How to pick the right startup to work for

At Y Combinator, we talk to a lot of people who are trying to figure out which startup to join. Here's some of the advice we’ve been giving, and we hope it helps you navigate your own job search.

Ask about the company’s runway, burn rate, and plans for future funding.

A company’s runway is the number of months that it has until it runs out of money. This can be determined by a number of things, including the amount of funding it raised, the amount of revenue it generates, and the expenses (or “burn”) it has in operating the business on a monthly basis.

There is no right or wrong answer — it really depends on your risk tolerance. But you probably want a startup that has enough runway to both endure the downturn and also raise its next round of funding.

Also note that while cash-flow positive businesses are in a good position to weather this storm, even startups like Stripe endured the 2009 recession, despite being largely unprofitable at the time.

Ask how the business is adapting to the new economic environment.

While many startups might falter during a tough economy, it’s important to consider which might thrive as a result of changed consumer behavior or market opportunities. A few examples from the past couple of years in light of COVID-19:

• Outschool (W16) ?offers online classes for homeschooled children, which used to be a small minority of American kids and overnight became the majority.
• Farmstead (S16) ?and?Tovala (W16) ?are delivering more food and groceries than ever before.
• Eden Workplace (S15) has expanded its suite of workplace management software to include COVID team safety and hybrid office management.
• Curebase (S18) ?and?Ginkgo Bioworks (S14) ?have invested in products to support?COVID-19 response and research .

As you speak with founders during the interview process, ask how the economy has impacted their business (for worse or for better) and what they’re doing to adapt so they come out strong on the other side.

Assess the founders, not just their answers.

We tell YC founders to be very transparent with candidates during the interview process. We feel this is important to build trust early on, and the trust will be reciprocated when they hire great employees who can use information to make strong business/product/engineering decisions.

As you interact with the founders and team, look for answers to your questions that are thoughtful and balanced — revealing both the pros and the cons of any scenario. You’re likely to get more detail as you get to the end of the interview process (the company has more invested in you at that point), so take the opportunity to ask questions throughout the process.

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Joining a startup isn’t for everyone, and the above should help you better assess the startup you are considering. Go in with thoughtful questions, and hopefully you will walk away with trust in the founders to make good, thoughtful decisions — about the business, the product, the customers who use it, and the team you'd work with to build it.

If you're looking for your next role, you can see YC startups that are actively hiring and reach out to their founders on Work at a Startup . Thousands of candidates have found jobs on Work at a Startup, and you could be next.