How to choose a company to work for Stefano Bernardi

Who am I?

A startup employee is essentially an investor Time Money* Skills Clout / Brand Network * Completely illiquid for years. Need 4+ years to vest. Have to pay to get it. who only gets one shot.

Not every startup is created equal “All our advice on Silicon Valley careers is based on a simple idea: that your choice of company trumps everything else. It’s more important than your job title, your pay or your responsibilities.” Andy Rachleff

What stage? The biggest question

Reward Stage Pre-Seed Seed A B Growth Scale Medium Low High Financial reward Learning reward Career reward Risk

“I prefer to see them take their first jobs after graduation at midsized companies with momentum, not startups, because they are the companies most likely to be big successes. No one will remember if you were employee 20 or 120. Everyone wants to recruit or back people from successful companies because they know/think people carry the lessons of success with them” Andy Rachleff Not every stage is created equal

It’s fairly clear who the breakout companies are Had just done a Series A Now worth $25B Acquired for $50M, founder now runs YC Had raised Series C Now worth $5B Was worth $1B, got to $30B, now $20B Twitter has a cool associate role

Founders Investors Product Fit Things to consider while making your list Depending on the stage, the most important thing Can you see yourself spending 4 years working on a logging application? What about gambling? The product a company creates is the best way to judge the company itself

Where to find startups 1/ What products do you love the most? 2/ AngelList 3/ Network 4/ Mattermark 5/ Crunchbase 6/ Job search 7/ VC Portfolios

Quick list of interesting companies to join as of Oct 2015

Culture Offer Team Role Things to consider after interviewing NOT IMPORTANT!! Can always change! VERY IMPORTANT!!! Will not change!!

Financials to consider • # of options granted • # of shares outstanding • strike price • vesting schedule • exercise period • how many more rounds before exit / IPO? valuation # of shares outstanding ( ) # of options * - strike price = PROFIT

Examples • 0.1% • $20M strike price • 50% dilution valuation # of shares outstanding ( ) # of options * - strike price = PROFIT • $200M = ~$90K • $2B = ~$1M • $200B = ~$100M • 1% • $2M strike price • 70% dilution • $200M = ~$600k • $2B = ~$6M • $200B = ~$600M • 0.01% • $200M strike price • 30% dilution • $200M = ~$0K • $2B = ~$90k • $200B = ~$1M

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