Look for Mission, Culture and Growth in Your Next Startup

New startups are popping up everywhere. Bloomberg suggests private technology companies and VC investment is already 28% higher this year. These new companies are doing incredible things, in everything from blockchain to fashion.

Whether you’re looking to launch your career or take it to the next level, finding the right position at a startup can be incredibly exciting and rewarding. But, it’s important to not get distracted by the hype around disruption and perks.

Before you join a startup, assess its culture, mission and plans for growth:

1. Find a startup that’s mission driven. Understand the long-term mission of the company. Beyond the cool product or fancy announcements, determine if the company has clear goals in five, or even ten years. Next, make sure the company is connecting its mission with its end game. This will help you gauge the startup’s long-term viability and ensure you’re a culture fit. If you find an inspiring startup with a bold, audacious mission and a clear path to achieve that mission, it likely means that you’ll be working with like-minded, passionate people who are building a company for the future.
2. Learn how they spell culture. Culture is not always easy to evaluate. Many startups will tout theirs as amazing, but you need to look deeper. Culture is the foundation of any business. It’s important that startups map out tenets of culture and truly believe that these concepts are central to building for their future. One way to test this is to check if people who you interview with can easily characterize company culture. Do they talk about it in the same way? Does it seem important to people at all levels? If so, you’re a step closer to understanding if the company has a strong sense of culture and if it’s the right culture for you.
3. Uncover avenues for professional growth. Many new startups don’t invest resources in opportunities for professional development. This makes it difficult when they scale quickly because leaders aren’t properly trained to assume their expanding role. The number one reason why people leave an organization is because they don’t feel they have strong mentorship by their direct manager. Attrition can be greatly reduced if startups help train their people to be strong mentors from the very beginning. With this in mind, it’s important you ask questions about how a startup invests in the development of its people. You want to look for a place where you can learn not just your day-to-day job, but where you’re challenged and provided the right training to take on new responsibilities. This is a sign that your leaders are also receiving training as well. It’s a way to ensure the company is shaping leaders who can adapt to the changing demands of the business. It’s a way to ensure that your leaders don’t just care about their own future, but yours as well. 

As you assess your options and market yourself to different startups, don’t forget to look past the shiny lettering and bright lights. You need to make sure that wherever you end up is a culture fit with structure growth opportunity. Ask questions and do your research, and I promise you’ll be able to find the right startup to move forward in your career.