who worked at a YC startup to get a recommendation from their founders.)

The interview process is an opportunity for you to get to know the founders, and have your questions answered. We tell YC founders to be very transparent with candidates during the interview stages, because they should know what they’re getting themselves into. So be open about your areas of interest and concerns, and?look for answers to your questions that are thoughtful and balanced — revealing both the pros and the cons of any scenario.

If you want to learn more about YC founders specifically, we recently launched the?YC Founder Directory ! It includes reasons why the founders chose to start their company.

Am I genuinely excited?

Starting a new job is a big change, so you should make sure you’re actually excited about the company and team. Do you leave the interviews wanting to learn more? Are you ready to dive into the deep end? Be real with yourself and trust your gut.

Now that we've talked about how to choose which startups to apply to, join us next time for how to write a great resume. And when you're ready, start applying at workatastartup.com !