Warning Signs: Is It Time to Leave Your Startup?
1–10 of 15 posts
Re: Warning Signs: Is It Time to Leave Your Startup?
#2Excellent read! What if the startup has a lot of these warning signs, but the team I work with is top-notch, absolutely killer folks?
Would you suggest slugging it out till we figure out our own startup idea? Should I stay if I believe in the team, but not the management?
Re: Warning Signs: Is It Time to Leave Your Startup?
#3[deleted]
Re: Warning Signs: Is It Time to Leave Your Startup?
#4Excellent read! What if the startup has a lot of these warning signs, but the team I work with is top-notch, absolutely killer folks? Would you suggest slugging it out till we figure out our own startup idea? Should I stay if I believe in the team, but not the management?
What do the other people on the team think?
Team is everything, at the end of the day. Sounds like you're thinking about doing your own startup with the team anyways and are just tired of management. In my experience, this is usually a big warning flag but doesn't mean the company is dead in any way. A good team can push forward!
Re: Warning Signs: Is It Time to Leave Your Startup?
#5I'm unsure about a couple of these points but think the added perspectives of different people is pretty unique and useful. How did you organize software engineers?
Re: Warning Signs: Is It Time to Leave Your Startup?
#6I'm unsure about a couple of these points but think the added perspectives of different people is pretty unique and useful. How did you organize software engineers?
We run an expert program where people help others by chatting about their careers. :)
Re: Warning Signs: Is It Time to Leave Your Startup?
#7Echoing a lot of the other sentiment here, I think a lot of these points are good, but some are pretty broad statements that apply to a lot of early stage tech. The paid acquisition one stands out in my mind - early stage SaaS or social gaming apps can successfully POUR money into paid acquisition for a long time and be successful.
Same can be said for the 'is the product of high quality' line. I don't think the first four iterations of my last product were of particularly high quality, but we were shipping things and it worked just enough to make users happy.
The one that stands out the most to me is the 'Would you be afraid to hire your smartest friends.' This is IMO the end-all gut check. If you wouldn't try to sell your best friend on leaving whatever they're doing to come join you, you don't believe in the company. If you don't believe in the company, find another one. There's plenty of work in SV.
Re: Warning Signs: Is It Time to Leave Your Startup?
#8This is a very comprehensive list, thanks for putting it together. However, a lot of these strike me as things that an engineer normally wouldn't have access to (unit economics, etc). What would be your recommendation to folks who don't have deep insight into the business?
Re: Warning Signs: Is It Time to Leave Your Startup?
#9Echoing a lot of the other sentiment here, I think a lot of these points are good, but some are pretty broad statements that apply to a lot of early stage tech. The paid acquisition one stands out in my mind - early stage SaaS or social gaming apps can successfully POUR money into paid acquisition for a long time and be successful. Same can be said for the 'is the product of high quality' line. I don't think the firs…
+1 for "Would you be afraid to hire your smartest friends".
It's also worth considering whether you would help find your replacement. If not wanting to invite your friends is a bad sign, what does it say if you wouldn't tell people you don't even know to work for the company?
Re: Warning Signs: Is It Time to Leave Your Startup?
#10This is a very comprehensive list, thanks for putting it together. However, a lot of these strike me as things that an engineer normally wouldn't have access to (unit economics, etc). What would be your recommendation to folks who don't have deep insight into the business?
I've never been on the other side, but as an employee it's a red flag if the company is too secretive about this stuff. One of the main reasons I work at a startup is that I don't want to deal with red tape. If you have a question about how the business operates, you should ask the person that can give you the best answer. They should give you a straightforward answer or a legitimate reason why they can't.