‘ANAlYSE BEFORE JOINING A START-UP’
Siddarth Bharwani lists a few questions which every aspirant should ponder on before joining a start-up
India has paved its way to secure the third position in the world in terms of the number of start-ups — 4,200 and counting—with almost three to four new start-ups coming up every day. Interestingly, 72 per cent of the start-up founders are less than 35 years old, making India home to the youngest entrepreneurs in the world. These statistics may sound promising as start-ups will create employment for many.
However, in 2015 we saw a global slowdown which resulted in the crunch for funding for many start-ups that resulted in many shutting shop and mass lay-offs. Hence, it’s important for students to seriously consider various parameters before joining a start-up. Here are a few questions students should ask for utmost clarity to ensure they aren’t signing up for a raw deal.
What is the product ideaIJ
Joining a company with a completely new idea can be risky. Many start-ups have failed just because they intended to deliver a product or service which had no market demand. You need to ask yourself whether the product really has the potential to go beyond fancy presentations and sell. For this, you may consider looking at its competitors and substitutes as well.
How about a background checkIJ
There is nothing inappropriate to ask where the funding is coming from in order to take a peek into how well the company will be able to sustain itself. If the company is funded by venture capitalist, you will be able to know who the investors are. A background check on websites like Glassdoor and Payscale will also help you understand the internal issues faced by employees as well as the maximum pay that you can expect over a period of time.
Do I fit inIJ
There are a lot of start-ups which have been cloned from the western business models. Play, parties, perks and promotions to sum it all. Newage start-ups prefer to hire young people who may or may not have experience. While millennials have their own style of working, would you be able to catch up or would it lead to a clash is something you need to ask.
People versus profitsIJ
Getting to know who the founders are and what their visions helps as many a time companies close down because the founders parted ways with different opinions. While some founders value the man behind the machine others treat the man like a machine. Start-ups have a close knit team and long working hours too. While profits are important to break even for a start-up, people are equally important to make as well as sustain profits. So working with a start-up and finishing heaps of work but having the flexibility to do it in your comfort zone on a bean bag or at home surely helps.
Where do you see yourself in the next five yearsIJ
Your vision on where you see yourself in the future is important to fulfill your personal goals. So ask yourself if working with a start-up is going to help you to achieve financial goals, grow in the industry, give you job satisfaction and nowhere else found learning experience. While the industry is changing rapidly, doing a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis with the aid of these questions will surely help you make the right decision. Yes, mistakes do happen. But at the end, it’s all about being able to join the dots and maybe joining a start-up could be one such bold dot in your career graph leading to greater opportunities.
(The writer is VP, Jetking Infotrain limited).